Page 68 Museum of Route 66 Lincoln Daily News June/July 2026 before turning it over to Lexie Groves. “This has been a project filled with big imagination, big creativity and a lot of work.” She said that McCoy and Groves deserved a huge round of applause for their leadership and the crowd responded accordingly. The next person to speak was Lexie Groves. She began by saying, “It has been an honor and a privilege to work for the city of Lincoln.” She said that she enjoyed working for and with McCoy and said he was a great box. She concluded by saying she was excited visitors to show visitors “my hometown.” Lincoln Mayor Tracy Welch spoke, saying, “Something of this magnitude does not happen without a lot of people.” He remembered many of the people who had contributed and made special note of John and Darlene Ruh saying, “The Ruhs are the ones who got this whole thing started.” He went on to talk about how he had brought the idea of the museum to the Lincoln City Council members. He said that he told them that they had to see and “trust the vision.” He added, “We saved a building in downtown Lincoln and repurposed it into something that is amazing and should spur economic growth.” Welch also sang the praises of McCoy and Groves, adding that he had been excited when he realized Groves was going to be available and he encouraged McCoy to bring her into the team saying she would be a huge asset. Welch concluded with thanks to all those who had been part of the process and to all those who were in attendance. The microphone was then given to McCoy for the second time. Because Welch had mentioned his wife Annette and her support for the project, McCoy said he was reminded to remember his wife Jennifer as well, who was in the audience taking pictures for the museum social media and website.
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