Rotunda. We have fabulous food. If you thought that reception was nice, you want to come to this event. We have fabulous food, weve got whiskey sampling tasting and wine. Were supporting the African American businesses that make San Francisco the wonderful city it is. Please come down and please join us. With that said, i want to take a moment and up lift the people that make me look good. The people that support me. And that is my staff, i want to recognize ali who has pulled together the reception that you are able to enjoy. I want to recognize brittney and also sophia kitler. With that said, i want to up lift and recognize president breeds staff who have been helpful pullin pulling this tog. Id like to recognize my own honoree first, its the privilege of being able to pro e side over todays celebration. Put your hands together, i want to introduce to you a wonderful woman, a pioneer who has been doing a lot of work unbeknownst to many of us. I want to recognize cione lincho, she also goes by the name of sunshine. Will miss sunshine come on down please. [applause] so im excited to present this woman to you because you are probably going to be hearing and learning a little bit more about her as we continue to move forward. Here is a little bit about her background. Shes a daughter of immigrant parents. She learned early on the importance of serving her community. As a graduate of stanford law school, she has dedicated her career to shaping the future of the Global Cannabis industry. She has served on the Oakland CannabisRegulatory Commission as well as on the board of california growers association. For those of you that dont know its the states most prominent cultivate or orient. She has been owning a space thats been maledominated. This woman is held her head up and shes been a source of inspiration for myself and for my staff, particularly as we work very handily together to craft the program we created right here in the city and county of San Francisco when sa. Shes a cofounder of a fantastic Organization Called supernova women. A not for profit you can applaud. Super nova women its a Nonprofit Organization for women of color and the cannabis industry that provides Free Education and Training Programs throughout the nation regarding national, state and local policies as well as Business Opportunities in the Legal Cannabis industry. Shes committed to changing the perception of cannabis, its users and its use through education. Shes working to provide people of color equal opportunities and access to the new cannabis market. Beyond her glowing biography and her beautiful smile, i want to add that its been a pleasure to get to know sunshine. Throughout this process of building the Equity Program for the cannabis legislation, youve got your finger prints all over it and i want to say thank you. Sunshine is one of the experts in my office that consulted with us and shes just been an incredible help as we began to look to her as a thought leader and an vow cat. It is with great pleasure i provide this certificate of honor to sunshine. Congratulations and thank you for your work. We salute you. [applause] sorry sunshine. You have an opportunity to go to the podium and say a few remarks. Thank you. Thank you supervisor cohen. Its a great honor to be here today. I had no intention of finding myself positioned to get an award. I pretty much felt that it was imperative that as an attorney, i tried to make the cannabis industry and the regulations pertaining to cannabis as accessible as possible. We have 300 pages of regulations and lawyers that are senior to me have trouble navigating them so how can we expect people who are trying to transition who have been left out of other Economic Opportunities to be able to do so. Along with my co founders, we felt it was port arent that we start having free work shops. We have one coming up here in San Francisco, partnering with impact hub on february 24th from 10 00 to 12 30. It will be a summation of how do we get here . Because for people who havent been sitting around reading the rags for the last three years like i have, they maybe surprised at the current legal industry. Its important we provide people coming back and having conversations about that. Its february 24th, 10 00 to 12 30 and we look forward to seeing the same faces. Thank you. [applause] [applause] all right, ladies and gentlemen. Next up we are going to hear from the District Representative hailing all the way from the west side. Supervisor sandy fewer representing district 1. Thank you, very much. Today it is my honor to present accommodations to reverend iarn moore. Who service two congregations. Plymouth United Church of christ, the jazz and Justice Church of oakland and st. James on california street in San Francisco. At plymouth, she serves in the justice and witness ministries and at st. James she co convenes the faith in action Bay Area Team who i had a great pleasure to work with. Reverend iana credits her love of community and service and ak ta vism to her parents and grandparents who embody and role model their faith in action through community service. She is a proud daughter and her parents demonstrated integrity and resilience throughout their lives in deeply influenced who reverend iana more is today. Her mother, an immigrant from a caribbean island with little means, came to the u. S. As a legal immigrant that endured as tra civil anostracism. She married born and raised baptist and clerical husband from a poor single parent family in working class, pennsylvania. From a man to a decorated officer. A lawabiding strict father, he refused to order his troops to carry out a tracist order and face the threat of a courtmartial in doing so. Reverend iana attended the university of washington where she earned degrees in spanish and speech communication and the university of californias school of social welfare where she earned a masters of social welfare. She shocked her family and friends when she answered her call to the ordain ministry enrolled in the Pacific School of religion. Where her areas of concentration were biblical studies, art ministries, and children in youth, women studies and religion and African American theologies. She has a daughter who she describes as her truth teller guru and a large noisy family of siblings, cousins, nephews, nieces in the Pacific Northwest and all over the u. S. And london. Reverend iana is a force to be reckoned with in the Richmond District and her voice, i believe, is important in our neighborhood. As an activist, as a black woman, as clergy, her courage is speak out on issues effecting human and civil rights, deeply inspiring to me and to my residents. As is her organizing, her tenacity and her generosity of spirit in giving of herself to make the world a better place. Reverend, i am proud to call a friend and richmond resident. I am honored to recognize you today. Please come up. [applause] thank you, supervisor fewer for this honor. To be acknowledged by you, a force to be wreck on reckoned wn activist, means a great deal to me. Thank you. No woman is an island and so i thank those in this room who have made history. Those behind me and those in front of me. I particularly want to thank my board president london breed, who is a role model to me and to supervisor cohen also role model to me and have been for many years long before i became an activist. I want to thank so many people. Im here only because reverend john kirkly, the director of st. James, invited me, a stranger, to accompany the st. James congregation as they discerned whether to be a part of faith and action bay area. I want to acknowledge my team at st. James and especially my right hand and the salt of the earth coconvener, barbra web. Thank you. The members of my team are mostly senior citizens. Some with disabilities, all who love this city. I want to thank our allies. Housing Rights Committee of the commission and the west side and senior disability action and advocacy, for walking with me and my team, sometimes in the very cold on behalf of our most vulnerable. I want to thank my family, most of whom would not be here today, but who are with me in spirit and most of all i really thank my daughter gina. Gina you truly are my truth teller. You are my guru whose love and support give me the strength and the courage to lead. Thank you and thank you all for this great honor. [applause] congratulations. [applause] our next speaker will be supervisor peskin. Thank you madam president , colleagues. I have the honor to an individual who has worked for the city and county of San Francisco for longer than i have been alive. I want to recognize a lot of folks who have turned out for mr. Carl payne. His former colleague, commander david lazar. Commander lazar was the youngest person in the Academy Class when carl payne was the oldest individual in that class. And therein lies an incredible story about how San Francisco fell short. Mr. Payne got a job after six years in the marine core in the Cable Car Division of mooney. And he was incredible at catching pick pockets. As a result, the Police Department in Central Station encouraged him to be a policeman. And he went and right before he was sworn in, this is in the old days, you got sworn in right before you went into the academy, three hours before he was to be sworn in he received a telephone call saying he turned 36 and no longer eligible. That is what we call age discrimination. And mr. Pain sued the city and county of San Francisco and the superior court upheld the city and denied justice to mr. Pain. Step in the United States of america and the United States of america came down on the city and county of San Francisco for age discrimination. During this time, eight years passed, and mr. Payne at the age of 50, after working for 28 years, at muni where he exceeds byron cobb who has won the cable car championship bellringing competition eight times. Mr. Payne won it 10 times in those 28 years. He went from there at age of 50 and he became a cop. He was beloved at Central Station where he served most of his 24 years and he retired from the Police Department and today works for the general manager in the park patrol. He works for mr. Phil gin sburg and he says i no longer talk to people like i used to. Now i talk to trees. Two and a half years at the park and rec. Count that all every after working for the people of the city and county of San Francisco. I cannot think of a better honor in february African AmericanHistory Month for your decades of service for being an embassador on our Rolling Stock as a Police Officer where your beloved by everybody in the neighborhood from russian hill to north beach to fishermans warf, carl you are an inspiration and legend and i know that veteran Affairs Commissioner bipple wants to say a quick thing if you are here, you can proceed carl. I know captain yep is here and i see your former colleagues from Central Station, former lieutenant nelson lum who by the way, at the cafe post, which is the most diverse post. I know you guys hangout there together. Thank you carl for all of your service. Commissioner bickell and i will turn it over to carl. Thank you, good afternoon supervisor. I am a commissioner for the veteran affairs for the city and county of San Francisco. First of all, carl, i want to thank you and congratulate you on your many years of dedication and service. One of my responsibilities as a commissioner is to acknowledge my vets. Supervisor mentioned carl spent 60 years in the marine core and from a vet to a vet, 1958 long time, so the marine core and of course air force but i want to acknowledge carl, come on up. [applause] i want to acknowledge carl by giving him a coin, this is a littled edition of the air force and last year we celebrated our 70th anniversary in the United States air force. With that i want to congratulate you from fellow vet to fellow vet, thank you for all you do. I love my vets. You look fantastic, marine. Thank you, sir. [applause] i want to thank the city and county sorry, its overwhelming. When i first started working for the city it was kind of rough. Things always didnt workout the way you hoped that they would. I got the opportunities. And by having the opportunities, i tried to go to the limit. When i worked for the city and on the cable cars, i had the opportunity to be a good will embassador and had a chance to go to australia, hong kong, amsterdam and 60 appearances on different tv shows, radio shows, job with senator feinstine when we were raising money for save the cable cars. Like i say, the opportunity is there. You got to reach out and take it. No one is going to give you anything. Youve got to reach out and take it. And the way were going now, we really need to reach out and take things. We have an opportunity before us to do something great. I love this city and county. I was only passing through here when i got discharged from the marine core and i decided to stay. It was the best decision i made in my life. Im still working, thank god. I thank the rec and park for the opportunity to talk to the trees. [laughter] and the rec and park is hiring, were hiring. [laughter] its never too late to come on out and talk to the trees. Like i said, thank mr. Peskin for the opportunity to stand up here and say something. I thank the board of supervisors for all that you do and all that you will continue to do. On behalf of the citizens of San Francisco, we have to look good. The rest of the world is looking at us, always. Were always going to look good no matter what. No matter who is up in the big house. But with that, i thank you and may god bless you. [applause] and i know that the director may be back all right, hes back. Its a good day for rec and parks. Yes, it is. So robert is a San Francisco native from the ingleside district. And he grew up attending laughton elementary and Lincoln High School in the sunset. And his stomping grounds were oce oceanview and sunset rec centers and he was known to always have a basketball on hand to play a game of pickup whenever the mood struck. And he always thought as a young boy how awesome would it be to one day work at one of the rec centers and playing with the kids all day. And little did he know that one day he would be doing that. He would be working at both oceanview and sunset rec centers as a Park Services manager. Robert manages Park Service Area 4 which lies mostly within the sunset district and also some neighborhoods as far south as ingleside and merced heights. And a lot of the responsibilities under robert include stern grove, lake merced, lower great highway and he leads a field stop of 30 in the delivery of landscape and custodial services to the area. We first met robert back in 2016 when he began his current control in psa 4. I had asked director ginsburg here about great highway and the pathway, and it started getting taken over by all the ice plants so that only kind of like 1 of time could walk through. And here was robert. And i think the person who preceded you was also named robert. So weve always had great roberts working for our district. And just was so proactive in trying to address the landscaping the area, working with a lot of neighbors who wanted to volunteer and just make the whole stretch a lovelier place through landscaping. And i personally believe that landscaping is, you know, so much more than just aesthetics. It really brings a community together. And robert was just a huge part of that, that work. So over the last year and a half, robert and his team have totally transformed the greenway of the lower great highway removing weeds and replacing them with droughttolerant native species. And robert actually began his career working for a Landscaping Company that was one of the first ecofriendly companies in the city. Rather than using harmful chemical pesticides, they were among the first to use soaps and horticultural oils. And after his First Experience as a landscaper, robert knew that he loved working in horticulture. And so when a job opened up as a gardener for the recreation and parks department, he decided to apply. And today im very excited to hear that one of his or his son is actually an apprentice gardener over at the public works. So welcome and thank you. I see it runs in the family. So robert has risen through the ranks of the department as a gardener parks section super and currently as acting manager. And he has such a broad range of experiences and, in fact, helped to establish the golf course over at harding park before it opened to the public after renovation in 2004 when the pga tour was hosted here in the city. And after that experience, i know that robert began to see just how rewarding his profession was, taking care of our parks, interacting with our community, and so forth. And in 2012, he was promoted to the parks section supervisor for the western addition. And in 2016, as we mentioned, he was given his assignment to manage Park Service Area 4. Robert has a strong background in Turf Management due to his long tenure as a gardener at harding park. And he has helped to manage some of the most difficult areas including 14 ball diamonds, 22 soccer pitches and 2 sports complexes. And other in other i know that we are all hearing about how wonderful robert is in his job at recreation and parks department, but i also was very touched to hear about what he and his wife did, actually. They have been married for 23 years. So congratulations. [ applause ] so in the late 90s, robert and his wife were living in a fourbedroom home but didnt need to use all of the rooms. And so for more than a year, they decided to open their home to homeless and pregnant teenage women who did not have shelter. And in fact, they keep regular contact with some of these women who have since grown up to get married and have wonderful lives, and they still call her and robert mom and dad. I cant think of anyone more shelfless than that. [ applause ] so robert, i want to thank you. I want to thank your family, everything that youve done for rec park, for our community at large. Thank you, all the colleagues and friends who have taken time out of the day to come here, and director ginsburg, and i think director ginsburg may have a few words to say as well. Before we bring robert back up. A pretty tough act to follow, supervisor. Thank you for honoring robert. We have five values in our organization. We call them the five rs. And robert leads with respect. He fosters relationships. He is responsive. He is resilient and he delivers results. And this is an amazing, very, very welldeserved honor, and i am humbled to be able to observe this. Thank you. [ applause ] robert, its your turn. Thank you, supervisor tang, for this honor. It is indeed a pleasure to serve the city that i was born and raised in. I guess ive come full circle to be able to go back to the neighborhood, my old stomping grounds. And actually help beautify and maintain and keep them safe and clean, the parks. Id like to acknowledge my lovely, beautiful wife who i would not be standing here if it wasnt for her. [ applause ] javaughn mohammed, my hardworking son, mohammed, and my beautiful daughter, nala mohammed. They all keep me focused, grounded, and strong so that i can get up every morning and do the things that i do. Thank you so much for this honor. [ applause ] oh. And im sorry. And id also like to recognize lauren. Is lauren here . There she is. Come here. This is the reason why the great highway has transformed so drastically and so fast. Lauren has been such a great help, and its been nothing but an honor and a pleasure to work with her. So id like to recognize you. Thank you. [ applause ] next we will hear from supervisor yee. Supervisor yee. Supervisor yee thank you. Today i am pleased to Honor Community leader and advocate for aging adults, evernice cook. Come on up, evernice. Shes a resident of Midtown Terrace in district 7 since 1979 where she raised her son. She now has two granddaughters. I have two grandkids, too. And has remained and continues to be an active force in her community, especially when it comes to aging adults. Shes joined by many of her friends today including Willard Harris who, believe it or not, i didnt believe it, shes 98 years old. Shes here. There she is. [ applause ] district 7 is a little bit different. We really deal our community through activism within our neighborhoods and community. And ms. Cook really exemplifies what it is to be a district 7 resident thats Building Communities in district 7. So im really honored to have you be my honoree. My office first began working with her last year when i secured funding to start senior fitness programs in Midtown Terraces, a neighborhood that has had a lack of senior programming despite the large number of elderly living in that area. Evernice stepped up as a leader to work with Community Living campaign, st. Johns Armenian Church and her neighbors to make it always active, evidencebased weekly exercise programs available to the aging community in Midtown Terraces. Once classes began this spring, i am excited to see all the seniors who will benefit from this programming, stay socially connected to their neighbors, and stay healthy both physically and mentally. Despite the many meetings, that her and her neighbors have spent on coronating to her fellow seniors, evernice has continued to work with proactive and positive attitude, never giving up. With our office and various stake holders. Her neighbors all spoke in support of her saying theres a touchstone and beacon for the community, and thats what she is. She has served the Midtown TerraceHomeowners Association for more than a decade as president and secretary. Evernice is viewed in the neighborhood as a person of trust, class and integrity. Current president of the hoa, rick johnson, said evernice has stepped up to the place whenever there has been a need, and she certainly serves as a mentor and an inspiration to rick himself. Beyond advocating for her fellow aging adults, evernices passion is selflessly serving others. In her capacity, she volunteers weekly at the hospital. She volunteers monthly at the grove street extended facility. She visits Church Members who are physically unable to attend services. This includes a senior neighbor who delights in their shared experiences. She also serves as a mentor, adviser and encourager to younger women who are starting their careers and building their own households. She does all this while she continues to seek out ways and opportunities to serve her neighbors in other own district. Before she moved to San Francisco and first settled in hayes valley, she was born on a farm in oakwood, texas, to parents joe and mary alexander. She graduated from st. Paul Silo High School and attended prairie view a m college. Before relocating to San Francisco in 1963. Now, upon her arrival to San Francisco, she became an active member of her neighborhood baptist church. She has served tirelessly in many capacities and today continues to be active in Church Ministries and the community. She enjoys spending time with her granddaughters, annalise and azaya, sharing her love and knowledge of cooking and gard gardening that she learned while growing up on the farm. Evernice loves nature and currently has a garden where she grows fruits, herbs and vegetables. Mmm. Can i have some . Evernice enjoys San Francisco many public spaces, civic activities and events. She actually, during her family annual trips to camp mather, met her husband there. Oh, my goodness. What happens at camp mather stays in camp mather. [ laughter ] okay. And her husband is here also today, eugene cook. And they both continue to participate in this tradition. And so i want to end this by saying congratulations, evernice, and in honor of black History Month, and thank you again for your continued leadership and advocacy on behalf of all the seniors in your community. Thank you very much, evernice. [ applause ] i want to say thank you to supervisor yee for recognizing the work that i do in the community. And, you know, its part of me. I had loving parents who were always giving to others. So its something i learned from my parents that i continue today. And working in my church. I was always told, it is better to give than saereceive. So im always trying to find a way to give to others because i know if i give, i will receive. So thank you so much. [ applause ] congratulations. Next we will hear from president london breed. President breed thank you, supervisor cohen. It is my honor today to recognize trina johnson. Come on up, trina. [ applause ] you know, whats so amazing about trina is she is the goto for everything in the community. If i need flyers delivered door to door to make sure that the community is made aware of anything thats going on in the neighborhood, i call trina. If we want to pass out turkeys and make sure all the families who need turkeys during the Holiday Season gets their turkeys, trina will actually go to the door and demand that they come to the center to get a turkey because she knows that they need them. She takes money out of her own pocket to make sure that dinners are made, hot food is made available to the residents of her community. She helps to organize the toy drive. She helps to do all of these incredible things not because it is her job but because she has so much love in her heart. So much love. Trina has worked and still works in the shelter system but works at the Community Center when we had a shelter there and currently works at nextdoor shelters. And whats so interesting about trina, trina calls me a lot or texts me a lot. And in every instance, its always about what shes trying to do for somebody else. I need to take care of this for miss such and such. And i need to take care of this, and i need food for this person, and i need to do what i need to do to make sure that this person doesnt get kicked out of their home. And just the Food Bank Volunteering to hold on to the food bank in the community, all the things that you try to do for the seniors and the food deliveries that you do to the senior community, taking care of your mom, taking care of your community, raising two kids as a single mom and taking care of your granddaughter, on top of all the volunteer work that you have done to make our community a better and a more safe place for so many people. Trina, we are so blessed. We are so blessed to know you. Were so blessed to have you a part of the community. I mean, even when, sadly, we lose lives in our community, the first person there to help with prayer and with miss maddy scott and the healing circle, the first person to help get your sister la taun ya and others to help serve food at that funeral service, you were the first person there organizing people to take care of families. You were the first person helping to organize healing circles. You are the first person to making sure the resources are brought to the community. And you do it, as i said, because you love your community, and our community has suffered so much. We have been through so many challenges over the years growing up in the neighborhood. You on a personal level, youve been through so many challenges. But here you stand strong. Here you stand as a beacon of hope for the whole community. The work you do, the way you take care of everyone, the way you push people around because you want them to do the right thing [ laughter ] that is what makes you so effective. You dont mess around. Its all about the community. Its all about the kids. Its all about the seniors. And the fact that you spend so much of your personal time and your personal money to actually do what youve done over the years for the community is deserving of this commendation and so much more. So on behalf of the city and county of San Francisco, trina, it is my honor to recognize you for all that you have done to make San Francisco such an amazing place for so many people. Congratulations. [ applause ] thank you. First of all, i want to say thank you, london breed. Wow, my heart is heavy right now. This started a long time ago, yall, because im past 50. With my mom. My mom used to always she started off first taking care of kids. Then i can remember one day this lady was going in recovery. And she asked my mom, could you take my kids while i go get clean and sober . And my mom did that. And its, like, they wasnt even her own kids. And she used to feed everybody. And she always told us, you treat people like you want to be treated and respect everyone. And if somebody ever needs you, youll be there for them. And i just want to say thank you for ellie hill hutch. I started getting into working with the Homeless Population over 15 years. And my first job was with them. And that really opened up my heart to realize that theres so many people out there that need housing or just need somebody to talk to, just to hear their mouth. And im one of them people. I love talking to people. I love just to be there and to support them, and ellie hill hutch gave me the opportunity to go into these shelter do what i needed to do as well as london breed when she was at the african culture center, when i was doing cooking. I used to cook for the homeless. My sister used to cook, my mom, my auntie, my daughter. Wed bring in the food for the Homeless People where i work at all the holidays and made them feel that it is somebody that care because im one of them. Because i am also a recovering addict with 21 years clean and sober. [ applause ] so today i just want to say thank you, london, so much for hearing me out, for being there for me. When i did the katrina foundation, i want to say thank you, maddy, for opening up your doors to me, adrian, owen. I want to say thank you, james, wherever you are, all these people that understood that what we did in our community, theyre there for us. And im going to keep on doing it because we need a lot of work done up in there. And weve just got to learn how to love one another and take care of one another and just hear somebody out today because you might be saving their life. And thank you. [ applause ] thank you. Congratulations. Thank you. [ applause ] supervisor ronan. Supervisor ronen thank you so much. If i could call up the amazing gina dickus to the diet. Youve got a fan club here from the Bernal HeightsNeighborhood Center. [ laughter ] gina, i am so incredibly happy to be honoring and recognizing you today, one of the most dedicated and skilled leaders that we have in district 9. Gina is the executive director of the Bernal HeightsNeighborhood Center. And this year marks the centers 40th anniversary. The Organizations Mission has remained true for all of these years, which is preserving the ethnic, cultural and Economic Diversity of Bernal Heights and the surrounding neighborhoods. Through profound demographic change, Bernal Heights has been able to retain some measure of diversity, much to the credit of the Bernal HeightsNeighborhood Center. With our citys africanamerican population being devastated by displacement, Bernal HeightsNeighborhood Centers work to preserve Public Housing developments in bernal and develop new affordable housing, combine Public Safety with community leadership, and provide services for seniors and youth creates a safety net to keep communities of color in San Francisco. Bernal heights Neighborhood Center remains deeply grassroots led and focused and serves as an anchor institution in the neighborhood. For this and more, the Bernal Heights community owes a deep, deep debt of gratitude to gina dickus. Since gina started at Bernal HeightsNeighborhood Center, she has quickly assumed increasingly challenging roles most recently stepping up in a time of transition and quite frankly in a time of crisis to lead as the executive director. Im going to be as bold to say, gina, sa ythat you saved the organization at a very, very risky time in its history. And for that, i will have unending gratitude to you forever. Under your leadership, youve stabilized the board of directors. Youve untangled and i know you spent so much time doing this the complexity of the organization, and youve significantly grown the staffing. You have been overseeing the successful rehabilitation of holly course and ongoing work at the alimeni housing and started back much to the love of the neighborhood fiesta on the hill, which before your leadership had shut down for a couple years. Gina, you truly exemplify the technical skills, the strategic approach, the unwavering determination and compassionate heart that combine to make you the great, incredible leader that you are. You are a superwoman. And on top of your role at Bernal HeightsNeighborhood Center, youre also i dont know how you have time an ordained pastor, a community volunteer, and a devoted grandmother. I cannot thank you enough for all of your work. You are amazing, and we love you, gina. Thank you so much. [ cheers and applause ] oh, my gosh. Thank you so much. Supervisor ronan as well as the board of supervisors collectively. I am honored. Im privileged. Im thankful. Im overwhelmed by this moment. You know, you think you plan your life, and it always takes different turns. But one of the things that i can accredit this to is a Neighborhood Center. A Neighborhood Center in 1978 was built in my neighborhood in richmond, california, and allowed me to come to San Francisco to be able to explore, to be able to learn different avenues, and im back here again. And i did not do it alone. I have the most amazing team. My board has been so supportive, even with all of my crazy ideas and things that i challenge them with. The staff stepped in, and they partnered with me, and willingness became our new currency. And i am just so grateful for even the rols, our leadership team. We have bobby back here. We have just this is a neighborhood we believe in a whole community approach, and we believe it takes stakeholders like Business Owners and homeowners and people that live in Public Housing and renters and people that come to our programs to have a healthy community. And weve done it. Were doing it. Were entering into our 40th year, and were preparing for the next generation to stand on our shoulders, and we are thankful to you all for your support. Thank you. [ cheers and applause ] congratulations. [ cheers and applause ] congratulations to you. Supervisor safai. Supervisor safai thank you. What a wonderful list of people to follow today. I think theres been a consistent theme. Well wait for all the excitement. That was a rowdy group. [ laughter ] the consistent theme that ive heard today is one of people that have dedicated themselves to their community, dedicated themselves to their family, dedicated themselves to making their neighborhoods safer. I think that one of the histories unfortunately that we are experiencing in this city is one, particularly in the africanamerican community, is one that has been victims of a disproportionate level of violence and crime for a long time. And the person that im honoring today has dedicated almost his almost more time in his life than ive been alive on this earth. As supervisor peskin was saying. [ applause ] he moved to the lakeview neighborhood in 1974, 44 years ago. And i cant imagine i know everyone jokes about me being able to focus and ants in my pants and all this stuff on this board, but being able to focus on one neighborhood and one community for 44 years. Al harris is the example of dedicati dedication. And as everyone knows, you cant mention al without mentioning his wonderful wife, mary, because they are a team. You never say al harris. You always say mary and al harris. [ applause ] thats right. Supervisor safai sorry, al, its always mary first, but its mary and al harris. And those of you that know them know that they are the dynamic duo. So al is not from San Francisco like many of us, but he was born in wisconsin and moved to San Bernardino and then fell in love with San Francisco and fell in love with his wonderful wife who ive mentioned. And he was originally on the u. S. Interpreter as a fireman stationed at treasure island. And its that time where he fell in love with our city and dedicated himself. As i said, theyve lived in here now for 44 years. And during that time, theyve had a whole host of issues that theyve had to confront. The crack epidemic in the 80s. Their parks and recreation facilities being overrun and run down and neglected. Their libraries being nonexistent. And so al harris dedicated himself to first dealing with violence in the community out there, working with the Police Station and the ingleside Police Station and being part of the task force that was involved with coming up with strategies to suppress crime. They opened up a substation out there in the 80s that was the first beacon of hope for many in the community. And he never once let go. He never once stopped, even when people were dying, even when people were being pushed out. And one of the wonderful things about the lakeview, those of you know, it has one of the highest rates of africanamerican homeowners in San Francisco along with bayview. And i think thats a great thing. And that has added to the stability of that community. And so because of that stability, mary and al not only dedicated themselves to your honor itting around one of the worst Violent Crime corridors in our city, the broad randolph corridor, but they then turned their sights over to the rec and park facility that now is named after two other people that dedicated and dedicated their entire lives to turning around that community, minnie and lovie ward. So i know mary and al carry on the torch of minnie and lovie, and that same tradition of giving back and investing in facilities that they know will be a great beacon of hope and places that people in the community can turn. I know al dedicates himself almost year round to the food pantry that feeds hundreds of people in the minimnie and lovi ward rec center. And they dedicate themselves to the annual toy giveaway which gives away hundreds of toys each and every year to families in need. And ive heard our president breed time and time again say if it werent for those toy giveaways, she might not have had the opportunity to have wonderful presents. And i know ive heard al say the same thing. The ability to give a child a toy at christmastime can turn lives around and turn hope around. And al has done that for year after year after year. So the theme of crime suppression and upliftment along with dedicating themselves to facilities like the minnie and lovie ward rec center, al was involved every step of the way raising funds, dedicating every day of his life to seeing that turn around. And in 2008, we cut the ribbon in the honor of that family. And it was because of the dedication of mary and al and the work that they did. Ill just end by saying ive had the great fortunes not someone that i just came to learn and know while ive been elected into this office. Ive known al harris for 14 years. And al is one, if you know him, he constantly has a smile on his face. He constantly is upbeat, hes constantly telling jokes. But when the time is right, al gets real serious and cuts down to it. And so it wasnt until october of 2016, one month before the election, that i finally won over mary and al, but just because its al today, and once i knew i got that endorsement, i knew i was going to win. And so to them, i say thank you for that endorsement because that was the final touchy ne i needed to be standing in front of you here today. Ill just end by saying just list out a few of the things that al has served on. He was a former library commissioner, Police StationCommunity PoliceAdvisory Board member. Hes a board member of the excelsior action group. Hes a board member of the geneva car barn which we just last week authorized 15 million for thats another dedicated effort. [ cheers and applause ] he sits on the ymca urban Services Oversight committee. And this past year mary and al were honored by their neighbors, friends and the Mayors Office of housing and Community Development with the neighborhood empowerment Lifetime Achievement award. They were one of the first people to do that. So it is my great honor to recognize someone that i think of as a friend and someone that ive watched with great pride lead his community, al harris. [ cheers and applause ] thank you, supervisor safai. Its a funny thing because if you try to get an award, you cant get it. [ laughter ] no matter how hard you try. And hes right. Minnie and lovie were just so dedicated to the community that mary, my lovely wife, decided that she really liked the name minnie. She thought it was a joke at first. She says, nobodys name minnie, is it . And lovie . Really . So the torch was passed from minnie to mary, and the torch was passed from lovie to me. And so he always supported minnie, and i support my wife. And shes the one that does all the work, and im just her assistant. [ laughter ] so thank you very much. [ applause ] congratulations. [ cheers and applause ] [ applause ] congratulations to you. Next well hear from supervisor stefani. Supervisor stefani thank you, supervisor cohen. What an honor it is to be in this room right now, bearing witness to these incredible people. Id like to call up nadia sesay. [ applause ] nadia, i have to say, is a force to be reckoned with at city hall. I first met nadia as a legislative aid to michaela and worked with her more closely for three years as the budget aid to supervisor mark ferrell when he chaired the budget and finance committee. In every meeting ive ever been in with her, ive always left impressed with her grip on financial figures and concepts that would be difficult to comprehend without nadia explaining them so effortlessly. More than the knowledge she imparts in meetings, nadia just has a way about her that makes it a joy to always be around her. She reminds me of that maya angelou quote. Ive learned that people will forget what you said. People will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. I walk away from every encounter i have with nadia feeling good. I love that were neighbors and run into each other on Chestnut Street every once in a while. Nadia is a leader and example for us all, and i love what supervisor cohen said about black future month. Nadia embodies that to me. She is inspiring, and shes a dedicated public