My name is john and i have the honor of being the executive director of the Ronald Reagan president ial foundation and the institute. Thank you all for coming this evening. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. Please be seated. I will start with the mayor. [applause] [applause] we have a great evening in the store for you. Before i introduced the special guest who will introduce the speaker tonight, i want to take a moment to think a handful of other people we have in the audience this evening who are representing some of americas finest. For those of you that might have arrived late, you might not have seen that our beautiful landscape and hilltop that we are on looks more like the moon than southern california. Many of the trees that surround us is now gone. You might have even spelled the difference in the air that acts as a reminder of w