i am going to try to wrap this up very quickly, but we could not wrap up this event -- that is my cute -- without hearing very briefly -- emphasis on briefly -- from one of the businesses working on the project. by way of introduction i am going to say that the president of that company is the most appropriately dressed person for the occasion. she actually dressed warmup. let us invite her to the podium. [applause] >> good morning, everyone. thanks for that graceful introduction. as you have heard, my name is julie berry. we do concrete pumping. i am a certified local business enterprise. i am also a certified firm located in the bayview district

here in this warm city of san francisco. we are grateful for the opportunity to work on the presidio parkway doyle drive replacement project. we are doubly grateful. not only did we have the opportunity to win a contract, but additionally we are going to be working on contract for. the total value of those contracts is approximately $3 million. you're probably wondering -- how did you do that? what i did was i attended -- just done the street, i attended and out -- event for small business enterprises conducted by paul prendergast and his team. that afforded me the opportunity. all of the general contractors were there, and i had the opportunity as a small business to reach out to each of them face to face and talk about my business and how i can team with

them and work on this project together. being a woman-owned firm, with my husband out here in the audience and my son running this truck here -- they have been at my side. and i cannot tell you what this means to my business. it has been a struggle sometimes. it has been rewarding. it has had opportunities. overall, it has been wonderful. because of the presidium parkway, i was able to increase my staff by 65%. additionally, i was able to purchase equipment to put on this project. this equipment is called a boom pump and it comes concrete. it can pump 173 cubic yards of concrete for hours and had a reach of 147 feet. you can imagine the efficiency that is going to bring to the

general contractors on this project. this is economic recovery in action, the ability to hire new people and the ability to buy equipment to put on a project. to us, every opportunity counts. every payroll that we make, every business loan payment terms, because it means we are coming back from one of the darkest economic times in our history. it is our responsibility to take this opportunity and take it forward. i would like to share a story of how we were able to pay this forward. we are located in the bayview district. we are a couple of blocks from bay shore boulevard and a few blocks away from third street. one of the most iconic businesses in the southeast part of san francisco is bodie concrete. they have been a landmark in san

francisco forever. this is how we met our new employees. my son was out pumping country when a driver walked up to him and said, "my son has been unemployed for a long time, and he needs a job. he has always loved concrete pumping." nixon was so excited that someone shared the same enthusiasm he does about concrete pumping that we hired that young man. he is now working for us today. he has been there for nine months and is one of our best concrete pumpers. this is what economic recovery books like. i am proud we had the opportunity to hire a new employee. i do not know if you are aware. on march 18, president obama signed and hiring incentive act. that allows small businesses to hire new employees. you get some tax breaks and incentives to can apply to your peril that will help you as a

small business. we are utilizing this program. it is a big investment for us. we are also proud of the fact that we are signatories to operating engineers local chapter 3. their mission is quality jobs and the best possible wages, fringe benefits, and working conditions for their members. they have sponsored everyone of their -- we have sponsored everyone of our employees into the union and we look forward to them being active for years to come. opportunity does not stop at royal drive. because we have an expanded workforce, at new equipment, and do not get to perform brilliantly only for our prime sponsors, but did to compete. we can now compete where we never could before with the small business enterprise. we have a job on the san francisco general hospital, a small job we won, but there are

many other new projects coming up in the city and in the bay area the will allow us an opportunity to compete at a different level. in closing, i would like to say for us the presidio parkway was a game changer. i think this is exactly what president obama and speaker pelosi wanted to have happened with the project. to cici myers, thanks for the opportunity to be a part of your team. to the city of san francisco, to caltrans, thank you from the bottom of my heart. thank you for understanding how critically important small and disadvantaged businesses are to the fabric of the great city, our state, and our nation.

we will do you proud on this project. you have my word on it. thank you. [applause] >> thank you, julie. we have no doubt that you will make a sprout on this project. so will the other contractors on this incredible project. let me promise you from the podium that for the next ground- breaking we will have hot chocolate for you. thank you all very much. [applause]

>> about four years ago, [inaudible] look at how beautiful this was. there is our relationship to the planet. these regions are the wealthiest, the most powerful. that really has impacted the planet. it is almost impossible now to go anywhere and had it really be

completely dark. there are very few locations that you can find. that means our relationship to the sky, there is a way where we dominate the sky. we cannot see anything really. we are blinding ourselves in a way. >> you can look at the images, they are beautiful. when i started four years ago, there was a conversation about

environmental issues that was very different. this is not being talked about in the way it is now. . this has just been like an amazing growth. i anticipate the project to be something that opens a dialogue to public interest in these ideas. so the work is really made to be seen in this environment. it's been show in museum, in gallery, but never in a public setting. and it's kind of ideal for both myself and the works to have this real dialogue with the public not only in san francisco but people coming from all over the world. >> since the dawn of electricity, that light is something that people feel connected to and inspired by.

personally, there is space to keep that alive, just finding balance. the key is to find some balance.