it at the cafes, park playground, people who do not always pay attention. in that $0.10, it was the best thing we could have done for city government, even though it was a little bit messy. it was a lot of fun and an eye opener. it got people interested again.

>> good evening, and welcome to the 31st annual mfac awards. [applause] hello, everyone. i am your mc tonight for the good government awards, and i'm so excited tonight. we have such great winners, exciting guests. first, i want to quickly acknowledge some of our fabulous officials in the house. we have supervisors chu, elsbernd, wiener, mar,

mirkarimi, chiu, former supervisor alioto-pier, our treasurer, the mayor's chief of staff, and our controller. let's give them a round of applause. [applause] the mfac awards have become sort of like the oscars of city hall, and you're going to have a great show tonight. before we get to that, i want to think -- take a quick moment to thank the folks that really make it possible. we go to a lot of events and see a lot of folks who sponsor these, and i can tell you it is amazing who is always the first folks to step up when it is time to support something really valuable. i want to take a few minutes to thank all the folks who made tonight possible, who are

providing an excellent open bar in the back and all the great food you are eating tonight. first, i want to thank jack, dick blum with blum capital, pg&e, the johnson company, and we have an anonymous donor, and i know pam brewster know something about that, so give her a big round of applause. those are our donors tonight. give them a round of applause. i also want to thank the academy of art university, bank of the west, clear channel, outdoor, who has put up all the winners. he might have seen your pictures on all the bus stops around city hall. i want to thank comcast, the fisher family, kpmg, pb, the business times, the san francisco forty-niners, recology, the san francisco

international airport. once again, a big round of applause to all our supporters. now, i would like to thank the person who makes all this possible, the executive director from spur. [applause] >> it is great to see all of you here, and that is really sweet of you to calm down for a minute on the talking. when the winners get up, seriously, everybody, try not to talk. it is intimidating to get in front of a crowd of people, and this room is so gorgeous, but you know, it is the acoustics. scott wiener, i'm talking to

you. [laughter] he is so tall, i can pick him out in a crowd. for those of you who do not know, spur is a member-supported non-profit organization. any of you who are not yet members, i hope you will join. we helped start mfac in the late 1970's. we took over management a few years ago, and this is a core part of our work to promote good government. we could not do it without all of you make this possible. any of you who are not members, please join, and you can help us provide the support to have an effective government. thank you for being here. we are working right now on a whole bunch of projects from what to do about sea level rise, getting muni the support it needs, what to do it redevelopment goes away, or maybe it went away today -- i

did not know. there is a lot of things happening in the city. thank you for your support of the good government aw call up e stage the chair of the 2011 good government awards, michael walker. [applause] >> good evening. i'm michael walker, president of u.s. bank of northern california, and it is my pleasure to serve as chair of the 31st annual mfac good government awards. u.s. bank is honored to support these terrific city leaders because they are doing work that makes san francisco a wonderful place to work. those of you devote your careers to public service developed -- deserve the gratitude from those who benefit from the work you do but often times do not get the

credit you so richly deserve. government works because people make it work. in this city alone, tens of thousands of dedicated public servants work every day to make sure we have functioning roads for commerce, great parts for our families, and strong safety nets for when we get sick or become unemployed. and they make sure that we do this using the taxpayers' money wisely. the individual and teams that we are honoring this evening are the backbone of our local government. our businesses, our families, and yes, our fund could not operate without the strong, healthy, and responsive government that these leaders provide. that is why we are here tonight to celebrate, and that is why u.s. bank is so proud to be associated with this event. now, it is my pleasure to introduce a person who personifies these awards and demonstrates what good

government is all about. ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the mayor of san francisco, mr. edwin lee. [applause] mayor lee: good evening. as you know, i usually do not read speeches, so i'm just going to talk of the top of my head, but also, really, from my heart. for 21 years, working in san francisco government, i have seen a lot of departments, worked in a few myself, and when these awards came, oftentimes, i kind of said to my cell that it would be need to get one of those awards. somebody will recognize the work that gets done here. as i went through years before

of these awards, i often thought maybe during these first few years that -- is it about a new program? are we recognizing new programs? is it all about maybe people getting out of the way so that the new program can get recognized? maybe that is what it is all about. over the years, it has been more difficult to get news programs started and more about how we reshape government and make it better from within. that is what i have been trying to do for some years. and i know that the awardees tonight are not so much about new programs. they are about retooling and about making government more efficient and better, so that it was not any longer about making people move out and get away so that you could shine as a

department head or a division manager or program leader. it is more about how you got other people involved in what you are doing, about how an idea and how a better idea can get more people to rally around it and move on their roles in implementing a better government. that is why i have been increasing this program for so many years and -- embracing this program for so many years and really thanks for for the effort you have put into it. -- really thank spur for the efforts you have put into it. i want to thank michael for introducing me but also for agreeing -- for being a great sponsor. and for chris, for sponsoring this event of being a big sponsor of this effort for many years. i also want to thank all the departments i have had a chance to work with because it is from all of your efforts and encouragement and particularly

the department heads and managers -- you know, tonight, you do not have someone that is elected. you have someone from the inside. i want to thank all of you because you have been supportive of it, embraced these great ideas, and allow your managers to shine and support them when they have new ideas. whether it is an idea that has to corral a lot of people and get them to prioritize what they're capital planning is all about -- what their capital planning is all about, it is really hard to do to focus on what the priorities are for the managers of the city. on -- or whether it is teaching a new immigrant or a new people water the diseases we have and how we can prevent them and how

we can speak in a multitude of languages so that our city can have a better approach to preventing diseases. it will be about how some of the greatest assets in our open spaces can be used by everybody through a reservation system or kermit's. it will be about how you find new revenue and manage those assets at our airport, or how you can look people in the eye and say, open " i can help you develop a job skill and get jobs for you now." every one of these projects tonight -- they are not so new as it is about the leadership that these individuals and teams have created. not move people out of the way for their recognition, but brought a lot of people back in and moved them in a better direction, moved them to be more efficient. that is why i embrace these

awards tonight, and it is with support of departments, with support of all of the elected officials here tonight, as well as others, and it is the partnership we have with spur that we had the opportunity to recognize this effort, so please, tonight, join me in recognizing all the honorees, recognizing what they do for us tonight, but also to remember they are not doing so much as something brand new -- they are fulfilling promises that we have made for many years. that we improved as time goes on. that we make things better for everybody's lives. in each one of these areas, we have made lives better, improve the life for all of our citizens. i thank you all for being here tonight. thank you. [applause] >> please welcome to capital planning program team -- please welcome the capital planning

program team. having been nominated by the then city administrator, mayor edwin lee. also been honored, the acting city administrator, amy brown. [applause] >> i will just say a couple of very quick words. thank you very much to spur and everyone for this recognition. we really appreciate it. we really do spend a lot of time behind our desks, but every so once and awhile, we get out to the new library, the hospital, and some of the wonderful assets the city has. i would like to echo what the mayor was saying about collaboration. we have to say no to a lot of

people who need or want more investments in the facilities that they manage. we also have to your note from lots of other people who we request from. -- we also have to hear no from lots of other people. through that, we still have to work together and put together something that we are proud of and that the city can be proud of. we hope that assets like this wonderful room we are in are going to have a really long life and support the great culture and the great things that make us so proud of being part of this city. thank you. [applause]

>> please welcome dana ketchum, having been nominated by phil ginsburg. >> hello, everyone. i want to thank you for this honor. i want to follow a little bit of what the mayor said. all of you can make a difference. do not look at a problem and say that it is too complex or to political to create improvement. for years, managers throw up their hands when faced with changing permits and reservations. finally, a goal was set to organize, treat everyone fairly and consistently, and become more transparent. there were two key factors that allowed these changes to be made. first, we analyze and collected the facts and made a plan.

you need to do the work to dig deep into the problem. yes, you have to dig into the leaves, not just the big picture sometimes. that takes time, but it is essential. second, to implement change, you need support from others. second, there are others that benefit greatly from the new and old system. as they work through these changes, our department head and commission stood beside us, armed with our work and analysis. they were not swayed when confronted by the public. similarly, all the members of the board of supervisors and the mayor's office ask questions but supported our efforts. i want to thank all of you. it was essential. you can make changes. i urge all of you to look for ways to do it. i am going to continue to try. thank you.

[applause] >> please welcome cheryl, having been nominated by john martin, head of the san francisco international airport. [applause] >> i'm surprised and deeply appreciative of receiving this award. john martin is a visionary leader. when i tell about him, i say that he is amazing and the

smartest man in the room. likewise, my boss. i appreciate working for people who are highly intelligent and a challenge me. san francisco international airport is a dynamic and complex operation, to continually tried to meet the challenges of the job. my staff works hard for me. i'm humbled to be their leader and try hard to do a good job for them. my one regret is not enough hours in the day. i have to force myself to go home at the end of the day because i have a family waiting for me. on a happier note, i have a job that allows me to ponder how i like to shop and what i like to eat. and what other people might like to eat at the airport, and i get to go out into this great city and look for new concepts that will perform well for us. my impression of san francisco as a relative newcomer is that it is a city that strives for,

foster's innovation, creativity, and excellence. it feels like a place of great hope to me, a place of high ideals, a place of confidence. i believe or i know that we at the airport have very high standards set by our leadership, the city's leadership, but i think also set by the spirit of this city. i drive over the hill, we call it, every night along the coast, and i still cannot believe that i get to live and work here. john and leo had given me a lot of freedom to be more creative, and for that, i'm thankful. my husband and children have given me a lot of freedom to spend time at work and thinking about work and talking about work, and for that, i'm thankful. i could not do it without my dear husband who takes care of our daughter, the most important job in the world to me, and for my children being patient with the time i am away from them.

thank you for recognizing sfo, a great airport, for recognizing me, and congratulations to all the nominees and recipients. [applause] [applause] >> i do not know about you, but i feel a lot safer knowing that dr. ferniak is working for san francisco. honored by barbara garcia of the department of health. [applause] >> thank you very much.

you know, the video release says it all. we live in an amazing place, and if you think back to the spring of 2009 when other hospitals in the bay area had to put up special tents because people were panicked about h1n1, and in san francisco, we had a really calm population, all the way from the mayor to the board of supervisors to the department head to the general population, and it is because of all the work we have done in preparation. all of the city departments have been working on this planning for a couple of years before h1n1 came. the city departments and within our own staff, we just had amazing -- we all came together around h1n1, and we did a really fabulous job as a city, so i think everyone deserves great things for how we handled h1n1. i also want to give thanks for

my daughter and my husband. a lot of late nights i worked and phone calls during dinner and i want to thank them for their support. thanks to all of you, and we are a really great city, and we are ready for our next unknown disease. [applause] >> [inaudible] management team. having been nominated by trent rohr, head of the human services agency. [applause]

>> thank you. i guess i have been in the work force development team for 43 years, and it has taken me that long to get to the oscars. [laughter] thanks to my fellow managers, i would like to say that in these 42 years, this has been the most successful collaborative effort that i have ever participated on. our director tim w. years ago made a presentation where he said what san francisco needs is a subsidized employment program, where here we are. 4227 families were put to work.

over $60 million was brought into the city. [applause] we could not have done this without support from the entire city and the business sector. this collaborative included personnel, contracts, all different levels of management, the chamber of commerce, private business, and, of course, the job seekers. thank you very much. it is an honor for us. [applause]

[applause] demo what a wonderful group of award winners of the 2011 good government award. we heart city government. thank you all for being here. stay as long as you want, and be sure to come up and congratulate the winners. thank you. the biggest issue in america today?

segregation still exists... racism... the repression and oppression of women the educational system stem cell research homeless people cloning government health care taxation announcer: so, is there anything you're doing to help make a change? i'm not really doin' anything. ummmm [sighs] got me on that one...

>> welcome. we are here doing our building san francisco tour. we're going to have a very interesting tour of elevators in sanford cisco. we have all gotten into an elevator, the doors have closed, and it has carried us to our destination. have you ever wondered how elevators were -- work? we check out the need outside the elevator using current technology and we learn about the latest destination elevated technology all here in san francisco. we will also visit the machinery where all the behind- the-scenes gears control these incredible machines. incredible machines. we are very fortunate today