the community should be proud and acknowledged for its role in paving the way for jan and for me and hundreds of others to be working in newsrooms across the city. it took activism by chinese for affirmative action and other organizations in the early 1970's to get apa's hired into radio and television stations. ever since it turned out to be more than just the right thing to you. it has improved the quality of journalism and the quality of coverage for the audiences we serve. today, we have apa's in all aspects of this production and decision making, and it all started because of you. on behalf of all of us who get to tell these great stories day in and day out, thank you for recognizing the importance of what we do, and we are all very grateful for your recognition tonight. thank you. [applause]

>> thank you. each of the winners of this evening in addition to the trophies and many proclamations from officials and each receiving two round-trip tickets contributed by southwest airlines. we want to thank southwest and hope you all have a good trip. [applause] and somehow, this guy never got introduced. i want to thank the members of the committee for doing excellent work, making sure the nomination opportunities are out in the community. i want to thank the chair of our awards committee, and the co- chair of our words committee, and all the volunteers helping out this year. thank you very much. [applause] for many of you that have been with us for a one-year, two years, three years, up to seven years, you know that there is

always a celebration -- there's somebody always at these celebrations. we are really fortunate that every year, former mayor brown has always taken time out of his schedule to be with us. he has been such a part of our asian pacific american community, and thank you. [applause] >> let me simply congratulate the committee and the people who sponsored this. started seven years ago, as indicated by claudine. for me, it is one of the most events every year. in pencil it out just as it is my birthday. i am here to celebrate with you, and i congratulate all of

the honorees and awardees on this very special occasion. happy asia-pacific american week. thank you. [applause] >> and i heard the supervisor kim has joined us. thank you for being here. >> i look at david and jan and i would not be here if it were not for them. you have heard the professional side of it. 20 years ago, i was a very young reporter in montgomery, alabama, and our -- they decided, they

had come out to san francisco and decided that they needed someone that looked just like her, and i was the only one in the newsroom in montgomery, alabama that look like her. do you know they forced me to do this show, and that started me on my road to coming out to san francisco and the bay area to live and work here and become part of the community. i thank jan for that. i had no idea who she was, but that is how i got my start in the coming out to california. on a quick personal note, 10 years ago, she says she works out, but she really just kind of talk to people on the machine at certification, asked a fellow should in london, and she said she had a single friend she got really needed a date. i was really busy. i had a new job.

we end up going out, and we have been married 10 years now. never say never. some george died. [applause] -- some george guy. she does not work out. she just talked to people. >> it is all true. is she doing a great job? she is just lovely. and one quick personal notes, do you know he is a million-mile flyer on united airlines? i did not say mile high club. i said million mile fire. he is going for his second million miles. he is quite the traveler. 1.4 million miles. just a little interesting tidbits. again, they are community. that is why it is so wonderful to be part of this community.

congratulations to them and congratulations to all of tonight's award recipients. let's give them a big round of applause. [applause] very important to work in contributions on behalf of the community. and for inspiring us to be better citizens and activists. and a special thanks and recognition to tobin for overseeing the awards committee and to all the committee members for their time and hard work. out come the best part of all. we have been waiting for this fabulous reception in the greenroom, being catered by chefs and their restaurants to offer the best asian-pacific cuisine in the bay area. without this support, this event would not be such a success. at this time, please welcome them. great restaurants, although you are going to see for yourself.

>> how is it going, everybody? who is hungry now? better yet, who wants free food? anyway, i just want to say, i'm from the san francisco street grid, and i'm speaking here representing all the chefs tonight. peter makes delicious dim sum. and thomas, with great singapore food. we just want to thank you so much for letting us be part of this awards show. and we are so proud to be here. after the show, please come upstairs, do the green room, and had a taste of all the delicious foods that are up here. i don't have a restaurant, but

in a street food vendor. come visit me, and i will definitely took you up with a discount. anyway, thank you so much, and we look forward to seeing you guys. and i thank you. we also want to give a special thanks to the coordinator of tonight's events. and at the conclusion of tonight's program, everybody is invited to the reception. make sure you get a ticket from the ashes at the door because you will need the ticket to get in to get that great food and the reception in the greenroom. you will notice on the ticket, there are eight great -- plant boxes on the back, and they will mark each station. you need to visit all of the food stations, and once your

ticket is mark, you can take it to a raffle, drop it in the bowl to with a gift certificate from one of the participating restaurants, and the winner of the raffle will be notified by phone or e-mail. remember, doors to the green room not going to open. we still have a little bit more of our ceremony here, so stay and enjoy the grand finale. now, i would like to turn the program over to rose, who has overseen the finale of this event since 2008. she also coordinates the decision america pageant coordinates all of tonight's multi-cultural performances as well. [applause] >> thank you very much. each year, it is our pleasure to invite friends of the community to showcase their heritage. everyone, please, for this year, joined in the segment with your party applauds, sing along, or just get up and dance, okay? we want to have a lot of enthusiasm because we have so much to celebrate.

ladies and gentlemen, the 2011 cultural procession. [applause] ♪

[applause] >> hello. thank you everyone. how you guys doing? we have one last song for you guys tonight. it is called "dancing in the streets" so i expect all of you to get up and dance, all right? hello, mayor. including you as well. [laughter] all right. i'm not seeing anyone get out yet. hmm. anyone want to get up? i'm going to come down.

♪

>> thank you so much. thank you guys for participating. have a great time. thank you so much. thank you, everyone.

[inaudible] thank you. great finality, and thank you. what a wonderful way to end this fabulous celebration. and you know what? it does not end here. you can view the entire ceremony and program on sfgtv channel 26 as well as the apa heritage month's website. check out asian week's 7 annual street fair saturday the 21st in the street center. little saigon. glass of wine, arts and crafts. on behalf of the apa heritage celebration committee, congratulations to all our recipients this evening, thank you for taking part. thank you to the volunteers of the planning committee, supporting organizations, and last but not least, the sponsors who made this celebration possible. great troubles, everyone. see you next year.

-- great tavels, -- great travels, everyone. see you next year.

>> the supervisor is running just a little bit late. she should be here shortly. we do have with us this afternoon mohammed nuru, director of d.p.w. mohammed, where are you? [applause] mohammed is going to have to rush out, but he wants to say welcome and thank you. >> good afternoon, everyone. and thank you for inviting the department of public works over here to talk about our contract processes. we are part of the city family