the city struggled, but the growth came along, -- the grove came along, and it helped many of us in this room heal. i am proud to be a part of this organization and happy to see so many of your faces today. we welcome the reverend glenda hope. [applause] >> i invite you now to close your eyes and if you pray, call upon the holy by whatever one

you call. hold these thoughts in your heart. eternal god we gather in your presence in grief and in mourning. so many we love have died of this dreadful disease, and we pray for your comfort and for your healing. we gather in your presence knowing that so many more even now suffer from this, and many more will in days to come. we pray for their strength and their healing, and we pray for your love as we stand with them. we gather in your presence in honest rage. too many people with power and influence turn our riches to greed and destruction rather than to life and to healing. forgive our silence, our

discouragement, our divisions, our inaction in the face of injustice. renew our vision. renew our wills. we new our strength, to do the work of justice in healing and compassion in san francisco, in our nation and throughout the world. to that day, we believe will come an end to such untimely deaths. we new our commitment in your many names we pray, and we all say amen. i am an old baptist. i am a presbyterian now. in your many names we pray. amen. thank you. [applause]

>> welcome. this morning has been a very moving morning for me. after a gathering last night and coming this morning, last night i made it through without any tears, and this morning has been filled with pretty much all tears. it is amazing to think that 30 years ago many of us in this room, in this community, across the country and around the world had no idea what was coming our way, that the tsunami that was about to hit would not only take lives, but would change lives. as i have come to learn, it is the perseverance that keeps individuals going and keeps communities going. action takes many different forms. some individuals take individual action by themselves. others form groups and take

group action. but the common thread among all the action is to better the community, to right a wrong, to stop an injustice. and unfortunately, h.i.v. and aids needed action on all those fronts. we are joined here today by members of san francisco general hospital, 5-a, 5-b and 8 of. i was moved to see all of them in the circle. 20 years ago, 10 years into it, and over 10,000 lost in this community, some individuals decided to take action. they decided to not stay in the dark, but instead to forge a path toward the light. and they gathered in solidarity to merely plant the seeds of life in honor of those lives that were not with us any

longer. and just like 30 years ago, we had no idea what was coming, so, too, the individuals that came into this space 20 years ago had no idea what they were going to create. because what has been created here is sustaining for all-time. a memorial is a marker in history to tell future generations about what occurred . the interesting thing about this marker and this memorial, unlike others, is that we are still losing far too many from h.i.v. and aids. most all memorials are created avalos is done, after concluded, perhaps years. the other interesting about this memorial is that we have created a space for people to come and heal that was created by individuals out of action. and it was a relationship that was formed between individuals

and the city of san francisco. because again, this space was given to the community. it was given to a group that had not even formally forged itself. that shows that 20 years ago, there was commitment at all levels, and there continues to be. so where are we today. we are here today to recommit ourselves. we must realize that the fight is not over. every hour on the hour, the equivalent of a jumbo jet crashes, losing all of the passengers to aids. the fight is not over. we must continue to console, to support and to nurture each other. today we will be honored to hear from and to pay tribute to those that were in the fight 20, 25 and 30 years ago that so

selflessly took a step forward. we will also hear from the next generation. because again, many of us have been in the trenches for 25 or 30 years. the fight is not over. and it is the next generation that has got to continue to take action, to get involved, to improve and to better not only the community, but the lives of the individuals that make it up. we will also today continue in the restorative effort in this space, not only restoring the life, hope and passion of those that come here, that work here and that are remembered here, but also of the physical space. because today we will complete a project that has been in the works for the better part of the last 12 months, and we will again turn the healing properties of water to the grove. the falls that will be restored

today were built over 110 years. we are honored to have with us, connie, one of the family members, who also so furiously advocated for the city to give us this space. so i hope all of you today will remember back who we have lost, but also remember where we have come to. because that is what it is about. we need to continue to move forward. >> i would like to introduce the senior haven't of wells fargo bank. the relationship this memorial has with wells fargo bank goes back many years. this event today would not have been possible without the support of wells fargo bank. wells fargo has shown a commitment not only to the

national aids memorial grove and many other h.i.v. and non-profits, but also to the community as a whole. wells fargo bank, year in and year out, is a leader in philanthropic agencies and individuals in need. help me in welcoming to the stage, martin. [applause] >> thank you, john. good morning. i am with wells fargo community bank, and i am very pleased to be with you here today. on behalf of our team members in the san francisco bay area, wells fargo is proud for the eighth consecutive year to be the lead sponsor for this world aids day effort. our lives are not measured by the number of years or days we

exist, but by what we accomplish while we live. and the good we make render. these words, spoken in 1875 by one of our company founders, -- co-founders, henry wells, are as pertinent today as they were there. as wells fargo we believe it is our responsibility to promote the long-term economic viability of our communities and enhance the quality of life of our community members. if our communities prosper, so do we as a company. we have forged a long history of supporting aids awareness, research and care. it was a little more than 100 years after henry wells' comments that wells fargo made its first grant to support aids-related causes in the late 1980's. in the past decade, we have donated $18 million to

aids-related causes. [applause] >> it is our track record of giving and community support which we are most proud of at wells fargo. and it gives me a great deal of personal satisfaction to know that i work for a company that is an integral part of the bay area's past, its present, and its future. those of us here today, those of us here in spirit, and people throughout the world who have been affected by h.i.v. and aids, take a moment and pause today. virtually everyone has lost someone, knows a colleague or has a friend who has lost someone. today i remember my first friend, steven landman. i lost him to aids more than 20

years ago. steven i met when i moved to new york. i had just come out, and he was the first gay friend i made. he was beautiful, so beautiful. he had the face of a runway model and the body of adonis to match. we joked and said he had the smile of pearl drop teeth as bright as farrah fawcett's. he introduced me to yoga. he introduced me to medication, and he introduced me to some very, very late nights in the east village, it you know way mean. a couple of years later, things changed. steven was ill, hospitalized at st. vincent's, and a number of times there and back again.

finally his body succumbed to this unforgiving disease. so i celebrate steven and many others. may he rest in peace. let's take a moment to acknowledge the trail blazers who have led the way to confront the aids pandemic. leaders such as open hands, bruce brinker, barbara, congresswoman nancy pelosi, senator diane feinstein. and let me take a moment to thank wells fargo's own mario diaz. [applause] tom jensen, and him hanlin. [applause] >> for encouraging wells fargo

to do what's right. and of course all the volunteers who make a difference every day on aids walks, aids hotlines, delivering meals or working here in the grove. i could go on and on. but let me leave you with this. as henry wells said, we have accomplished much, as we do render good. perhaps in the not too distant future we can return here to the national aids memorial grove. we can return to this very spot and celebrate all that we did to stop h.i.v. and aids and celebrate a cure. we are not alone amidst these trees and in the warm embrace of this grove, together we

have, we can, and we are making a difference. it's a pleasure to be here. thank you. [applause] >> thank you, martin. as i conveyed in my remarks a few minutes ago, were it not for the courageous leadership and the risk-taking ability of the community that we live in, the city and county of san francisco, not only would we not have this space, but we would not have perhaps a national memorial to h.i.v. and aids. it's a unique relationship that was forged here 20 years ago. unlike almost any other in this country, but looked to on an on going basis as an example. for this is a public-private partnership. you as a community has a

99-year lesion this space. we as an organization take no money from the city. we support all the compensation of our gardner, and we have a beautiful relationship with the san francisco recreation and parks department, and more specifically phil ginsberg. we have been blessed here in this space over the years to welcome such mayors as art, who broke ground 20 years ago, willie brown, frank jordan, gavin newsom. and today we are again blessed to welcome to the stage a true leader in social activism and support, who has always looked out for those in need of the marginalized community, the mayor of the city of san francisco, mayor ed lee. [applause] >> thank you, john.

thank you very much, and thank you to all of you who are here today. i wanted to personally be here to join in this national recognition for several reasons . one, you must know that art agnos was the first mayor who enticed me to stop throwing stones at city hall and come and work from within. he tricked me. [laughter] 22 years later, though, i know this is one of the greatest cities in the world. and your presence here continues to reaffirm how strong our city is with all of its residents and supporters. the public-private partnership, relationship with institutions like wells fargo, and they are dedication to this memorial to people who died and were victims of the zoo disease, and to people who still live with the disease, and the commitment

that one of these days we together will end this disastrous disease together. together. [applause] i'm here also in very deep appreciation for our public health department. i work with them closely, as you know. whether it is emergencies and things that happen at general hospital -- but i know this very well. that office when it started opening up its research, its epidemiology unity and aids prevention unit, they made a long-term commitment to join all of us to make sure our local government did everything it could, to use every penny, whether state, federal or local, to mike sure we did the right did not make sure we did the right things that built on your demand, that they be community-based solutions to end the disease. and to make sure we didn't

discriminate against folks who actually had to live with this disease. i commit to you as mayor of this city, i will continue doing. that i will continue fighting with our state and our national leadership to make sure the ryan white care bill is funded, that the programs are there, and that we do things right to end this disease. [applause] i didn't come here to tell you the history that you already know. what you want to and need to hear from me is my personal commitment to join all of you here, and to join the 18,000 people who for the last two decades spent time to create this memorial, to dedicate their lives. i lost a lot of friends myself, and i know that it means a lot to lose a family member, a friend, to this deadly disease.

and therefore, this commitment is true and real. it will be reflected in all the budgets that i am in charge of. i will make sure that our department of public health, as well as the rec and parks department, that we all join together and renew our commitments on an annual basis, that we see every single day that we honor the people who passed away from this disease, though who helped them and tried to help them, we honor their efforts. and we honor all the people who are committed to make this a nationally recognized memorial. >> i want to also thank president clinton and his leadership on this. every time i see that gentleman, i am going to continue thinking him for all

-- thanking him for all of us. again, i look forward to joining all of you in ending this disease. and with that, if i may, john, to ask you to receive this proclamation to declare this to be world aids day in san francisco. thank you very much. [applause] >> good morning, everybody. welcome to the grove. my name is marsy frareds. it is my privilege to present the 2011 unsung hero award. as a board member, we start sweating the weather about september.

what is it going to be like? we are so blessed. it is such a beautiful day. i hope you will enjoy the grove when this is over if you have time. we have a good insurance policy with the bishop and the reverend. we are so glad they are here with us. i am so overwhelmed with how many people are here. it just couldn't be better. for those of you who don't know, the grove has been hosting world aids day since 1994. in 1998 the first award was given for a local hero in the epidemic, and that was given to someone a lot of us worked with at san francisco general. that was irene smith. she worked with a lot of our patients. now the award is called the unsung hero award, and it is the first time it is presented to a group of people. because of the magical constellation in sfrabs, and i don't believe any of this could

have happened in any other city. the people who came to work at san francisco general created what would become a national model in h.i.v./aids care. today we honor the staff members of ward a-5, a-b and 86, all located at san francisco general hospital and trauma center. our honor's were the first people to respond to the epidemic in the 1980's. they came to work despite a poor understanding of any risk, of the lack of any real treatment or even a name for the deadly playing that was killing our friends. i'm so happy that a lot of the people still working at the ward are here also. our honorees stood close together, and in doing so, we held each other up. they are nurses, social

workers, ward clerks, maintenance people, counselors, administrative staff, lab workers, farn sixths, and if i forgot anybody, you, too. they are here with us today. you will notice all of them. they are wearing these pins designed by spike, who designed our program and pins. please notice that only the honorees are winning the pins. our stories of the epidemic are packed with people who performed deeds great and small, who wouldn't have been in any other place. their names don't crop up on any ordinary internet search. they are truly unsung. today we will have the amazing bishop yvette, who will sing for all of us. we had an opportunity to order

some quilt panels from the memorial quilt. we put in a bunch of names, and we didn't know who would be here. one of the very first staff members of ward 5-b, george, is here. those of you who knew george and worked with him, his picture is here. i want to thank those who helped track down our people. a lot of dedicated work on alison's part. i want to put a shout out to gino, sue, brad, and diane for pg&e -- for being here and still doing the work. thank you all. [applause] i started on ward 5-b as a nurse. i was about 12 years old in

1983. [laughter] >> don jones, who was 13 at the time, was there and one of the people who trained me. or at least she shrinks she does. she has worked in the epidemic since that time and is an important part of aids care and training in san francisco and several african countries. it is my pleasure to introduce dione jones, who will accept the unsung heroes award on behalf of all the honorees. [cheers and applause]

>> wow. this is kind of amazing. so we human beings seem to, since the beginning of time, have a thing about creating sacred spaces like this grove. it is one of the things that makes us most human. so what i would like to do before i just make a couple of comments is to have everybody who worked, trained at san francisco general's h.i.v. program, stand up. [applause]

so when i look at all of you here and reflect back on this road that we have traveled since we started this program at san francisco general in 1983, i don't see so much individual acts of heroism, but people who demanded and then were given the opportunity and the resources to do as has been said earlier, the right thing through the power of collective action. together with our san francisco city mothers and fathers, the leadership of the health department at san francisco general, some of whom are here today, ucsf, and most importantly, our alliance with our patients, including those of us who became our