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 patients, like george dalbert, and ourwe e

most recognized health care workers a round. most people around the world who do hiv care know about the hiv programs at san francisco general. i want to take a second to bring in a few other unsung heroes of the hiv epidemic in san francisco. how about the staff at the laguna honda a chevy program -- hiv program? since 1987, they have been taking care of the sickest and most challenging patients here in san francisco could they're now in the beautiful new laguna honda hospital, brought to you by the city taxpayers of san francisco, and providing state of the art, excellent care. or how about all the volunteers who staff our needle exchange programs on our street corners, ok? [applause] and so many others here today.

you know who you are, and you know what you did. because this is world aids day, how about bringing in some of our international unsung heroes? how about all the people living with hiv are around the world who, through their work, are advocates and the backbone of delivering health care to the 33 million people living with hiv? [applause] this 30th anniversary marks years of advances and hard work that all of you here contributed to and often felt like two steps forward, one step backward. today, 20% of people in the u.s. do not know that their h.i.v.- infected. so many people are not in care or treatment, and these statistics rc die and racial and regional disparities. if i was sitting here today, not as a 59-year-old grandmother,

aged nurse with a bad back -- [laughter] but as an 18-year-old african- american gay man living in san francisco in 2011, some would say that my lifetime risk of becoming h.i.v.-infected would be somewhere in the order of 60% to 80%. before i reach the age of 60. in san francisco in 2011. so, on world aids day, what is within reach? how about new models of prevention so he may never become h.i.v.-infected? models that i understand that everything in his risks have to do with the interplay of homophobia, racism, sexism, and poverty -- how about that? [cheers and applause] and if we fail him and he does become h.i.v.-infected, will he

find out immediately before his immune system is wrecked? because in san francisco, we have universal testing and universal access to health care. he will never have to progress to having aids. he will have access to education about his illness and new and better-tolerated, potent medications that will keep the virus at bay and keep them from transmitting the virus to others. because in san francisco we have universal treatment. [applause] he will be able to follow his dream to get an education, to have a family, to have children that are free of hiv and to contribute to his community. and through the tireless work of dedicated and brilliant researchers, some of whom are in this room today, he will live to see a vaccine and a year for hiv. so all of this is within his

reach and within our reach today, because our political and legislative leaders, today, will continue to have the courage and the wisdom to know that now was not the time to turn away from providing necessary resources and funding to make it his reality and make it their reality all around the world. if we can pull this off, and surely we can, that will truly be something to sing about. so, on behalf of my colleagues from san francisco general hospital's hiv program, passed and present, i wanted in my 12- year-old friend, and to the national aids memorial grove, for this award. [cheers and applause]

>> good afternoon. i am the co-chair of the world's date -- world's -- culture of the world aids day event this year again. it is amazing to see this crap. i want to read a letter from the president. i sent greetings to all -- it is amazing to see this crowd. 30 years after they debated -- epidemic began in america, we remain vigilant. the we have made great strides in this battle, we continue to lose far too many of our loved ones to hiv and aids but it is devastating disease touches people of all backgrounds, and we must remain united in our resolve to work on this. my administration is committed to making america a place where

new hiv infections are rare, and when they do occur, everybody has access to high-quality, life-extending care. by working to decrease in new infections in high-risk communities, improving care for people living with the disease, and reducing health disparities, we're living -- moving toward a world free from aids. in memory of those we have lost an unsupported those living with hiv or aids, we're committed to ending this pandemic and look to the promise of a brighter future. signed, president barack obama. [applause] >> and i have the distinct honor of actually awarding our 2011 national leadership recognition award to president william jefferson clinton, who obviously is not here today, but who did send a video. this is the video -- award for president clinton. if we could roll the video from the president. >> thank you for the honor of the national aids memorial

grove's 2011 leadership recognition award. today we commemorate the 30th anniversary of the first diagnosed case of aids. and the 20 anniversary of the founding of the grove. it is hard to believe three decades has passed since the very first cases of aids were reported to the cdc. in san francisco, when few others were taking notice, a small group of dedicated individuals responded to aids before anyone else. from the severed, the san francisco model of care and treatment of aids was born. 10 years later, another group of individuals created a place where people together to express their collective grief for a living memorial. today we know this place simply as the growth of for 20 years now, and every third saturday, volunteers have come to the growth to pay tribute to volunteers. the work continues with the printer but didn't today of the

restored 100-year-old victorian waterfall. to date -- the pain our nation has felt from the aids epidemic is present. i find the bill that would forever designate the robust this country's official in tomorrow. it was a widow (never forget the want -- the loved ones we lost in that we continue to honor their legacy by caring for the sick and committing to sell the crisis. those are glad that i was able to make and my administration was able to make positive efforts to combat the epidemic and grateful that i have been able to continue this work for my foundation. i am also very grateful for all of you here. many of you have led these efforts since the very beginning. your commitment has been nothing short of heroic, and i thank each and everyone of you for your continued work and your continued commitment, not only here at the growth, but in this long battle we continue to fight against aids. we're going to win it, you know, sooner or later.

in the meanwhile, every single day more people are living and living well because of the things you have done. thank you for that, and god bless you. [applause] >> it is december 1 every year that reminds me why i have remained a member of the board of directors of this glorious place and this wonderful organization for 12 years. i am marsha rolston, and it is my honor not to move us from the very right full-time of looking back to honor and memorialized those who we have lost and those

who continue to suffer. to the portion of our program that looks forward with hope and excitement about the future. and though i will lead us to do that today, it is a particularly hard task for me. because marg and i lost a very precious and young person this year in a tragic accident. she was the light of our lives and the closest thing, i suspect, that we will ever have to a daughter. i must tell you that i have spent the last seven months looking back, but i am ready to do something different. and i hope you will move with me today to looking forward.

we are honoring four wonderful youth and scholars in our youth program today. if we are to keep this amazing memorial alive into the future, we must energize the next generation to understand the ways that hiv/aids in such a living memorial as this does indeed touched their lives, too. this is the third year of our scholarship program, and it continues to grow. it has become truly national with submissions of not only from across california by from as far away as hawaii, indiana, and new york. we are especially proud it this year that one of our former winners who is currently attending nyu acted as one of our judges on our panel of decision makers.

the program is intended to benefit the scholars, and it is also intended to remind -- we, the current custodians of this irreplaceable memorial, that we must communicate to our young people the ideals and responsibilities that they must take up when we are no longer able. hiv/aids rages on. and there is as relevant a need today to stop its tragic spread as there ever was. this year, we are awarding three individual $1,000 scholarships and one two-year $2,000 scholarship. we are pleased to be a lot to off -- offer this new extended award scholarships to acknowledge the need to provide

ongoing support to a student, so that they can not only start their education but finish their degrees. we also want to acknowledge the families of our winners today and how important they are to each of these wonderful young people. particularly, we have one of our winners whose family brought her all the way up from long beach, california, so thank you so much for that. [applause] and now, i would like to introduce our youth representative on the 2011 world aids day committee. >> thank you, marsha. hello, my name is lee said. i attend mission high school, a sophomore. i am the is the representative for the aids memorial grove. i am very honored to be here. i will be reading a portion of

our first scholarship winner's essay. hi, i am junior at frankfurt high school in frankfurt, indiana. my goal is to go to indiana university in bloomington and enter medicine. i want to help patients who do not have medical insurance. i would like to thank the national aids memorial grove for helping me to make that possible. in my essay, i wrote about how hiv/aids residence with me because they prevalent prob coma teenage girls get pregnant and arid risk of hiv/aids, since they do not use protection but also, teenagers in the community are not aware of the dangers of not knowing about their hiv status. many people can be safe and supported it they know their status. i hope more support groups become available in my area, because there are many who need education and support. i am currently working with my

school to organize a health fair to inform people about hiv. i would also like there to be hiv testing available said teenagers can know their status. thank you. and now, those are very proud to introduce mary martinez, our second winner from mission high school in san francisco. [applause] >> hello, i am a senior from mission high school here in san francisco. i expressed that last mother i took the test to graduate from mission high school. in this class, we learned about and hiv/aids. i was stunned when they did not talk about -- and they said it could be prevented from just using a condom. all schools should have a

required class in regards to the special hiv/aids. i find it a logical that my high school does not have a class that provides this information. i want to think the national aids memorial grove for helping me become the first time my family to attend the university and providing new it greater awareness about how i am affected by hiv and aids. this scholarship will help me pay tuition, because i am not eligible for financial aid as an immigrant from guatemala. thank you. [applause] >> i would now like to introduce nancy rodriguez, our third winner, from long beach, california. [applause] >> hello, good morning,

everyone. is it a senior in high school in long beach, california. in my essay, i wrote that i connect with the memorial grove because my mother's friend was contracted with hiv. when she found out she was hiv- positive, she was shocked. she never expected to have hiv, because she was married and did nothing she was at risk. it is inspiring how she is using her experience. she educates women in mexico about hiv and aids. and how to prevent the transmission of the virus. the way she helps others is similar to the national aids memorial growth. by providing support to people with hiv and aids. i have seen that people with hiv sometimes feel rejected, and lonely, and hopeless.

like the national aids memorial grove, she nurtures people touched by aids through love and hope. i would like to add a the national aids memorial grove for helping me to be the first and my family to attend university. i am to become a lawyer in human rights, because my parents and i are immigrants, i do not qualify for federal aid and honors, nor can my parents afford tuition. thank you very much. have a good day. thank you. [applause] >> before i introduce our fourth winner, and want to let knowledge that three of our winners this year will be the first in their families to attend university. [applause] our final winner of our new two-

year scholarship award is stephanie zolaya from san francisco. [applause] >> ok, hello. i currently in 10 lowell high school in san francisco as a senior. i wrote that before us -- taking health class at school, i would not have been able to describe what hiv and aids are. i would not have had the slightest clue that hiv and aids can be transferred through sharing needles. this shows that people can be really clueless about how hiv and aids are contracted in transmitted without proper information. i remember reading "and the band played on" for school. it focuses on communities that were hit hardest by hiv and aids. they began begging the government to fund research and to provide social services for those dying of aids. this a book many realize how

serious hiv and aids czar. and relates to those struggling with hiv and aids. health class is at my school made me aware of the potential dangers and the means of preventing transmission. i would like to thank the national aids memorial grove for helping to achieve my dream of attending college. since those are also an immigrant from el salvador, i do not qualify for federal or state aid. this scholarship will also assist me to be the first one in my family to it did college. thank you for making this program possible. [cheers and applause]

[applause] >> that is our future. [cheers and applause] thank you. my name is tomjenson.