>> san @@to the fifth annual

awards here at san francisco city hall. thank you all so much for joining us here tonight. it is an honor to be here. my name is daniel homsby and i am the program manager for the neighborhood department networks. an honor to see you here. many of the same faces for the fifth year for the men awards. let's give you an a plays for coming back. (applause) >> and celebrating one of the most important things we have in san francisco, which is our neighborhoods. without further ado, i'd like to start the program off by introducing my colleague, christina palone, the new

director for the mayor's office for neighborhoods. christina palone. (applause) >> good evening, everyone. i'm happy to be a part of such a great ebit that celebrates the contributions made by residents and organizations throughout the city to make san francisco one of the greatest places to live. the mayor's office of neighborhood services also known as mons focuses on neighborhood outreach and engagement. it is an honor to be here with community leaders who are dedicated to the same principles and are positively changing our communities. the effect that one person can have in a community is truly inspiring. and it's that inspiration that drives each one of us to go out there and be a part of something bigger. i congratulate every award winner here tonight and let's not forget that every person here has the power to make a difference. i want to especially thank daniel and his team for being such instrumental leaders here in city hall on behalf of all

communities and neighborhoods in san francisco. with that said, welcome and enjoy tonight's event. (applause) >> thank you, christina. so, before we jump into the fire works, as you would say, let's take a few seconds here and just go over some of the elements of tonight's event. so, tonight we're going to be giving out 12 awards. for those of you that came to the first nen awards, you recall it finished about an hour ago. so, we've modified the format in the last two years. so, tonight what will happen is that tonight we will hear from the people that nominated the winners who will dive deep into talking about thighs illustrious individuals and organizations. and the individuals will receive the award. now, tonight the people that will be making remarks from this podium will be the people receiving the hall of fame award and the lifetime achievement award. the balance of the individuals

and organizations that will receive awards are going to be interviewed by our nen tv film crew in the north court during the reception. you can watch the interviews and how their feelings of joy and passion about receiving the awards and we will post all of them on the internet as well as hopefully make them available on s.f. government tv. you will have a chance to hear from the wins wynners. we're going to try to consolidate the program and do the second half in the reception. which brings up the fact once again we have the amazing st. john event doing our food in the north light court. so, at the conclusion of this evening's event we ask you all join us in the north light court to enjoy a wonderful selection of food and wine and drinks. i'd also like to take a moment, of course, and thank mayor lee for once again extending the invitation to host the event here as well at city hall as well as our new city administrator naomi kelly who will be making remarks here promptly in a little bit. and thank them for their

generous hospitality not only 230er this event but for this program because without their leadership and support the neighborhood department network would not exist. i'd also like to thank the folks at the city hall events team who every year make this event come together and make it a success. in addition, i'd like to also thank our sponsors. * once again, pg&e the fifth year in a row stepped up and become a major sponsor here for the neighborhood empowerment network. we have two new event sponsors this year. we have next door, which is a new online program here in san francisco, new neighborhood service which many of people in this room are using. you'll have more chance to hear from this if you advise the the life night court event. sterling bank, one of the great local banks we have here in san francisco. without further ado we'd like to begin tonight's program and we're going to start off with a message from mayor ed lee. >> good evening, everyone, and welcome to the fifth annual

neighborhood empowerment network awards. while i'm unable to attend this year's event, i want to express my deep appreciation to tonight's award recipients for the extraordinary work and service that they provide to our cities, neighborhoods every day. all of the award recipients share one common goal. and that is to ensure that san francisco continues to be the best place to live, visit, and do business. i am proud to be the mayor of a city where residents and civic leaders are partners and work together to tackle challenges and find innovative solutions to keep our neighborhoods world class. thank you for attending this important event, and thank you to the neighborhood empowerment network for your dedication and commitment to our neighborhoods. keep up the great work and have a wonderful evening here at the nen awards. (applause) >> the first award we're going to be presenting tonight is an

award that for many people is an award that is one of the top highlights of the event, and that is an opportunity to induct someone into the nen hall of fame. the hall of fame is an opportunity to take a moment and celebrate the lifetime of the contribution that an individual has made to our city and perhaps just seize the opportunity perhaps if they haven't been highlight and had elevated for that contribution here in city hall in the rotunda to do so. this year's nen hall of fame inductee is bernice. [speaker not understood] to talk more about her contributions to the city. jen? (applause) >> hi, my name is jennifer banta and i am proud to nominate bernice beng to the

nen hall of fame. bernice being was a visionary artist. she was born, raised, educated and worked in san francisco. * bing. she graduated from the first mfa class of the san francisco art institute in 1961. she was good friends with joan brown and jay de feo. shes what an integral part of the art scene in north beach. she was also part of the first argot lin artist's in residence program in 1967 and spent the better part of the '70s deeply devote today community arts and activism. she was part of the founding member of scrap, and she was involved with the neighborhood arts program during its insanction. -- inception. she went on to found the san francisco cultural arts center and she is the first director. i am excited to share with you i'm working with the asian americ