jeff colorado breath. -- including jeff. finally, the port cruise terminal project team. and finally the metro services and international longshore and warehouse union workers, who keep this terminal working smoothly, welcoming you and all visitors to the city. i am sure there are a few more that monique will acknowledge. i want to thank all of our partners who of made this possible. thank you. >> that was a long list. it has taken a whole community to get this done. i want to ask all of you, be it poured staff, community advisory

groups, architectural, engineering, construction teams, and all of you who work this great pier -- please all of you raise your hand and the recognized. [applause] thank you again so much. our next speaker is a fascinating guy, a local guy who has finally come home. he is a graduate of uc-davis, where he played basketball and varsity football. i want you to remember he played varsity football. he is heavy into sports marketing. he started out as the chief of special events for a marketing company, and then the co-founder of mind spring. he is now the chief operating officer of the america's cup events authority. his mandate is to employ a sports marketing and know how at the america's cup, this great sailing race, to bring attention to the oceans of the world. what better place to do it then here at the bay, where for the

last 40 years we have worked hard to bring environmental protection, education, and restoration to our bay? it is a perfect location for the world's best sailing race. please join me in welcoming tom houston, co 0, america's cup event authority. he played football. >> that was a long, long time ago. we are extremely happy and proud to be here today. i have heard this project is almost 20 years in the making. we are proud the america's cup has been the catalyst necessary to get over the hump, to the point of becoming a real project. we are excited for everybody who has been involved in that process. we share your joy and congratulate you on the success. this is a sign of the economic impact to the greater bay area.

this is the first of many, as the mayor referenced. it is a benefit of posting the major international sporting event. it helps legacy project get off the ground. i would like to thank our partners, and particularly the planning department, over the long eir process. it has been a tremendous team effort to get to where we are today. thank you for that. i want to point out we are committed as a team to making this the most spectacular event anyone has ever seen, in particular for this area of the city. people do not realize in 2013 there are no other major international sporting events. all eyes will be on san francisco. the olympics and world cup are in off seasons. the eyes of the planet will be on san francisco and the work we achieved together. we would like to think through this process mayor lee and his

staff, the board of supervisors, the port, and our america's cup organizing committee, for the teamwork and partnership with continue to share on a daily basis to make this a reality. with that said, we look forward to the next phase of the process. we have 18 months ago. thank you for allowing this to be wonderful location for our event. thank you. >> we are honored to welcome you and look forward to having those vessels running by here quickly, in a very short six months. our next guy is a local guy, a graduate of the university of san francisco. he is a vietnam veteran. he was the first director of the economic development department , and is perfect for this project. he is the chair of everything, as far as i can tell. he is the chair of the recreation and park commission,

the international park conservancy, the chez pannise foundation, and apparently is an advocate for art as an investment. he was heckling me earlier. currently, he is the volunteer chair of the america's cup organizing committee, and our partner in this fabulous event, for which we will all be eternally grateful. please join me in welcoming our local guy. [applause] >> thank you very much. there is an old saying. victory has many parents, but defeat is an orphan. in many parents of this victory are here today. when i got involved in the negotiating side of trying to get the cut here, gavin newsom

could not have been a better advocate. i want to thank him. mayor lee is the best thing that happened to san francisco. i want to thank him for the leadership he provided. david chiu steered this through the board of supervisors. we did strike a deal that i would raise the money, so we got a unanimous vote out of the board. but i want to thank david for everything he did. it was very important. when city employees get a bum rap -- how hard do they work? i have never seen a group of more professional people put this bid together and get us through the process. under monique's leadership, the planning department -- i do not know whether mike is here or not. he has been doing a great job. i still carry from the city.

the analysis is it is going to bring $1.20 billion to the economy of san francisco, over 8000 jobs, and will give us a world class ability to attract people to angel island. you name it. it has never been seen from the shore since 150 years ago. this is the first time ever there will be a bay area wide event that has to be coordinated. i want to acknowledge the coast guard. they are doing a heck of a job for us. the captain is somewhere here. thank you for being here today. we were in washington, d.c. and when nancy pelosi was there. we were celebrating that we needed an act of congress.

there were representatives from dianne feinstein and barbara boxer. it takes a village. we are going to make it happen. we have the job of raising money to make it happen. nothing will incentivize sponsors or donors more than seeing the visuals you are about to see when i shut up. we will move from a promise to a reality. thank you very much. >> thank you, mr. chairman. our last speaker is a very patient man, and a native son of san francisco, a graduate of balboa high school. he is a second-generation longshoremen. he has handled every type of cargo, including passengers. he is the newly elected president of the local union. please welcome him. [applause]

>> hello. i just wanted to thank mayor lee, the port commission, for directors, and board of supervisors. it is an honor to stand here today with you to honor our second international president, jimmy herman. we thank you for your leadership and the hard work that has moved us at last to start the construction. i just wanted to thank you for that. we waited 20 years to get this going. i also wanted to think staff, and behind-the-scenes people who have helped to progress this. everybody has moved this. jimmy was a seaman and a cook on cruise ships. he came a short and became a local 34 clerk. when the legendary harry bridges retired in 1977, jimmy

became the second international president of our association. he served 14 years. then he became a court commissioner for 15 years. i heard a comment earlier about ladies on the port commission. maybe you could have a member on the port commission again. jimmy was passionate about preserving maritime jobs for the working men and women of the waterfront. jimmy was a visionary. he understood the future potential of the cruise ship terminal, which would create more jobs for the men and women of the area. today, there are apple you were locals. -- today, there are four locals the work this terminal. with the completion of this terminal, which is coming, the

boon for our city cruise ship business will continue. this means more jobs, more good- paying jobs. good-paying jobs for the community of san francisco and the bay area. need this first-class terminal, named after our past president, for a first-class city, to show off what we need to offer for the world. thank you very much for naming the terminal for brother herman. solidarity to all. long live the jimmy herman cruise ship terminal. thank you very much. >> as you know from my remarks, there are a bunch of people working on this project who are both local and water affiliates and aficionado's. that is what this project

needed. that is why the project will be inviting you back to the completion date. at long last, it is time. >> on behalf of the city, the port, america's cup, and all the communities and our labor union, in dpw parlance, let it rip.

>> is my pleasure to introduce our first speaker. in addition to making it possible for us to use this beautiful ballroom for the dedication ceremony today, he made great contributions to the dragon dance you just saw performed moments ago. i felt very under-dressed after seeing him. please welcome mr. palermo.

>> happy new year! [applause] i would like to welcome everyone to the hilton financial district and the u.s. postal service stamp ceremony. we are honored to share this opportunity and proud to be part of the dedication ceremony. happy new year, everybody. [applause] >> thank you, jeff. i am pleased to introduce the honorable edwin lee, the first asian-american mayor in san francisco history. he was appointed unanimously as the successor mayor by the board of supervisors in 2011 to fill the remaining term of mayor news who was sworn in a

s lieutenant governor. mayor lee won the election and will serve a full term as mayor. prior to his employment with the city and county of san francisco, he was the managing attorney for the san francisco asian law caucus. he worked there from 1979 to 1989. he was born in seattle. he was born in a previous year of the dragon. he is a summa cum laude graduate of bowdoin college and san francisco school of law. please help me welcome san francisco's mayor. [applause] >> thank you. happy new year. [applause] it is my delight to be here.

i want to add my thanks to the u.s. postal service. i look forward to this every year to see the postal officials delivered the artistic beauty of these stamps. this is the fifth stamp set the we have enjoy. thank you for being here. i really enjoy the camaraderie of everybody on the stage. he represents a much of what we're proud of in the city reduced represent so much of what we're proud of in the city. -- you represent so much of what we're proud of in the city. it was in the earlier years when we started the tradition of designing the stamps. claudine, thank you very much. [applause] tommy ing, officials are here

today as well from the u.s. postal service. thank you very much. to my good friend who will follow me. we were law school roommates at berkeley. he is also a dragon. we have two dragons in the house. he is now the federal judge for the ninth circuit. he is enjoying himself. i know that. he fought hard for that judge ship. we're so happy to see him there. you should have been there during our law school years having two dragons in the same house. it was a hot house. [laughter] anita and i have done all of the traditional things. in the last two weeks, we have

clean our house. we have done all the things we're supposed to do. we're getting ready to host the new year. what a wonderful year this will be. it is a year of the dragon. it is the most powerful of all the zodiac animals. it also represents with this city is all about. it challenges us to make sure that we take the risks and meet our challenges head-on. we do not fear change. we make those changes. we are bold and innovative. we will innovate our way to solutions. that is what is wonderful year of the dragon will mean. i am so proud to a been elected your mayor of this great city. it is not just the chinese new year.

it is celebrated through the vietnamese and the japanese, korean communities, the african- american and latino communities. they're all here in this room joined by many different agencies, including our school district. norm is a new member of the school district board. thank you for being here. [applause] so many of you have joined in looking at the stamp. it is artistic and rich with heritage. the art director is here. thank you for being here as well. there are so many students. i want to put forth the theme of education. we have an opportunity to educate people about the themes of our culture.

we can unite the city and bay area as much as we can in celebration and in the boldness and innovation that the dragon calls for. we will need it because so many things are happening. this is the time we take on the challenges before us. the art history of this design is so rich and intricate. i have seen the others, but this one is really special. you have done a great job. thank you very much. [applause] and so it is that i want to welcome everyone on this very prestigious day. earlier, we had members of the board of supervisors. everybody wants to do something special on chinese new year. i understand that david chiu has

officiated a marriage for one of his staff. we will now have many dragons running around. [applause] there are so many other things happening today. it is wonderful. i could ushave used more red at the game last night, but we will move forward. thank you to the postal service and all of the groups. individuals have stepped up like jeff and walter and so many individuals stepping up and using their own time and efforts. the parade in the events leading up to it are about the community coming together to utilize our time, talent, and resources to celebrate and reinvigorate the city. [applause]

>> thank you, mayor lee. i am pleased to introduce judge chen, a graduate of the university of california at berkeley and also the law school at berkeley. he was appointed a federal magistrate for the northern district of california in april of 2001. after clerking for a district judge and court of appeals judge, judge chen practiced as a litigation associate. in 1985, he joined the american civil liberties union foundation of northern california. he worked on a wide range of issues including free speech, employs privacy rights, police misconduct, and discrimination.

in august of 2009, he was nominated by president obama's to the u.s. district court. on may 10, 2011, he was confirmed by the u.s. senate as a district judge. he told me a few minutes ago he gets the last word after his college roommate. please join me in welcoming our dragon judge, judge chen. [applause] >> thank you, steve. it is an honor to be here. it is a double honor to follow the mayor. i have never had the mayor as my opening act. [laughter] i really am pleased to be here. mayor lee is right. we go way back. we have known each other for 37 years.

the mayor is only about 48. [laughter] we do have a lot in common. maybe that is why i was chosen to come after the mayor. they say two heads are better than one. we're both in dragons. we're both water dragons. this is the year of the water dragon, every 12 years. you can kind of gas how old the mayor is. [laughter] if you subtract 24 from that, you will get my age. [laughter] not only do we share the name ed, we have parents coming from the same part of china. we went to the same law school. we share the same address for a brief period of time. we worked in many of these same agencies. we both have beautiful wives who have been very supportive, a great kids, and both of us are

really good looking. [laughter] for those of you who have some doubt about the chinese zodiac and horoscope system, let me read you this description of the water dragon to see how well it fits the mayor and me. the water element focuses on other's well-being rather than their own. they are often more diplomatic and intuitive. they seek out positions that focus on correcting social problems. what better description for our mayor? there's also a list of characteristics associated with water dragons. innovative, enterprising, eclectic, self-assured, passionate, surely not conceited, quick-tempered, and talk to us.

[laughter] -- tactless. [laughter] we will skip those. not only is this a beautiful work of art at an important date and time of our life, but it symbolizes something really important. that is the diversity of this nation. to have a stand that celebrates the lunar new year with more to come really sends a message that the chinese-american community is part of america and that all of our cultures are important. as a kid growing up in the bay area, the postal service has played an important role in our community. everybody knows somebody who has worked for the postal service. the postal service has been one of the most important employers of minorities throughout its

history. i remember as a young child one public neater we could look to was postmaster lee. [applause] that was the most important role model we had. we did not have a mayor, board of supervisors president, people on the board of education. but we had somebody we could look to. i want to thank the postal service for playing a leadership role in making sure diversity is an important part of our country. [applause] >> for the dedication, it is my pleasure to introduce the vice- president for sales at the u.s. postal service. he was named vice president of sales in august of 2001. he oversees the sales and service organization focused on serving the needs of all commercial mailers and

businesses. please welcome him to begin the dedication of the stamp. [applause] >> thank you. good morning. happy new year. i am pleased to be here joining you and thousands of people around the world in celebrating lunar new year. the u.s. postal service work force is one of the most diverse in america. that is by design. we serve the most diverse customers on the face of the era. nearly 40% of our employees are minorities. of those, nearly 9% are asian- american or pacific islanders. we are extremely proud of our inclusive environment that respects the uniqueness of every individual and encourages the contributions of people from different cultures, backgrounds, experiences