commission on the status of women, the commissioners as well as the staff. it is amazing what you ladies do. not only do you celebrate women on an annual basis, but you also provide thoughtful data to help us shape policies. not just on politics, but on the important data points. also, it is amazing what you are able to do on an annual basis considering how underfunded you are. without further ado, i would like to a knowledge one woman that has been an outstanding leader in the southeast part of san francisco. she has made the bay view community her home since 1961. she has been a role model for me, and inspiration for most. , i would like to introduce you

to doris vincent. [applause] as a single mother, she purchased her first home in the bay view neighborhood in 1961 and has been a tireless advocate and community member since. her list of community and educational acts is extensive. most recently, she served as the trusty at the providence baptist church and assisted with the churches homeless service. she has served on a number of community boards and advisory groups, which include the bayview hunters point project area committee, hunters point shipyard citizens advisory committee, ucsf community advisory committee, and the bayview opera house. before she accepted his award, she was upstairs in another committee meeting. this woman is tireless. i also have another story for you. yesterday, i was at a press

event. this woman saw that the hem in my dress had fallen. she pulled me aside, without a needle and a thread -- whipped out a needle and a thread. you talk about a woman who has got your back. she stood behind me and sewed up my hem. the mayor was to my left and the redevelopment agency to my right. we were welcoming a new business on third street. i use that as an example to illustrate her commitment to being a mother, to being a community leader. this woman is amazing. this paper is simply a small token of our appreciation and our gratitude. on behalf of the community, thank you. [applause] >> i want to thank my supervisor, malia cohen, and all

of the other supervisors sitting in this chamber. when you are 79 years old, the little stuff that you see on the paper does not really spell out what your life ought to be about. each day, that is the way i was raised, you should be about doing something for your church, your family, your community. if you have 79 years in there and this is all you can come up with, you have not done very much. [laughter] however, i love my san francisco, i loved bayview hunters point. the fact that i am among these women is astounding. the way i view things, each one of us have a responsibility to our neighborhoods and to our

city. it takes all of us to make our neighborhoods work, to make our cities work. i hope you will understand that we still need you to come to the meetings, give us the input, now there will no longer have redevelopment, we are creating a whole new system and we need you there in order for us to go forward and continue to be a marvelous city. having travelled to other places, i was thinking this morning, san francisco is my first choice. if i was living outside of the country, florence, italy, would be my special choice. if i was living in the southern parts, where i was born and raised, i would say miami, fla., would be my choice. but taken from all those troubles, coming back to san francisco, being on different

cac groups and being able to cooperate some of the things you learned in your travels, i find that that just helps to create a better situation for san francisco. thank you for this. i humbly accept it. i do not think i deserved it, but i will accept it. thank you very much. [applause] [applause]

president chiu: our next presentation will be provided by it supervisor elsbernd. supervisor elsbernd: i would like to ask my honoree, ms. olivia scanlon, to come to the podium. for those of you who do not know her, she has been my legislative aide for the last 7.5 years. we first met nearly 10 years ago when we first started working together here at city hall. maybe i should start with this -- a few weeks ago, we all collectively sat together and chose somebody to honor for black history month. she escorted the honoree to the chambers and said to him, isn't this wonderful? it is not your funeral but people are wrong to say nice things about you.

well, bolivia, is not your future -- it -- well, olivia, it is not your funeral, but people are going to say nice things about you. i want to honor a person who i believe has done more for the district than anybody else i know. hands down, woman or man, there is no one who has done as much for the people of district 7 then you. i cannot tell you how absolutely grateful i am for all of the great work you have done for me. how much commitment you have shown to all of the residents of district 7, whether it was with a smile or a smirk, you were always right there, doing everything you possibly could for them. and much, much more beyond your work in this building. what is most impressive to me,

and i know to a lot of your friends and family who are here, is the role you play at home as a mother and a spouse. undoubtedly, for me, you have been a great inspiration as a parent and a role model. i know you play that role for many other people. thank you for everything you have done a. [applause] and i surprised her with this. she had no idea this morning that she was the district's seven honoree. if i gave her two or three weeks to prepare these remarks, i would undoubtedly be thoroughly embarrassed with personal stories. you only have a couple of minutes, say what you want to say. this is your chance to get me. [laughter] >> i am in shock that sean did this.

it means a lot to me because he is not only my boss, but he is my fifth -- he is like family to me. when you come from another country, your friends are your family to you in. it is not just from my work, it is also personal. i am very honored and privileged to have the opportunity to work with, in my opinion, one of the best supervisors that the city will ever see. i want to thank my friends and my family for totally taking me off guard. thank you very much and i hope you will see plenty more of supervisor elsbernd for years to come. [applause]

president chiu: congratulations. next in the off of it is letter f, which means supervisor farrell. supervisor farrell: today, i am honored to reward and recognize an entrepreneur and small- business owner in district 2 has made a lasting impact in our city and across our country. i want to bring up melissa which -- melissa rich as my honoree for women's history month. [applause] she is the president and founding ceo of a company that is based in district 2. as you know, the presidio is a big part of district 2.

the presidio has become an amazing place in our city in terms of entrepreneurs said. -- entrepreneurship. her company was certified as a b corporation in the city of san francisco. it is an amazing testament to what you do. innerscola was founded in 2004. it helps public agencies reduce waste with sales of surplus goods. they have raised over $15 million in online auctions selling off surplus materials. they have helped divert over 3 million pounds of goods from landfills every single year. they are partnered to work with schools crossandra cisco and about one-third of all california school districts. and destroys all across the united states.

as president, melissa has focused her efforts on strategy, fundraising, sales, business development, and the organization itself. despite the economy, it has grown year after year and was named the 2010 -- one of the fastest-growing companies in 2010. melissa was a venture capitalist before with intel and concentrated on a lot of areas. she worked for classroom connect before coming up with this idea. she is a graduate of both dartmouth and the wharton school. it is great to have you here. thank you on behalf of all of us for all that you do, not only for district 2, but also for the public agencies that you work for and represent. congratulations. [applause]

>> i just want to thank supervisor farrell and the board of supervisors as well as the commission. i also want to thank my colleagues here today. my executive team is all women. that is random. it just so happens to be the case. i could not be there without them. i believe them and support them in the business. i was recently listening to a speech by sherrill said bird, -- cheryl sandberg, the coo of facebook. her closing hope was that sometimes, in some future generation, 50% of businesses and 50% of the world's government would be led by women. as a brand new mother of a three-month old daughter, i hope it is my daughter's generation. i am following the steps of my mother, who was also an entrepreneur. i am honored and thank you very much.

[applause] president chiu: the next commendation will be provided by our colleague from district 6, supervisor kim. supervisor kim: i thought i would switch things up a little bit. we have a short three-minute video about the woman i am about to honor today.

and then i will say a few words. lolita cantenar. [applause] you can stand in front of us while we watched this video of you. >> according to the san francisco homeless services coalition, san francisco has the highlights -- the highest rate of homelessness in any major american city. but people like lolita aim to fight homelessness. lolita is a 66-year-old filipina immigrant. she founded the senior center in san francisco. as we had to her office, lolita

will talk to co-workers we meet along the way. once we get in the building, she did not waste time. she met with the seniors group to collaborate with the project with co-workers. and with a client about an incident that happened earlier today. the client said somebody followed and verbally threatened her and said she had to hit him to defend herself. >> exactly what he said? i only have good things to say about lolita. she welcomed everybody to the center. >> her clients are diverse to say the least. some of them are dealing with substance abuse and it is her job to keep them in check. >> i will see you. >> during her break, she

volunteers for another homeless shelter program. the good year project less homeless people sleeping in the church during the day. >> valentine's day is sunday. >> after work, we had from san francisco to san paulo, to visit a place called st. mary's house, where she volunteers to help young pregnant women and victims of domestic violence. lolita has a family of her own. three children and three grandchildren. i asked if they worry about her demanding work.

>> they are worried about me, but they know that i am enjoying my work so they are happy. >> is about doing what you love and love and what you do. for lolita, that means reaching out to people in need. [applause] supervisor kim: i think the video covered a lot. it was done by cruz and it covered the reason why we love you so much in our office and why the neighborhood loves you so much. lead also volunteers at shelters at a program that works with victims of domestic violence and serves as the co- president of the senior action

board. women in our district, the filipino community, and in particular, our senior homeless community -- the night i stayed at one of your shelters, what i was struck by is the age of the women and how many of them were seniors. i am so glad that you're there to be an advocate for this population because it is so important and necessary. we are always amazed that you are never worn down. you said in its video it is because you love what you do. you are also an amazing mother and grandmother. we want to honor you today. this is on behalf of myself and our office is also here. we love you and we thank you for the work that you do. we also want to recognize that lolita was a leader at the trinity plaza as well. a former resident. there are just so many things i can say about you. many of us are familiar with you and many of your supporters are here.

we are here to recognize you and your work. thank you very much. [applause] >> thank you. let me make this very short period first all, i would like to thank the board of supervisors. the department of women's status -- i do not know what to say. my family is somewhere here and some of them cannot be here. but i have my exit -- my extended family. these are my family. can i mentioned the senior planning action network for elders. adult protective services.

asian-pacific islander legal outfits, the adults open house project, the diocese of oakland senior community volunteers, san francisco state university's intern's, nursing student interns, social work intern's who come to our center to learn about what is happening, and volunteers from city college of san francisco. of course, the department of aging adults services, and my staff. i do not really deserve this, but this is my extended family and they continued to help me advocate for the services that we do in the community. just to let you know, we have 19 stations for aging and disability resource centers in the city. i would like to recognize viktor from supervisor chiu's

office, supervisor chu, who was with us closely, chris from supervisor olague's office, supervisor kim's staff, and rachel ordonez. i will give you copies for the centers you can go to in your districts, because i do not work in just district 6. this is where you can go and visit us any time when we are there. thank you so much. one more thing -- very, very short, one more thing -- the homeless seniors, low-income and disabled community, let us not

allow history to forget us. to every woman here today, i dedicate this award. let us continue to make history in this community. thank you triet -- thank you. [applause] supervisor kim: thank you. here you want the folks who came out with you to be in the picture with you? i forgot, it was her birthday on international women's day and she turned 68. [applause] >> we have to hurry. >> ♪ dreams impossible dreams to bear with unbearable sorrows to

run to write the unwriteable to love to try when you are weary to dream the unbeatable song this is my hope no matter how hopeless to be with us to give when there's no one to give to be willing to die so that honor

and justice will live ♪ ♪ president chiu: thank you very much. [applause] our next presentation will be made by our district one colleague, supervisor mar. supervisor mar: thank you. lots of surprises today. that was wonderful. to return to women's strength and empowerment, a wanted to thank the commission on the status of women, emily murase, all of the staff and commissioner for bringing this

issue to us not only every year, but every day. i will focus on an educational leader for 43 years in our city. i am proud to be here with united leadership of educators in san francisco, the united administrators of san francisco. but our honoree is an incredible heart and soul of the middle school, pam. as a former school board commissioner and president, we treasure commended administrators and principals. pam comes from three generations that have served the school district in our cities. also, she began her career in 1969 at starting in elementary school as the special education

teacher. she continued for 10 years there. 35 years old, she came to our district as a sixth grade math and science teacher. i am really proud that my daughter went to presidio. sandy has been and it parent leader and the former president of the ptsa at presidio so it is great to have heard with pam as well. i've reached out to a number of people who worked -- who knew pam very well. al wanted me to say that you were the mainstay of presidio during his years there. being there, as a teacher, becoming a counselor and head counselor, assistant principal, and the last several years, the

principle of, you have nurtured other people's leadership as well. al said you definitely deserve a longevity bonus if we had something like that. if you continue to be the heart and soul of presidio middle school, one of the treasures of the school district. on behalf of the teachers, parents, counselors, families, it is my honor to acknowledge you as the woman's day honoree for the richmond district. thank you. >> i want to thank you for this honor. i cannot sing you a song but i can definitely seeing your praises. as a parent of three children that attended presidio middle school, i can tell you that she is the backbone of that school.

she has brought her leadership to that school and it remains our top middle school in the city of san francisco. she has convinced me to be a pta president for six terms at that school. it is because of the inclusiveness of community and parents that i said yes to the job, always commanding pam for her great work and appreciating everything she brings every day to the job. she works tirelessly, many times at 8:00 at night, she is still at the school. there are few people that i can say that we should probably give huge bonuses to -- she deserves much more than that. i appreciate that your commending her today, but i think, on behalf of the san