key part of the justice movement. my daughter needs to know about the stories and be proud of who she is. she needs to have a pan-asian consciousness about her. i am so proud to be here with you leaders and my colleagues as well. thank you, everyone. [applause] >> supervisor charmen chiu has joined us as well. i was born a month before the evictions. a lot of our filipino and chinese seniors were evicted from the hotel. it is amazing to be at the organization that got to rebuild the development center. last year, we celebrated a lot about the newness of asian- pacific leadership. or able to say we have our first appointed chinese-american mayor, our first ever chinese-

american president of the board of supervisors, and our first ever pilipino president board of education. in our second year, we are really here. we need to reflect upon what leadership means for the city as asian-americans take up those positions. the education team this year. the theme this year is education. at the school district, asian american students are almost 50% of our education system. we have a lot of asian americans coming up through the pipeline waiting to take new positions of leadership. i am really excited that 40 years after we fought for ethnic studies, in 2009, sfusd joined in and we now have ethnic

studies in public schools. students need to know how integrated the history is in building the city. there's a lot to celebrate and reflect upon. it causes us to think about the future of the community. we are such an integrated and central part of the city. it is an honor to be here today. i will bring up supervisor carmen chiu. [applause] >> thank you. i am pleased to be here with my colleagues at the board and others who are here as well. we are here to celebrate asian pacific american heritage month. this kicks off the celebrations we will be having an the recognitions we will be giving. i apologize first. i was at a budget meeting. sadly, that is coming before as quickly. i had to spend some time there. i guess it is true. asians are probably good at

math. [laughter] i am just joking. there are many other things we are good at, as you can see from all the people who are here today. we have education leaders, our president of the board who runs a small business, many different levels of expertise. that is what i want to speak about. when we think about asian- americans, we fall into stereotypes. we have individuals in our community who are poor and rich, who have been here for a long time, who are new immigrants. each one of us has a strong place in creating the fabric of our country. i want to emphasize the fact that every individual contributes to our shared history in the united states and san francisco, whether you are a

little kid going to school part of a school project in a dance performance, whether you are an elected leader like mayor lee, we all have a piece in creating this wonderful history. i want to thank everyone who has been part of that. everyone in the crowd today, the journalist, the media who helped to spread the message, and the people appear today. thank you for being here. [applause] >> thank you very much. they do not just celebrate and support our volunteer efforts in name. they've all made contributions to our nonprofit organizations. thank you so much, every single one of you. we have the president of the school board and may be other school board members can join me at the same time. >> they do, claudine -- thank

you, claudine. i am president of the school board. i have three other colleagues from the school board. we are four apa school board members of seven. our budget committee is made up of two asian americans. i guess we are good at mount -- math. [laughter] i am happy to be here to celebrate asian pacific american month. as a people, we have enriched american society as have many other ethnic groups. in advancing education, the fema -- theme makes a lot of sense. in the asian-american community

education is very important to us. it is the system that will equalize all of us in terms of advancing life. we need to start today in terms of celebrate our heritage. the school district is rich with examples of how we have honored and recognized individuals in the asian-american community in terms of their contributions. we have several schools named after asian-americans. that includes the elementary school, the alternative school, the school the arts. thank you. it is an example of how the

school district plays a role not only to educate our kids with textbooks but also as a model to say, look, these people were very important. they made a difference in the life of san franciscans and americans. thank you very much. they named the schools for them. thank you very much. [applause] >> steve is also with us. thank you for being here. we have a very nice poster. every year, we have a poster with our theme to promote public awareness that the month of may every year is asia pacific american month. it is the same design you will see on muni buses. i want to acknowledge the team who came up with the great

design in helping us to promote awareness. we should acknowledge our major sponsors. without the support of the business community, we cannot make this happen. we were all so thankful for your continuous support, understanding the needs, and speaking with the asian american community. target is our sponsor. would you like to comes a few words? [applause] >> good afternoon. i am a little intimidated with the row of city officials behind me. thank you for your leadership. once again, target is proud to be the sponsor of what you do with apa heritage month. as an asian american born and raised in this wonderful city, i think san francisco concelebrate is like no other city.

we're proud to be part of it. asia-pacific american, is time to celebrate our rich history with our employees and the work we do in our community. target has given 5% of its revenue every year. that equals about $3 million every week. education happens to be the cornerstone and heart of target's giving. we have collaborated with several organizations this year to celebrate the month of may, including the asia pacific fund, asian american festival, and the asian american museum. there is a common theme this year around education, honoring students, teachers, and educators. this coming monday, we have partnered with the school district. our employees will be visiting title one schools drop the sunset and richmond neighborhoods donating over 5000 books from local as and authors.

each student will receive books. we have a special surprise. one of the authors will join us in doing reading from her newest book. target interesting part of the committee and it is ingrained in our culture. i would be remiss not to mention that we do look forward to seeing all of the at the grand opening of city target this october. thank you very much. here is to ap heritage month. >> thank you to target. this year, we also have two major sponsors that have stepped up to the plate and increased their sponsorship. in times like this, it is very hard. unlike true knowledge them for being with us today. -- i would like to acknowledge them for being with us today. they have joined us in the

celebration this year. we are launching a new program, a psa design contest. we will see who the winners are next monday. susan, would you like to say a few words? [applause] >> i would like to thank claudine for pulling us into this wonderful celebration. the academy of arts loves to be involved in community projects. we have participated in many things across the city and in the bay area. we're the largest private school of art and design in the country. we have 18,000 students. not all of them are here because we have an online program. we're well-represented in the diversity of our student population. we know the strength that brings to our institution. it is the strength it brings to this community. we're pleased to be part of this. thank you. [applause] >> i know many of our officials

have to go back to work. you may leave if you need to. you are welcome to stay if you can. i would next like to acknowledge our sponsors at another level. is he here? hi, ron. >> good afternoon. i would like to thank claudine for all their hard work with apa. i am a native son. this has special meaning to me. i am with kraft foods. when i first entered, there was not much diversity. we are on the diversity road. i am happy to join and celebrate with apa, glad to be here.

thank you very much. [applause] >> anytime anyone thinks me, it is ovefor the entire community. our next guest. [applause] >> i have learned. i wrote some words down so i did not look so bad. pg&e is very proud to sponsor apa month again. it is a month when we come together to celebrate the struggles and accomplishments of the apa commuted the diversity manifesting itself in many ways from food, art, political leaders. this great city would not be as great with other contributions. on behalf of our 20,000 employees, i want to

congratulate you and wish you a great month of celebration. thank you. [applause] >> thank you. at the heritage patrons level, we have wells fargo. becky is our san francisco president. [applause] >> burst of all, i want to say congratulations to claudine and her 15-people committee you do a wonderful job every year. wells fargo is proud to continue supporting apa month. we have 9000 team members in the bay area. we have 1000 gang members that are asian-american within our company. we are really proud the company continues to support the community to make sure every community is successful. looking at this month, i see

many of you in california leadership. not long ago, we were in the chinese hospital fund-raising. we also participated in education. this is also small business month. it is a very busy month for all of us. wells fargo is trying to beat everywhere. in trying to be everywhere to support the community in every way we can. -- wells fargo is trying to be everywhere to support the committee in every way we can. we're selling our culture and history and our accomplishments. the we are celebrating our culture and history and our accomplishments. thank you very much, everyone. [applause] >> thank you, wells fargo. i would also like to acknowledge many other sponsors at the

different levels are supporting us as heritage partners. southwest airlines, kim. they are to jiging two roundtrip tickets to the award winners this year. thank you, southwest airlines. -- they are donating two roundtrip tickets to the award winners this year. thank you to walgreens. [applause] we have new supporters with the bank of east asia. we of the downtown merchants' association, private protection services, and our returning supporters. thank you so much. [applause] i would like to bring on a special friend to our community.

i have known you for many years with our work in non-profit committees. he has been an important person for the apa community and citywide. >> thank you. i guess i get to bat cleanup. i am honored to be here today. thank you for your incredible hard work. it was claudine's energy and drive and commitment to make this possible. it is so important to be visible in all of our communities and that we are also visible in city hall. that is why this heritage month is so important. we're here as a community. we are out here in city hall in the main part of set -- san francisco. it is important for people to

see we are active in every single facet of our city and part of city life. i want to reiterate my thanks to the sponsors and community groups. we have a list of committee sponsors -- committee sponsors without whom this festival would not be possible. we want to thank the peace officers association, recovery services, the students alliance, the san francisco lodge, the commissioner in the corner, commissioner claudine chang, the filipino american chamber of commerce. local 38 plumbers' union, the san francisco bay chapter in american women's organization, and the san francisco sister city committee. thank you for making this possible and making this an

incredible kick off to our apa. two months. -- our apa heritage month. [applause] >> the main reason we're gathering is to find out the winners of the heritage award. we will be announcing them. as the mayor and everybody has said there are many celebrations in the city in the month of may. we have three very important partners in this celebration with us. we have the director of the asian-american museum, the director from the asia-pacific fund. ted is not yet year. we've been like for them to come up. and say a few brief words about their activities. would you like to say anything

else? >> i am delighted and honored to be here. the asian art museum shares the same mission as apa heritage month, to honor asian-american contributions to the culture that we're making every day. i am very pleased our museum will be among the first to act this month. this sunday, we will have our first free sunday collaborating with the asia pacific fund for the program called growing up asian and american. we're very pleased to partner with them. throughout the month, we offer various programs. on the 19th, we will have the second free sunday. it is a brief family day.

we will have the festival they are putting together. it is another opportunity to collaborate. come and visit the museum throughout the month of may. we are here to serve all of the community and asian american pacific people. in the middle of may, our museum will unveil a large sculpture in the city center. it will be a living grodno -- grotto in the form of the red lotus. come here to celebrate. concelebrate our city during the month of apa month. [applause] >> i am the executive director and president of the asia-

pacific fund. we are a community foundation that supports the health and well-being of all asian- americans in the bay area. we're thrilled to be part of this celebration with our annual arts and essay contest. this year's theme was bridges in honor of the 75th anniversary of the golden gate bridge. after the ceremony this sunday, we will be sending a traveling exhibit that showcases of the winning entries to 50 different libraries throughout the bay area and giving access to over 1 million library visitors. i hope you will be able to experience the rich content of this voice. it is an important part of this year's celebration on sunday or one of the 50 libraries there will be traveling to in the coming months. thank you. [applause] >> i want to commend claudine

for all of her work in putting together today's great event. i want to commend some of my partners. we're including audrey from the asia-pacific fund. jay runs the asian art museum. that is one of the gathering places for asians in san francisco. the asian weak foundation has been working the last eight years on the asian heritage fund. we're glad that on saturday we will be joining with the asian art museum and target stores and cloudy and to hold the asian american street celebration, the largest gathering of asians in america. it happens in front of city hall and the art museum. over 100,000 people will be here on 10 city blocks. we are proud we also have the largest event for asian- americans in the city.

thank you for being here today. i want to commend mayor lee and all of san francisco for taking leadership in the asian-american community. they care very much. -- thank you very much. [applause] >> this is what i have been waiting for. i will like to bring up the co- chairs -- before i do that, i want to thank target one more time. they are the sponsor of many of our major events during the month. i would like to bring up the co- chairs of our awards committee to make the announcement. >> let's give claudine a big round of applause again. [applause] there are 3 co-chairs this year. let's give her a round of applause. [applause] this is the highlight of our event.

to give you a brief background on the award nominations, they are submitted by the public through our web site at apasf.org. you can find a list of nomination criteria for the award categories. this year, the theme is advancing education. the nomination criteria is focused on achievements in the area of promoting and furthering access and opportunities for asian pacific americans in the area of education. >> good morning. we were delighted as a committee to receive over 15 nominations. we received those from all over the bay area. we selected three finalists for

the community leadership award and the impact award. we also had a category for lifetime achievement. there is no further announcement on that tonight. we will make the announcement at our awards ceremony on may 7. >> now i am honored to announce the three finalists for the community leadership award. they are emmaline, sokum, and steve. please stand up for a moment. let's give them a round of applause. [applause] you do amazing work. thank you so much. let's give another big round of applause. [applause] >> this year was a tough competition. we definitely found 3 amazing

finalists. i am going to announce the three finalists for the community impact award. cyc committee use center and jpyc, the japanese used council. if we have representatives, please stand. [applause] thank you very much. another really tough category with fantastic finalists. >> thank you, co-chairs. i urge all of you to bring all of your friends down to the ceremony on may 7 at 5:30. i will be excited to hear who the winner is of these awards.

we really want to honor the finalists. it is a tough competition. it is not easy having spent so much time and effort in your life advancing education. we are impressed with all of the nominees and finalists and all they have done. thank you very much. we encourage you to come in ethnic entire, however you want to interpret that to be. thank you very much. lunch is being served. i hope you had a good time. thank you for being here. [applause]

>> this is holly lee knox. there are some proud pet owners in san francisco and they have brought all their pets here to strut their stuff. >> it's an annual event that we've had. this is our 18th year. we bring in rescue groupers, vendors, supporters, lots and lots of animals. it's a proud day for us and for the animals of san francisco. >> the costume contest is really fun. people get really creative. it's a really fun event. people go all out, create costumes, buy costumes, whatever it is. but there's some really fun ones. >> we're just celebrating the pets and just their pets and just their companionship and how they are