we can use booker t. as a pilot project. and hopefully if those of you on the board will lend me your resources for both government funding as well as funding from different organizations -- i've already talked to mark farrell yesterday so i know he's going to help. but i need -- [laughter] >> i need resources so that we can raise this final $900,000. and, so, i will be coming to each one of you individually, asking you for your suggestions and ideas. but i really want to take this opportunity to, to really urge you to deal with issues of affordable housing in san francisco, particularly for young people. other than that, everybody is going to be old here and all of our young people will be in oakland. thank you very much. (applause)

>> all right. next up we have supervisor jane kim. [cheering and applauding] >> [speaker not understood] is obviously in the house today. [laughter] [inaudible]. >> thank you. i want to reiterate what my colleagues have already said. and black history is our history and black history is american history. (applause) >> as someone who has benefited from that history, i just want to acknowledge how important it has been to all of our live. and on a board where most of us are members of communities of color and/or the lgbt community, we have all

benefited from the struggle of the civil rights movement and of many african americans over the last century and a half in this country. and it was with a [speaker not understood] movement. the actions we forget between ghandi and martin luther king and the nonviolent movement that was happening throughout the world, from communism which was spreading in the third world to connecting to what was happening, to the civil rights movement, it was also interconnected and i was really fortunate as a young person, i was incredibly shy and quiet. never viewed myself as a leader. but i had teachers, one who was african-american, one who was jewish and one who was lesbian that showed me eyes on the prize, the autobiography of malcolm x that taught me about the black panthers. that is what inspired me to find my voice so i could continue on that struggle as an adult. so in honor of all of that, in honor of black history i'm really excited to bring unone of our long-time activists and

residents natania zones. [cheering and applauding] >> and i want to invite your family, i want to invite the family of natania jones to come up, the family, [speaker not understood], walter james, mother jones. i see many of you. -- that are here to honor her today. * i am so lucky to represent this district. we have such an amazing community. and i bring -- i guess i bring legislation to the board, i go to ribbon cutting. but none of that happens if not for the community that does the work, brings the idea, and works on a daily level to improve our neighborhoods in the tenderloin, mission, and south of market. i did lose natania to [speaker not understood]. i want to acknowledge that.

she now works with supervisor campos. i want to spend a moment to talk about natania who is one of our superstars. she began volunteersesing as a tenant leader at the all star hotel for the city s-r-o collaborative over six years ago. since then we've seen her take the reigns of several community campaigns and be a shining example of a community leader. she is one of the most active members of our district 16. you've seen her as a cheer leader, a parade marcher, a fearless door to door street organizer, as an energetic mc and maybe even a singer as a city of refuge at the south of market. [cheering and applauding] >> i'm not done. at the all star hotel she organized monthly tenant meeting with her property management and her fellow tenants to address wide range of issues including food justice and public safety. she successfully lobbied to get community kitchen hours extended so that tenants could

cook healthy meals in the evening and set out a weekly -- and [speaker not understood] of helps out at the weekly food pantry which she has brought me to, as well. she is a mom of a middle school student here in san francisco in our public school and so she takes access to healthy food for our residents that live in food deserts and the family is something very seriously. she also worked with management to bring a tv into the community raov which was very popular, very important in many of our buildings. * everyone in her building and hotel knows her as someone they trust and they can bring their concerns to. she has worked on our community budget process for the last -- at least the last two years, was walked precincts for the prop c affordable campaign that was passed, many of those behind her as well. she clocked long hours working

on the bed bug legislation in addition to representing central city s-r-o collaborative and capacity building and organizing efforts as they reach out and partner with tenant groups across the city. she is always willing to give of her time. and la tanya is one of the most generous people i have ever met. and i am so fortunate to get some time to work with you. one other thing she also cofounded the women's group in 2007, women that live in our s-r-o hotels which became sisters rising in 2010, and we were successful in lobbying for an all women's floor for feuding from hsa last year at the heartland hotel. and as someone that has gone to the door in our s-r-o house, women living in s-r-o hotels is an important issue. when you walk through the hallways, it is predominantly men and see women clutching their toilettries and towels as they go to these shared bathroom. and you can feel the vulnerability that many of our women face.

many of whom have experienced different types of violence or other types of harassment throughout tir lives and so the growth of sister rising has been so important of highlighting what it means to be a woman in [inaudible]. [cheering and applauding] >> i don't want to stop talking about you, but i have to let others get acknowledged. but i want to thank you, la tanya. thank you for being a friend and also someone who has done so much work for our community. [cheering and applauding] >> you can see, i can't do it all. i have a lot of people that stand behind me, the organizations that i work with are strong. they are awesome as hell. excuse my french. but i haven't done enough. i'm going to do more and i know i can do more. so, supervisors, you've got a lot of work to do, so, let's do it. thank you. (applause) [cheering and applauding]

>> excuse me. i what just told by my supervisor i'm supposed to sing so i'll sing a couple of bars. ♪ oh, lord yes there will be mountains that i will to climb and there will be battles that i will have to fight but victory or defeat it's up to me to decide but how can i expect to win if i never try ♪ >> thank you. (applause)

>> la tanya, you are a wonderful, wonderful person and i will anoint you with oil because you're bound for greatness. (applause) >> thank you. (applause) [cheering and applauding] >> next we will receive a presentation from district 7, supervisor norman yee. >> thank you.

it's an honor to be able to add to the list of great people, heroes and heroins for this month's black history month. the person i'm going to be introducinging is a long-term resident of district 7. she's really a jewel of a human being. and that is dr. alison metz. come on up. (applause) >> i have never met anybody as humble as dr. metz. she has had a lifelong history of working and helping individuals and communities throughout her life. she's had such an accomplished life. yet you walk down the street and walk next to her, you wouldn't even know that because she wouldn't even say anything. it took a long time for me to meet with her and talk to her

last year and understand, oh, my goodness, where did she come from? dr. metz was the first female to serve an internship at the letter man army medical center in san francisco. maybe some of you remember her at the presidio. so, shes what the first. dr. metz was the second, think about this, second african-american female physician to be hired by kaiser northern california. and because of that, she has helped pave the way for many others to come after her. and i realize that even when she retired, she kept on going and going and going and getting involved with many, many different organizations to promote health and so forth. and, for instance, dr. metz was

-- has worked closely with her church, pares to provide child training, [speaker not understood] to the congregation. and she goes on. she worked with students throughout san francisco reaching out in particular to schools that have heavy population of african-american students to promote health and welfare to these students. and basically she is a person that will always continue to serve not only the african-american community, but all people of diverse cultures and so forth throughout san francisco. this is dr. metz. (applause) >> i'd like to thank you,

supervisor yee, and the members of the board of supervisors. thank you for this special award. i'm very honored and i accept with great humility. actually, when supervisor yee called me a few weeks ago, i asked him and myself, why am i being honored? a few days later i was thinking of calling you to possibly recommend someone else for the award. and then i happened to talk to a young friend who was very -- who is very involved in city administration, and whom i had not seen for a while. and he said to me, why shouldn't you tell your story? i have worked in our community through the years primarily through my job at kaiser permanente. i have also worked with the

kaiser african-american health initiative which was formed to go out into the community to educate and promote healthy habits. the california transplant donor network also, i did many seminars at churches to encourage donor -- donation of tissue and organses. and a lot of my work has been done through my organization, the the san francisco chapter of the links incorporated which is a national organization of women dedicated to friendship and giving service in the local community. and it was during my tenure as president that i collaborated all these groups together and we work primarily in the bayview hunters point area.

whether my volunteering and community service has been professional or as a volunteer, i always strive to focus meeting people where they were and seeing them for who they were and not what they had or where they came from. to listen to them and try to help as much as i could. many things have been mentioned about my accomplishments, but not who i am. my story is that of a little immigrant girl who was born in jamaica, west indies, came to the united states at the age of 9 to join her parents from whom she had been separated for four years from mom and eight years from dad. i arrived in nashville, tennessee with my oldest sister when my father was in his last

year of medical school at maharan medical college from which he graduated at the age of 40, the second oldest in his class. but he was determined to become a physician. he was a pharmacist in jamaica, but he never gave up his dream of becoming a physician. and i think as long as i can remember, i said, i wanted to become a physician. i can truly say that after coming to the united states to nashville, we lived happily ever after, not because it was smooth sailing. there were ups and downs, good times and hard times, but we were united. we were united once again as a family. what i have accomplished is not

something that i sat down and plan out. i try live each day by the principleses that my parents taught me. believe in god, believe in yourself, believe in family, and strive for excellence in all your endeavors. my father often repeating something he had learned as a lad in the jesuit school in kingston jamaica, [speaker not understood] which is translates for the greater glory of god. however, he would always say, do all things for the greater honor and glory of god. and with that in mind, you should never, and he quoted, go wrong. something else that my dad taught me just as he taught his

medical students, interns and residents, was that you can achieve whatever you wish to achieve if you keep the three a's in mind. the three a's for my dad are ability, availability, and adaptability. ability comes from preparation. academic, emotional, physical, and spiritual. he would also let us know that many have or develop the ability , but are not able -- are not available when needed and fail to adapt when necessary. i have passed this on to my children. and in addition to ability, availability, and adaptability,

i have added a fourth "a" which is accountability. we must be accountable for what we do and what we say. i'd like to end by saying that by far, my greatest accomplishment and achievement in life is raising my four children, my four wonderful children who have grown up to be sensitive and caring young adults with a strong sense of purpose and character. i think their lives truly exemplify the phrase, men and women for others. my oldest son leon benjamin metz iii is here, thank you, benjie, and a dear friend, joyce dixon. can you stand? (applause) >> again, i thank you for this wonderful honor, and i'm

greatly humbled. (applause) >> okay, thank you. the next presentation will come from supervisor scott wiener. (applause) >> thank you, supervisor cohen. today i am honoring brett andrews. so, brett, come on up.

(applause) >> brett is and has been for a long time an important leader in the community, especially in providing services to those living with hiv/aids and fighting against hiv/aids funding cuts which unfortunately we've had to do for a long time and though fights continue. for over 10 years brett has been the executive director of the positive resource center. it provides comprehensive benefit counseling and employment services for people living with or at risk for hiv/aids and those with mental illness. in san francisco it is estimated that more than half of the 20,000 people living with hiv/aids are unemployed. prc provides legal representation to help people wade through the difficulties of people obtaining state and

federal benefits. and employment service program which provides vocational rehabilitation and job search services for people with hiv/aids or mental health disabilities. brett has a very long history of working for worthy causes even before prc. he was the executive director of the los angeles team mentoring, inc., which offered mentoring to middle school students in some of our most challenging under served communities. and before that he was an executive director of kids and you, a new york based youth oriented nonprofit which administered a program for high school students and self-esteem program for homeless children. and today brett does so much more than the great work at prc. he is one of our most tenacious advocates in city hall. he is a vice president of the hiv/aids providers network, happen, with whom supervisor campos and i work regularly to

ensure that we don't allow any cuts to hiv services, even backfilling federal hiv cuts. * he's a board member of the national working positive coalition. he's on the steering committee of the san francisco human services network and advocates for our nonprofit community in san francisco. he's on the community advisory board of san francisco pride. he he has an incredible track record working for our community. brett, i am now very proud to honor you as part of our celebration. so, thank you for all your work. * (applause) >> thank you, supervisor wiener. i was really glad that you just decided to stop and not go on, that seemingly nonexhaustive list is exhausting. all is shows is that i'm old. supervisors, good afternoon. i just want to congratulate all of the recipients this year and in the past years.

i want to pay particular acknowledgment to a former recipient, police commissioner julius turman who was a fierce attorney and an advocate for social justice and a long-standing leader in our community, a board member of positive resource center, and most importantly someone i am proud to call my friend. in my role as the executive director of positive resource center and on behalf of the hiv/aids provider network, i want to thank you, supervisor wiener and supervisor campos, and all of the board for your leadership that you've demonstrated on the issues related to hiv and aids. i certainly want to acknowledge you for your ongoing commitment and thank you in advance for your receptivity as we engage in advocacy efforts to maven thaictionv our quality level of hiv care and prevention in our city. san francisco is leading the nation in reduced rates of hiv infection so to make sure we maintain that position. (applause) >> when i received the call from supervisor wiener, three

things popped in my mind very quickly. one, i usually am making this call and giving the award so it felt a little uncomfortable. quickly, went into my mind my father adam smallman loving and cynical voice who would tell me, you're going to be 50 years old tomorrow or next year and just know that this is just a symbol that you're getting older. and then my loving mother who would give him a look and certainly find everyone who she could to say how proud she was of me. and it's a great honor and it's a great privilege to have this acknowledgment today. while preparing for today, i took some time over the weekend to reflect on the importance of black history month, the significance of the struggles and the extraordinary contributions made by african americans over the years. i then focused on my life and i remembered the care and the support of my family, my friends, teachers, mentors, who always seemed to show up at just the right time. and when i thought about the full meaning of this wonderful

recognition, i quickly found myself in a familiar place, my ever developing understanding of my wants and my needs. so, i asked myself the question, what do i want and need to convey to you all today? around this generous acknowledgment? * well, for my parents i want this award to represent a perfect union in 1950 between a jewish woman from the north and an african-american man from the south who loved, married against the odds, and filled a home with unconditional love. i want this award to be an emblem and answer a question from so many that i got growing up on whether i was black enough, or whether i was white enough, and i'd like to say that i'm true barack obama would agree, some time the sum is greater than the parts. amidst the some time self-doubt that would overtake my mind, i want this award to december belie the inexplicable courage that somehow i summoned when i

found myself to be the first or the only over the years of my education and career. i want this award to represent the pride that i have in being an openly gay african-american man. (applause) >> i also need this award to serve as a bridge unites the two when issues arise that want to pivot against each other. when i look at this award on my wall, i want it to remind me that i followed my heart and i made the right choices and that when someone tells me that i'm doing god's work, that i won't assume they must be doing the devil's work, but they are just innocently extending a high compliment of great praise. i think we can all agree that wanting to be a powerful force for positive change is not relegated to a certain work force sector or job title or a set of responsibilities. it just takes someone with a little interest, courage, and

concern for your fellow man. so, i accept this honor on behalf of the community of service providers, many represented here in this chamber, business professionals, public servants who commit themselves to making our community and this world a better place in which to live. not just for ourselves, but for those we'll never meet. it is with pleasure that i receive this award in the great spirit that it's given and please know that i will use it as a source of inspiration for years to come. thank you very much. (applause) [laughter] (applause)

>> okay, folks, hang in there, we're almost done. we've got supervisor david campos representing district 9. >> thank you very much, madam chair. it is my honor and privilege to ask marco sinquar to come forward to the podium. (applause) >> it's great. one thing that's amazing about this ceremony, every year we do it, it's just incredible to see the level of achievement by every individual who is recognized here by my colleagues. it's really an honor to be able to live in san francisco and recognize such amazing excellence. it is my honor to now recognize marco sengor who