these public, private partnership and i want to give a mean thanks to the target stores to their lead contribution for the third year. and of course, we will work with them on the fourth year because this keeps going and so thank you, target. but there are so many others, of course, art university, and at&t. pg&e. mcdonalds. thank you, cici for being here and of course wells fargo bank are all great contributers to this growing celebration. i also wanted to say that it is not just a celebration, we have a lot of work to do in this country. that is why part of my work, in visiting washington, d.c. last week was to work with mayor and represent the mayers of this country to push our country to make sure this month if not the next month, we get comprehensive immigration reform done, because that is part of why immigrants came to

this country. we have established ourselves. immigrants from all of the different backgrounds. we have made san francisco one of the most special homes for immigrants. but we need to see our country modernized its immigration laws. we need to see that comprehensive immigration reform done and we need to celebrate more family unification and we need to get the dreamers here so they don't live in the shadows but live full lives. they earn the living that they have because we know, that if people live in shadows they are going to have to be forced to accept the worse conditions for their jobs for their families. but we also know that as soon as someone has a pathway to citizenship their check powers and their ability to earn and contribute to the communities grows exponentially and this is part of the work that we need

to do as mayers and senator and let's get this done in our life times. if does not happen this year it will not happen in your lifetime. we got to get it done, that is why we were there in washington, d.c. advocating with our partners to do that. that should be part of the way that we celebrate is we work harder to earn the passport for everybody else. i did not become mayor just to celebrate. i also became mayor to keep the doors of opportunity open for future generations. and it means a lot for the whole asian community to be a part of this as well. because, you know what opportunities we seize upon it and then we work it and we open the doors for everybody else. and that is how a city becomes successful. because we keep those opportunities opened. so it means, much more than just cultural celebrations. you put in the light of history, and you work it with all of the elected officials

and the appointed officials whether they are commissioners and department heads. and we have even more to work in to celebrate and to bring a lot more people involved in it. so, claudine and the committee and all of you who are here to celebrate. let's begin this month and celebrate the fashion and keep the work going and keep the opportunities going and make the month of may to be the greatest month and by the way, i get to celebrate my birthday at the same time. thank you very much. [ applause ] >> thank you, mayor lee. so today's press conference is about thanking our sponsors and the exciting announcement of the heritage this year. and before i bring up the elected official to address you, i just wanted to take a moment to thank again all serving on the community to put this together especially the team co-chairs. thank you so much for your

leadership. and the members of the committee, and we are very small group but you know i think that we come together and we make things happen and that is the most important. so without further adieu, i would like to invite supervisor katie tang. and followed by carmen chiu. >> i just wanted to take this opportunity to thank claudine and all of the hard working volunteers to put the celebrations together. i know how hard you work, as mayor lee was talking about his experience and his daughter taking piano lessons especially with the theme this year in honoring at chiefments in the performing arts i was part of the band. and i played the nraout in middle school and high school and at that time it was very cool. and we actually got to the point where we got to perform

at carnege hall. and it was a great experience and i don't know what my life would have been without having that in my background. as we are celebrating the performing arts, i want to encourage everyone to incorporate that into their lives and hope that many more generations of people will consider that a part of their childhood growing up as well. and again, i want to thank everybody and we are so lucky to be here in san francisco where we embrace the diversity and accept all sorts of people from all different cultures. so, hopefully, this month will be a great time as many of us are so busy in our lives and i think that having a month where we dedicated to celebrating things such as women history month or asian pacific historiage month or small business month, it takes a moment to stop and think about the achievements and celebrate our different culture sos so thank you everybody. >> carmen chiu.

>> good afternoon, everybody, san francisco's new assess er. and today i am honored to be with you and i want to thank all of the corporate sponsor and the many volunteers who have helped, year in and year out to put this event together and i want to appreciate you. but i also want to say that i know that this year's theme is about arts, i was not a young person who really did much in terms of arts. i did not play any instruments, probably played the recorder when i was in the second grade and it has not expanded beyond that very much but i think that we can all appreciate what art does and the people who can actually carry that forward and what that really brings and how it enriches all of our lives. i think that in all of our lives we see how the art plays into it. when i negotiate with my husband is who is cooking i think that is a little bit more art. when i think about the work that our assessor's office does, it is more art than science in terms of valuing properties and so even in the

places where you least expect art and creativity to exist, it does exist. of course we appreciate all of the arts community has to bring. i think that mayor ed lee's point is not only celebrating our accomplishments but thinking about the work that we have to do is an important one. the fact that we have the first mayor who is asian american and let's think about the folks who need advocacy and the folks that are immigrant and need services and still have the rights not yet fully upon them. let's take this month to celebrate and do one other thing, call a senator or call someone in congress and say what do you think about immigration policy? let's do something and take one extra step and action this month, to not only recognize what we have done and the people who have done all of the work beforehand to give us these opportunities now. but what we can do to help the next generation forward. so today i just wanted to thank

you and ask you to do one other thing to really help promote the asian american community and just the cultural diversity in this country. thank you. [ applause ] >> thank you, katie. so, at this point i would like to invite our major sponsors to give their remarks and we want to support this and already invited you to continue to support us. so, without further adieu, i am presenting and i appreciate it, tiffany meyer is here representing target today. >> tiffany? >> thank you. good morning, everyone, i am both privileged and honored to be a part of this annual celebration. and recognition of apa heritage month. i just love the way that san francisco continues to celebrate its rich cultural, multicultural diversity. i am excited to say that the

new storm manager for the soon to be second city target store in san francisco, this october, located on geary. and as a san francisco native i am proud to represent target and be a part of a company who has a legacy of giving back to the local communities. and even before target opens its doors, we were giving back 5 percent of our income. which today equals more than 4 million dollars a week to local communities. target is supporting several community initiatives throughout the month of may. with a common theme around celebrating our reviving asian cultural heritage and we are honored to a part of today's apa heritage month kick off celebration and target looks forward to the continued partnership to the city of san francisco. thank you. [ applause ] >> thank you.

we call in the heritage, starting with the academy of art and university, president stevens? >> thank you, and thank you for including me in this wonderful event it has been a pleasure >> my grandfather started the academy in 1929, he and my grandmother and they were very good friends with don kingman and sat on our board and taught at the academy and when it was in a two-room loft, they moved around quite a bit because the land lords kept uping the rent and they were in china town for several years in an alley over, i think ha it was lights of china restaurant. and they ran the school in china town. so, we have a strong affiliation with asian pacific

americans. frankly, they set the standards of the academy art university and we welcome them with open arms because of their work ethic and their diligence. and in fact one of our alums who is sitting here in the audience, actually designs the poster and instructs for us now. do you want to say hi in an academy of art grad? [ applause ] and as you know, we are art for industry, and we are creating portfolios for students so that they can get jobs for the 21st century. and i am proud to say that asian pacific americans are leading the charge in getting those jobs for the 21 century. and we are, very, very proud of them as students and i am very proud to be here today. thank you. >> [ applause ] >> thank you, and mark from at&t? [ applause ]

>> thank you, it is a pleasure to be here and represent at&t, this is, this is 6 or 7th year that we have been around since the beginning, i believe of supporting this important month. and we, it is very much a part of our culture and heritage as well. and whether it is owning the ocean cables that connect us with asia here into california. or whether it is upgrading our network, i really appreciated the comments about the role that they play in the arts and they like to think that they have a major role in that in bringing arts and communication to all of the residents here in san francisco. i also wear two hats today, i am also the president of the board of asian pacific heritage foundation. and so i wanted to give a brief acknowledgment to my fellow board members and if you could please stand, i will not name all of them. but, the great work that they have done and helping out and

planning this month's events, please give them a round of applause. and then finally while we have this great board and committee, none of us would be here without the undying efforts of claudia who puts her heart and efforts into this every year, and we thank you for that as well. thank you so much and i look forward to celebrating with you on monday and the remainder of the month, thanks. >> thank you, mark. thank you,. >> pg&e have served with the communities for over 100 years and proud to continue the sponsorship. the communities have in turn played a major role in determining how the companies delivers services to our

customers. pg&e recognized the importance of in-language services a century ago when it opened its first payment offices in san francisco's china town in 1905. we have given hundreds of scholarship to deserving students across our service territory totaling over $1 million. in addition, to supporting the community, through various grants and volunteerism, pg&e is a strong supporter of asian owned business and organizations spending $290 million last year and 2 billion dollars with diverse supplies in 2012, in short we are proud to be part of this community and happy to celebrate apa heritage month, thank you. >> thank you. >> we have ron from craft foods, ron are you here?

>> katherine, high. >> thank you, i am here on behalf of ron who is not feeling well this morning and so on behalf of craft foods group, it is our pleasure to be here celebrating the apa heritage month. craft foods and its tens of thousands of employees nationwide are excited about this event in san francisco. because asian pacific americans have made a large contribution in this country in this state and of course in this city. and at all levels of government, business, and society, the product of all of the work of our immigrant father and mothers are evidenced by the people, standing in this room, the various elected officials. the company representatives who have strived and made their way up in their respective positions and all around us in

our daily lives. >> this month is to celebrate all of those particular achievements and more importantly from craft's perspective and all of the programs that it does with the community and the employees is the opportunity to be able to show our future generations of asian pacific americans, the impact that they too can make as they are in school, in the arts, in government, and you are at craft foods, so, so pleased and so, so privileged to be able to celebrate this very special occasion and we look forward to being a part of this month. thank you, claudine. >> thank you. this is my pleasure to be here this afternoon. to share with you tho celebrating diversity and cultural celebrations is a key value, at wells fargo. and we celebrated not just in

this month but every month. and it is the true, people that contribute that are the contributers or the finalists that are going to be honored in the area of arts that we want to acknowledge every day of the year. they go every noticed and thes just a wonderful opportunity to renew the support of the foundation and celebrate the achievements that sometimes go unnoticed and so i hope that we are all here together as a family, to really celebrate what they have to offer. and we can support them in any way that we can going forward. thank you. [ applause ] >> so this product, the program i want to make sure that it is important that fat they are as we know him, he is the grandfather always has the last word. the founder of the organization and we know him as the god fathers and we are happy for his support today. >> thank you. >> i am not that old yet.

>> you are so beautiful. thank you. >> your personal leadership and sacrifices, so many years to help us celebrate tom and the api's heritage along with the other diversities, on behalf of mcdonalds and the corporation and the franchises. i also wanted to introduce the colleague at jack where are you? and oh, yeah, the two beautiful ladies in the back here, give them a good hand. along with me, lee as you can see, can see on boepgt sides of the asian, right? i come to san francisco, in my first job was engineer, and was that company what is i forgot it. i was anger an, engineer, and

to talk about ours and the knowledge and everybody get hungry every day. that is why food is a big part of asian culture and big arts as well. as engineer, i really don't understand much of that and my wife is willing to teach me how to dress. and how to cut the hairs. and i am really proud to be part of the asian heritage and the history and the pride in building san francisco and the california, and the workforce. not only the building of this beautiful city, but the beautiful space and the country as well. and what my family owned four mcdonalds here in san francisco along with a few others in northern california. and but, so when you guys are hungry you know where to go.

i think that our 19 locations here, right, jackie? >> so, we are here to serve everybody and we do our part here and we are very happy to be a big part of this celebration, thank you very much for the mcdonalds and so if you have any problem, don't call me, call jackie. thank you. [ applause ] >> thank you. >> so, i i hope that we will have sandwiches waiting for you at the end of this press conference and i just wanted to take the opportunity to thank the many food and beverage. and without them we will not have the great reception that we are going to have. we have been here for 8 years. with us. and mayor lee for six years. and those are for two years or

the newest addition this year, and so i hope that you have a great lunch and before that it is the most important business is to turn this over to our co-chair, who will make the announcement for the apa heritage awards this year, mary? >> okay, did i do this right? >> okay. >> okay, so thank you, all for being here today, and i am really very excited to be able to announce the finalist for this year's performing arts award. and many of them did not know who their competition was, as we were going to say, and so this is going to be a surprise for them as carmen said earlier i was one of those people who stopped playing violin in the second grade and really can't sing or do anything so the power forming arts for me i am

just awestruck and so privileged to be able to meet the people of this caliber and we have so many fantastic nominations this year. in the area of inspirational leadership and community impact and lifetime achievement. so, my first category for nominations and if you will stand when i say your name, please do so. inspirational leadership. we have brenda wong aoki. >> we have malu peeples. [ applause ] >> and our nominee could not be here today so representing her is her daughter. >> hopefully i hope that your mother was doing well. her mother is in korea right now. >> so the next category is in the area of community impact

and these finalists organizations and we have this diverse amazing community that we live in with so many organizations that do so much to try and bridge the gap and support our young apa and not so young apa performing artist who can't seem to sometimes break through into the main stream. but also not break through our own cultural groups. in our own, we are such a diverse community as claudine had said, i can't think to name how many ethnicity and cultures and countries are in the apa community. so these particular organizations have done a fantastic job of trying to bridge these cultural gaps and support the artist. so those organizations are asian american theater company, are they here? >> is someone from asian?

hi. >> that is pearl, and i end up in her junk mail a lot and so we have to fix our e-mail for that. >> we have asian improv, arts. [ applause ] >> we have the asian league foundation heritage street fair. and i don't know if ted is still here and as the mayor said a fantastic organization that has been bridging these cultural divides and bringing the apa heritage and the apa celebration to all of us. and san francisco, pristine. >> one of the things that we foubd during the no, ma'am that ising selection process is how much we as a committee learned about the organizations in our own communities that we did not know about, and this has been a wonderful learning experience for all of us and i hope that this is a and we will bring more attention to these fantastic artists that were out

there and so our last category is for the lifetime achievement and this is for the individual whose have about, for at least 25 years had some impact in our apa community, and have used this amazing performance ability themselves to share their culture and also give back to their communities as well. and so i am really honored to be able to do it now. and we have robert tamakabailey. [ applause ] >> we have the team of john gang and francis wong. [ applause ] >> and once again, i am really thrilled to be able to announce, a double nominee malo ravera people. [ applause ]

>> congratulations to all of you for being nominated and for being selected as finalists and looking forward to see who our judges have selected on may 6th at the jazz center, thank you. >> thank you, mary, and all of your work. >> thank you. >> so, i want to take a moment to say and the committees that are here but those who have done the committees and this is all about the people that come, and i want to thank carmen from the community and irene, (inaudible) and all of your friends and the whole city. and san francisco communities somewhere along here. thank you so much. hi. so, about next month, may 6th, the program is before 5:30, and

5:00, and (inaudible) the registration for ten days and over capacity. and that is great entertainment and i can't wait to see who the winners are, and they are just saying thank you again for your work and so please to arrive early at the center for the ceremony on next month and then after that, we will all be back here for our reception and again, thank you for the company, i understand that there are shuttles for those that feel that they do not want to walk and so that is great. and i want to thank you all for coming and thank you for the mayor's office without everybody and talked to and make things happen, and from just (inaudible) the mayor's office of labor and services. and so i want to thank them. so, at this point, i think that we are adjourned and please join us and enjoy your lunch. t

test, test, test, test, test, test, test >> good morning today t is wednesday may 15, 2013 this is a meeting of the abatement appeal board. the first item on the agenda is roll call (calling names) we have a quorum and the next item is b 0. please people given testimony