my name is debby dirsh, san francisco native. i'd like to welcome you to the annual cable car bell ringing contest. i would like to introduce mr. ford. >> welcome to the 47th annual cable car bell ringing competition. this is one of a kind. this is a comptation -- competition for the world championship and thank you for coming. i also have to thank our cable car grip men and conductors. every day they help move people around our city, they're great ambassadors and do a great job entertaining visitors to our fine city. we have two members from the mta board, bruce oka and malcolm hideke here today. i'd like to thank our judges. we have judges representing a lot of president businesses here in the union square area. with that, to all the mta employees and fine citizens of san francisco, thank you for joining us today and thank you for your support. >> matt ford, ladies and gentlemen. the bell ringing competition is a two-part event today. we have professionals competing for a number of prizes in the coveted title of world champion