i want to congratulate montel jennings and the committee.his is the 60th anniversary of this celebration, and my colleagues, supervisors maxwell and mar are here. i want to give eric mar a round and welcome him. will you come join us? ok, no, he is taking off. i understand. i also want to say this is a special time for me, completing my eigth year on the board of supervisors. i worked for shirley chisholm, a woman who ran for the presidency in 1972, and i had the privilege of working for her 3 years, and than -- then for julian dixon. he was the father i never had, and he mentored and shaped me. having the privilege to join mayor brown's administration, becoming director of neighborhood services, and the experience i have had working with african-american leaders in the united states. i want to take a moment to say that i will always list on my resume that i have voted for sophie to be president of the board of supervisors more than anybody else, ok? [applause] not to tell stories out of school, but when i first got sworn in and thought i kn