obstacles, hardships that so many people, including this evening's tremendous honoree, the honorable norma neta had to overcome. this is a very special place. norm gave me the good fortune of putting my feet to the marble in the halls of congress, apapa, let me thank you, we'll give the opportunity for 20 interns this summer to place their feet on the halls of this city in sacramento, perhaps in washington, d.c. so that they can partake in the greatest democracy that has ever resided on this planet. now, this is also of tremendous significance as congressman alluded to, this is the home where people left when they came to this country and they headed to mining gold in california, when they had to leave the fields of california from farming and that applies not to just the chinese, but to the filipinos and others. they set foot in san francisco. and generation upon generation of residents of san francisco had to endure the struggles and has made this city a very special place. that's why i'm so very excited about the leadership that presides over san francisco today. mayor lee, supervisor chiu,