Pelosi Remarks at Florence Fang Asian Community Garden Groundbreaking Ceremony
San Francisco –Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi delivered remarks at the groundbreaking ceremony of the Florence Fang Asian Community Garden. At the event, Leader Pelosi honored the legacy of community leader Florence Fang and celebrated San Francisco's first ever Asian Community Garden, which will serve as a green space to improve the health of the Bay Area's residents. Below is a transcript of the Leader's remarks:
"Thank you very much, Ted [Fang]. What an honor it is to be here – officially, of course, with all of you in the community – but, personally, to be with Florence Fang.
"Her eightieth birthday – how could it be? Not only, Supervisor Cohen, is she still going strong, she's still directing the rest of us to continue to go strong. And, so how appropriate to be – thank you, Malia. I associate myself with all of the recognitions that you have given, Supervisor Chiu, Chairman of the Board – lovely to be with you – Tom Nolan: over the years, all of the threads that we have spoken about here, many of them you have been involved in.
"This is about nutrition. It's about health. Ted, thank you for your great work on Hepatitis B and all that you have done in that regard. Tom Nolan: whether it was HIV/AIDS or whether – the human infrastructure or the physical infrastructure of our community – he has been a champion. And all of you, I know you played a very important role in this Green-Asian Alliance. What a wonderful thing.
"And so, we are going to be planting a bamboo tree, I understand – strong roots for a strong community, and embrace of the cultural diversity of the neighborhood, now. And, it is just further evidence that our Asian-American community is a city-wide, strong community – and, an ever-growing commitment to health, nutrition, the quality of the environment.
"From this Earth – dirt you could even say, in this term of soil – will spring, renewal. It's so wonderful that we are here at spring-time, the proper time to plant, a season of renewal, a season of good health, of good produce, and the rest. A model – really – for the rest of the city, the rest of the community.
"I'm so happy that Anita is here – I know the Mayor wants to be here, and we talked about that last night, how proud he is of all of this.
"Florence Fang, this is so appropriately named for you. AsianWeek Foundation has done so much work over the years. Did you know that there is a Florence Fang School in Beijing? Can you imagine? Her reach is global, the recognition of her investment in the future, whether it's through nutrition – which she specialized in, that's where I first met her, at a restaurant – whether it's about the environment, whether it's about investing in education.
"It is cause for celebration that we honor Florence today. But, I know that she takes greater joy, more joy, in knowing what this means to the community – to the children in the community, to the aspirations of the community. It's so very, very important to have this open space be productive, be a source again of renewal in the spirit of our season.
"So congratulations Florence Fang. Thank all of you for making today such a wonderful success."
[Applause]