 There you are. I'm looking for him back where he used to be and Leo you're going to get us all Charged up for the next steps, right? Is that what I'm supposed to do? I don't know. You can give it a shot I'm gonna give it a shot. Thank you Kathy everybody. Please enjoy your meal so I'd like to tell my kiddos when they come over and we have dinner is Enjoy the meal eat your food. Thank God for it and We're still gonna have a family conversation while you're eating So that's what we're gonna do here. Let me say I am I'm so thrilled to be here speaking on this topic because I am a true fan of what is beginning to occur here in this neighborhood I think it is so appropriate that we begin the day with the poem by April Because no matter what we do what role we're playing It's wonderful to remember and feel the passion and the emotion that comes with understanding Who this is all about and it's about people like April's mother and it's about kiddos like April and her siblings and the dreams and the passion that they have and Let me tell you for anybody who doubts whether folks who live in subsidized housing or sex in it section 8 housing Whether they have dreams or not. I got something to tell them They can be among the most passionate dreams that you will find in the community See that passion and in fact our friends from Antioch I will tell you that there were many a conversation that I've had myself with pastor Walker When he was with us and I'm sure some of you have had it before We were good friends because we didn't always agree and we still got along and When we didn't agree we'd always remind ourselves that passion is good and Let me tell you that passion is what builds momentum and when we visit on this topic Whether it's with folks from saha or folks from the school district or folks from United Way or neighbors or residents of the property You can see and feel the passion You heard it from April this morning and you heard the emotion Can nada se haga without feeling that emotion and understanding what we're here about as we look at the pictures that flash up Here and remember again what this is all about and the dreams The dreams that we're all trying to help support and build on here. That's what we're here for today And let me tell you I'm especially excited and have been excited about this I've told you to this and her staff and the commissioners a number of times why I'm so excited about it And let me tell you I'm also excited about is because it's not just Leo Gomez from spur sports entertainment That's excited about it or Leo Gomez from sage San Antonio for growth on the east side That's excited about it. It's the executive team the managers and the staff at spur sports entertainment It's the board members the staff and the grantees from sage that are excited about it Why are we excited about it? Let me tell you why I? Have been with spur sports entertainment for 15 years now There was a time when we office at the Alamo dome and we now office at the AT&T Center I've been witness to numerous projects and economic development initiatives that we planned the for on the east side And I'll take my share of the blame for how much those succeeded and how much they did not But every single one of those was focused on a big box project And I am very thankful for all those that tried to make those projects happen But you see over time. I got I had a duh moment. Duh We're working to bring big box projects to our community and at the end of the day Many of them have not been able to move forward. You know why? You know why at the end of the day they can't move forward because the investors can't justify the investment when they draw their circle radius around that big box project and they begin to realize what is within that circle and What is not within that circle? You can talk about bringing restaurants. You can brought talk about bringing movie theaters You can talk about bringing healthy schools You can talk about developing healthy small businesses until you have healthy neighborhoods with healthy Households in that circle We're going to continue to be challenged to bring those kinds of things the wonderful news is that duh we've figured it out and I thank Saha and its leadership from its commissioners to its staff for bringing us together the way they have Focused on the families that live in here Focused on helping provide a healthy neighborhood for those families and those kiddos imagine What we shouldn't be tolerating as a community in San Antonio and that's any neighborhood where our kids have to walk Past nearly a hundred vacant lots to go to school We should not be tolerating that in San Antonio, Texas And we shouldn't be tolerating it on the east side of San Antonio, Texas And I'm telling you until those kiddos see productive properties on their way to school and on their way back home It's going to be difficult to attract all the things that we want to attract into this neighborhood And I thank God for the leadership that says we're not simply rebuilding a property We are transforming a neighborhood and when you say those words do this I think it is so powerful. It gives me goose bumps. It really does because that's what April's mom Needed that's what April's siblings needed a transformation of their neighborhoods And that's what we're here and that's what we're going to make happen in fact It's going to happen because we finally got a Collective dumb moment and our focusing on what we need to focus on again The residents of those neighborhoods the residents of the property, but we are collectively having that moment It's the partnerships that are going to get us there. We have a momentum going do we not and We have a passion for it, right And is that passion going to be dependent on whether we are successful in getting this grant or not? Or are we going to carry that passion on? Regardless, I would suggest to you that we have the spirit and the commitment here to move forward Regardless and if we can commit to that imagine what we will do if we are successful in getting that grant Now let me ask you if you live at Wheatley courts or in one of its surrounding neighborhoods I know you're eating But if you live in Wheatley courts or one of its surrounding neighborhoods, would you stand up, please? If you work in one of those schools or represent the school district somehow or another would you stand up? Please everybody keep standing up If you work or represent the United Way, would you stand up? Please join these folks? If you work at Anyark or any of our face-based partners, please stand up and join those standing How about St. Phillips anybody from the military or Fort Sam Houston? Anybody who somehow or another owns a small business area or represents or works with sage in the area Anybody who represents the East Side Turs or the city of San Antonio? Anybody who represents the San Antonio Police Department Trinity University United Way stand up Via stand up Merced National Housing Services neighborhood housing services are judges and family services that work with these kiddos Urban strategies and by the way, have I not mentioned the staff of San Antonio Housing Authority join your partners stand up Please the commissioners and leaderships of San Antonio Housing Authority And if I haven't rattled off something you're representing already join us stand up This is the partnership. This is the passion and this is the momentum that we must carry forward All right, I'm me. I sit down keep eating your food Y'all my note and my message to us here is that we have incredible incredible partnerships Many of us or some of us have come to know each other for the first time throughout this process But most of us have known each other all along We just hadn't been focused on the right project with the right strategy I would submit to you that we have now before us the right project and the right strategy That is benefiting the right people People like April's mom and people like April's brothers and sisters People like the kiddos that have to walk to Wheatley Middle School every day from wherever they may be residing Let's keep that passion and that momentum going. Let's commit to it Regardless of the outcome of this grant, but let's commit to taking it to unknown heights Should we get the grant? Are we all in? Thank you. Y'all keep enjoying