Samoans have always been close to my heart from Army days when so many of them served this nation we fondly call the United States of America. Sixth U.S. Army and Presidio of San Francisco where I served for many years brought me to understand these traditional people so faithful and loving. They love nature and love singing. They are the traditional warriors and when it comes to getting the mission done - second to none. Closer to home the Bayview Hunters Point,Visitation Valley , Sunnydale, Portola District, and the surrounding area are proud to have many Samoans and those from the other Polynesian Islands including Hawaii. San Francisco known to everyone welcomes the Hawaiian as the Mainland and to the Samoans and other Polynesians as home away from home as sisters and brothers. A.I.G.A.1 was formed in San Francisco so that the young and the Elders could work together to serve the community. In all our discussions we always listen to the youth and pay respects to the Elders. We work as a team and we always begin and end our sessions with a prayer. In the present election we are supporting Matt Gonzalez and Matt has been listening to us. Don Paul one of Matt's point persons has been working closely with us in our campaign to distribute campaign material and we all have been doing it with much success. Samoans have other groups and they have other affiliations. A.I.G.A.1 does NOT purport to speak for all Samoans. But it will aim to inspire and perpetuate traditional and higher values that make us humans better. It is always fun to watch the youth listening to the Elders. It is fun hearing the Elders talk about the youth and the possibilities that they have access to. Samoans love to sing and they love sports. So in the future we will form teams and play games like football, volleyball, and basketball. In future we plan to hold cultural functions so that the world can see us dance, sing, and dance to sweet melodies. Our President is John Nauer who has worked as a coach and transformed so many lives. Right now he is the Director of Chocolate City II where so many young women and men get an opportunity to change their lives. We meet every Tuesday around 7 p.m. and share our experiences. We often have the Reverends Vaovasa and Niulalelega start our meetings by calling on the blessing from above. It is always nice to have Lisa and Lafo Laulu. Audrey Nauer-Allen whose leadership is an inspiration to all of us. Audrey has a cultural group, which has performed at the San Francisco State University and all over the City and County of San Francisco. Audrey keeps alive the traditional Samoan dance, music, and song. Her mother Aimalae Nauer helps us by doing our translation work and has attend some of our meetings. She is a guiding force behind the scene. We have Sam Ripley who is the joy of our group. He is known as a Samoan leader with his own Television Show. A good organizer he really knows how to throw a party complete with a variety of Samoan dishes and lot of sweet smelling flowers. Sam has single handily brought the Voter Registration information to thousands of Samoans. He always encourages Samoans and others to vote. He also helped the City and County of San Francisco with translations from English into the Samoan language. Emmanuel Brown, James Tapelu, Guillermo Perofeta, Gabriel Ah_hing, Tala Failauga, Lau Kitiona, Fotu Paopao, Ryan,Keila Naiuli, Taulsto Laulu, Namath Tua, Kino Uila, Rafe, Thormal Felise, Lao Naiuli, Mrs Vaovasa, others we all try to do our best and make good things happen. Francisco Da Costa and Andrew Bozeman try to facilitate and inform so that the best information is shared. We love the group and learn more from each and every encounter. We will be going places but for now we are focused on team building and superior leadership.

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