Indeed, I feel as though I should be giving you an award, rather than receiving one. The accomplishments of the New York NHS and its myriad of corporate partners are both legion and legend. You enabled homeowners to obtain property insurance when they could not do so by other means. You counseled thousands of New Yorkers about the responsibilities of home ownership and the intricacies of the home buying process, helping them to acquire the financial skills to obtain their homes and the mechanical skills to maintain them. Dreams do not materialize simply because we want them to come true.
Exceptional accomplishment can only come from true commitment, hard work, and leadership.
The New York NHS has been blessed with an abundance of all three, in people who give freely of themselves for the sake of a better America and a better New York. The New York NHS has made a difference, and Fran Justa is a big part of the reason why. Fran has given of herself through long hours of labor to make NHS New York work. She is that rare combination of talents that every organization needs but few are fortunate enough to have. Fran is at home in a conference of academics, just as she is on the streets of the South Bronx.