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p3<5889sy>|q9s9gs|q+~q|s9x|q>gxϟ9<ϙ?3>gϞ|3s9>g>gyϟ"~όsy>g3:>g?<ϙ?0>g9 0s8?>g>gyϟ"~@sx>`02f>`? ϙ?0>g9 0y>O?'<>g>gyϟ&~@sx>`0O>p? ϙ?3>gϓ3y>O'?>g>gyϟǁ ~sy>g3O> ß?O >ϙ?3>ǵ?3y>O'?>g>gyϟ~|sy>g3_>ϟ?O&>yϘ9>sx?9>O'9>g>s|qϟς??<|yǞys|>s9|gx?&?Ϝ898>p8"?<>g>pϜxp~s>p8?px?&?ϟ yy>>x?<>"?>g>|'Ϝ|>x?s>|>?sx?~ߐdžߏǂ?σ{??σ>=<??ρ x8ς'ρ>Oρ>Oρ񟞁ς'ρ>Oρ>Oρ?~?ρς-'σO>OO>O!?<x y<ρ27N>o>o<`yLJ?8p >|q89?ρ2?s8x9yy|9?sg993ρ? 33~ρyy?sg983ρ? ə3&0~s  ?8xyǎx|?3?~8q3-τO8!9s<pg? ????@*J:\DRAFTS\NRLOGO.WPGJ:\DRAFTS\NRLOGO.WPGhd\,3BV4d\,(9 Z6Times New Roman Regular(3$ !  'dxd( $ Figure  1  VZY I&mage <=8C HKKKK !  _Xn1 XXX  ,j\6&"`z1% `E,,%y%y,,%j (#(#        (#(#  ReleaseNo.0368.99AndrewKauders(202)7204623andrew.kauders@usda.gov   GLICKMANRECEIVESFIRSTANNUALNATIONALCONFERENCEOFBLACK   MAYORSBEACONAWARD      WASHINGTON,Sept.17,1999!AgricultureSecretaryGlickmantodaywashonoredbytheNationalConferenceofBlackMayors(NCBM)withitsfirstannualBeaconAward.Theawardisgiventoanindividualwhohasprovidedguidanceandinspirationinbringingaboutchange,andhavingapositiveimpactonthelivesofpeoplewhohavebeendisenfranchised.  AtthehelmoftheDepartmentofAgriculture,SecretaryGlickmanhasworkedveryhardtochangethecultureatUSDAforthefuture,saidNCBMPresidentJesseNorwood. Heembodiesalloftheleadershipskills,servingasabeaconattheU.S.DepartmentofAgriculture,inhissuccessfulattemptstoremedypastinjustices,affectingblackfarmersinparticular.  ItisagreathonortoreceivethisawardandtoparticipateinthisyearsNational_Conference_ԀofBlackMayorsannualevent,?+ 4 <DL!X?celebratingtheCongressionalBlackCaucusWeekend,saidGlickman. WearedeterminedtoensurethateveryUSDAcustomerandemployeeistreatedfairlyandequitably,withdignityandrespect.Weareaggressivelyworkingtorightpastwrongstocustomersandemployees,strengthenprogramstargetedtounderservedpopulations,andimplementpoliciesdesignedtopreventnewproblemsfromoccurring.  UnderGlickmansstrongleadership,USDAagreedtoahistoricsettlementwithAfricanAmericanfarmers;_closing_ԀapainfulchapterfortheDepartment.USDAhasstoppedseveralthousandpendingforeclosuresuntilindependentreviewteamscertifythatthereisnoevidenceofunfairtreatment.TheseindependentreviewshavebecomearegularstepinUSDAshandlingofdelinquentloanstoensurethatnofarmersfaceUSDAforeclosuresasaresultofdiscrimination.    USDAhasalsoincreasedtheminorityrepresentationonitsFarmServiceAgency(FSA)statecommitteesby10percent.Womenandminoritiesnowcomprise46percentofthestatecommitteepositions.Thesecommitteesadvisethestateexecutivedirector,helpimplementUSDAprogramsatthestatelevel,andserveastheappealboardforfarmerswhodisagreewithdecisionsmadeatthecountylevel.  Inaddition,USDAhasincreaseditslendingtominorityand_women_Ԁproducers.Duringthepast5yearstherehasbeena74percentincreaseindirectlendingtothesegroups.IncreasedoutreacheffortsbyUSDAwillensurethatlendingtominoritiesandwomencontinuestoexpand.  more 1/4 Є2H  TheCommunityOutreachOfficeprovidesleadershipindeliveringprogramsandservicestoUSDAcustomers,particularlythosegroupsandindividualswhohavenotbeenhistoricallywellserved.BecauseofSecretaryGlickman,theOfficeofCivilRights(OCR),disbandedin1983,hasonceagainbecomeastrongforceatUSDA.OCRhasincreasedstaffingandenforcementactivities,hiringinvestigators,?+ 4 <DL!X?adjudicators,economists,andcompliancespecialiststotacklethecasesthatfortoolonghavebeenignored.AllUSDAagencyheadsnowhaveperformancestandardsforcivilrightsandwillberatedbytheAssistantSecretaryforAdministrationoncivilrightsaccomplishments.USDAenforcesapolicyofzerotoleranceforreprisalsagainstemployeeswhofilecivilrightsviolations,andapolicyofimmediatelyadjustinghostileorvolatileworkplaceconditions.Inaddition,allUSDAemployeesarerequiredtoattendannualcivilrightstraining.    ##XX XXn1H#