Release No. 0342.00

by
Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman
Establishment of USDA "Hall of Heroes"
September 27, 2000

"Thank you, Rich. Good afternoon to all of you, and thanks for joining us.

"Ever since I became Secretary of Agriculture five and a half years ago, it has been a goal of mine to establish a shrine here at USDA that would recognize those Americans whose contributions to the Department -- and agriculture in general -- stand out above and beyond all others.

"Today, we officially open the Hall of Heroes, with our four inaugural inductees. But this is only the beginning. The Hall will be a living, permanent part of the Department. Today's charter members will eventually be joined by future heroes, some of whom may be working at the Department right now...others of whom have yet to even be born.

"I want to thank Priscilla Carey, who heads our Office of Operations, and her staff for everything they did to make this possible. I also want to acknowledge the USDA folks who served on the Selection Committee: Deputy Assistant Secretary Debbie Matz, Deputy Under Secretary Enrique Figueroa, Director of the Office of Civil Rights Rosalind Gray, Trade Advisor Isi Siddiqui and Director of Communications Sedelta Verble. It was based on their excellent recommendations that I selected the first four members of USDA's Hall of Heroes.

"First, Smokey Bear, an enduring national symbol for forest fire prevention. For 56 years, through one of the most successful public service communications efforts in American history, Smokey has helped save countless lives and protect countless acres of forest land. He remains my most loyal employee - always does a superb job and never gives me a hard time. And he's the only one of our four honorees, to my knowledge, who has his own zip code. Still today, according to a recent survey, approximately 98 percent of Americans over 10 years of age can identify Smokey from his picture. (In that same survey, 27 percent correctly identified Bob Dole and 4 percent recognized me).

"Second, Hugh Hammond Bennett, the father of soil conservation, whose innovative work helped the American landscape recover from the Dust Bowl.

"He was one of the first to talk about the threat of soil erosion and the role of conservation in ensuring farm productivity, an adequate food supply and a vibrant rural economy. His work continues to guide us, as we try work toward a farm policy that treats the land not as just another tool or piece of machinery...but as our most valuable commodity of all.

"Next, George Washington Carver, the agricultural scientist and inventor who, despite being born into slavery, went on to revolutionize Southern agriculture through the development of crop rotation. His research also helped generated hundreds of new products from agricultural goods - everything from adhesives to linoleum to shoe polish to synthetic rubber. For a Department like ours that is working hard to become a civil rights leader, the life of George Washington Carver is an example to be admired and followed.

"And finally, Bob Dole, one of the most distinguished public servants of the 20^th century. Overcoming modest means and devastating war injuries, he went on to become the Majority Leader of the United States Senate and his party's nominee for President of the United States. I know first hand that he was - and still is - one of the nation's most tireless advocates for American farmers. He was one of the pioneers of the federal nutrition safety net that has helped so many Americans get the food they need to be productive citizens. And not to be overlooked at all, he has a biting and clever wit, which in my opinion is the most important tool in any politician's survival kit.

"Now, I want to introduce a short video, which will tell us more about these 4 heroes...

VIDEO PLAYS (approx. 8 minutes)

PLAQUE PRESENTATIONS

"Our fourth charter member of the "Hall of Heroes" is a man I've been proud to call a friend and a colleague for a quarter century. Though we come from different sides of the political aisle - and though I owe my job to the fact that he is not currently President of the United States -- we always knew when and how to put partisanship aside and work together on behalf of American agriculture and the state that we both call home.

"Senator Dole was the author or principal co-sponsor of virtually every piece of farm legislation written in the past 35 years. And he always understood the critical link between production agriculture and nutrition. He helped create the National School Lunch and WIC programs, and he believed in federal nutrition efforts long before they were popular...long before they were American mainstays...long before they were considered great success stories of government activism.

"Even after public life, Senator Dole continues to be a statesman and a humanitarian, who cares deeply about addressing the crisis of hunger both here at home and around the world.

" It was he and former Senator George McGovern who came up with the idea of a international school meals program that would be modeled on the success of our domestic efforts. President Clinton embraced the idea, and now we here at USDA are in the process of implementing what is known as the Global Food for Education Initiative.

"He has received two purple hearts, a bronze star, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and now he enters USDA's Hall of Heroes. Bob, you are the only one in this first group of inductees who is alive and who is not a bear.

"It's a great pleasure to present my friend and fellow Kansan...a true hero of American agriculture ...Senator Bob Dole...

SEN. DOLE SPEAKS

"It is now my honor to officially induct Smokey Bear, Hugh Hammond Bennett, George Washington Carver and Senator Bob Dole into USDA's new Hall of Heroes. Here their plaques will hang, so that employees and visitors, both today and in the future, will understand their work and everything they have meant to this Department and to this country.

"Thank you all again for coming. "

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