Media Contact:  Steve Thompson (202) 720-2446
sathomps@rdmail.rural.usda.gov

USDA EMPLOYEES HONORED FOR WORK IN DONATING COMPUTERS TO INDIAN COLLEGES

     WASHINGTON, April 20, 2001--Two USDA Rural Development employees were honored today for their efforts in providing information technology tools to Native American students.

     Garet Moravec, Chairman of the USDA American Indian Council (AIC), presented Cedric Bragg and Beverly Washington-Hazel with certificates of appreciation for their efforts in obtaining and reconditioning USDA surplus desktop computers for Tribal Colleges and Universities on Indian reservations.

     The project was launched by USDA to address the need of various Native American tribes for up-to-date, Y2K-compliant machines for computer training courses and other uses. In a little more than 3 months the project collected 440 surplus Pentium and Pentium II computers from various USDA agencies, made necessary upgrades and modifications, and thoroughly cleaned and tested them before distributing them to 24 tribal colleges.

     Moravec praised Washington-Hazel for her "energy and attitude" and Bragg for his "calm demeanor" in organizing and leading the 3 1/2 month project. He said that the computer donations had helped hundreds of students in their studies and preparation for careers in information technology.

     The AIC is an employee organization formed to give a voice to the American Indian and Alaska Native communities and cultures in USDA. The Council seeks to support diversity initiatives and works to promote cultural awareness among USDA employees.

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