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Diversity Day 2002

The Fourth Annual Diversity Day Celebration was held on June 5, 2002.  The focus this year was "Working Together To Serve Millions."  The CMS mission is to assure health care security for millions of program beneficiaries.  These Americans reflect our Nation's diversity of cultures and traditions.  It is a simple fact today that our program beneficiaries (our customers) want to do business with an Agency that understands them, communicates with them and an Agency that has a diverse workforce that represents them.  CMS's workforce and program beneficiaries are becoming increasingly diverse.  We seek Diversity because the government, the private sector and the Nation have all learned the same lesson, that workforce Diversity means strength and vitality.

The speakers this year were: Claude A. Allen, Deputy Secretary for the department of Health and Human Services; Jacob Lozada, Ph.D., Assistant Secretary of Human Resources and Administration in the Department of Veterans Affairs; and Lobna Ismail, founder and executive director of Connecting Cultures, Inc.

Entertainment included Marsha Meekins Project Band; Musical Expressions, a classical string quartet; Flamenco Dancers, Spanish dance, acoustic guitar playing, chanting and staccato handclapping; Soaring Eagles, American Indian children's dance group; and Larry Pratt, CMS Harmonicist.  The Baltimore County Police Ceremonial Honor Guard Police Unit presented the colors.  The ethnic food sampling included: fried chicken wings, sweet and sour mini meatballs, Italian sausage, Mini Quesadillia, Mini catfish nuggets, vegetarian egg rolls, vegetable platter, fresh fruit platter and a large scale sheet cake decorated with "Diversity Day 2002" in red, white and blue.

A patriotic balloon display included the Statue of Liberty along with other red, white and blue balloon displays.

Planning for Diversity Day 2003 is underway.