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REMARKS BY:	DONNA E. SHALALA, SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
PLACE:		1998 CFC Awards Ceremony, Washington, D.C.
DATE:		March 16, 1999

And it's great to look outside and see that Spring is finally on the way. And although predicting snowfall may seem like a guessing game lately, there's one thing we at HHS have no trouble predicting: The warmth and generosity of our employees, year in and year out.

Today, we honor that generosity. We honor the employees who open up their wallets, their pocket books, and their hearts. It happens every time we contribute our time and money to the Combined Federal Campaign.

When we donate to the CFC, we do much more than fill out a form and check a box. We send a gift of health and hope to citizens here and abroad.

We send a gift to a disabled child in Virginia who dreams of running the 100- yard dash in the Special Olympics.

We send a gift to a small town in Honduras devastated by Hurricane Mitch - and struggling to rebuild their homes and their lives.

And we send a gift to a woman with breast cancer in Washington, D.C. - who's counting on treatment and praying for a cure.

And this year, that couldn't have happened without the hard work and dedication of all the HHS employees who volunteered their time.

Because of you, we have had a truly historic year, shattering all our previous CFC goals for the Department. This year, we raised a grand total of 2.8 million dollars!

That's the most money raised in the history of this Department - $400 thousand dollars above and beyond our goal!

And for that, I think you should give yourselves a big round of applause.

You know, being the longest-serving Secretary of this Department means I've had the pleasure of seeing first-hand how HHS employees meet extraordinary challenges in the service of the American people. Everything from keeping tobacco out of the lives of our children.to getting the Y2K computer bug out of our computer systems.

But each year, I am truly astounded by the dedication of our CFC volunteers and the selfless contributions of our employees. Perhaps what amazes me most is that almost every year you manage to climb higher and reach farther.

And after last year's historic CFC campaign, the challenge was greater than ever to top the un-toppable.

It reminds me of when a reporter asked Mark McGwire how he could possibly best his astounding, record- breaking season of seventy home runs. His answer was simple and to the point: "I guess I'll just hit seventy-one."

Well, today we salute those who looked at last year's CFC record like it was ancient history.and decided to make their own history.

We honor Dr. Claude Earl Fox, CFC Campaign Manager Betty Hambleton, and other key staff at HRSA who managed the day-to-day operations of the campaign.

We honor the exceptional work of all our organizational leaders, coordinators, team captains, and keyworkers, who went the extra mile. And we honor agencies like the Administration on Aging which boasted the highest participation rates in the Department.

To all of you - as well as the thousands of HHS employees who gave so generously - I thank you.

I am enormously proud of our success. You can see it in the lives of those who will benefit from your generosity this year and in our efforts to raise even more money - and break even more records -- next year.

Thank you .