By Ellen H. King
July 1, 2002

On Saturday, June 15, during the Opening Plenary Session of the 70th Annual USCM Meeting, USCM President Thomas M. Menino and Stacey J. Mobley, Senior Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer and General Counsel of DuPont presented CUSP's "Lead-SafeÉFor Kid's Sake" Grants. Together, they awarded Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley with a $200,000 award for excellence and $100,000 awards for distinction to Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley, Trenton Mayor Douglas H. Palmer and Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson for their efforts of creating lead-safe environments in their communities.

CUSP, a historical partnership between the Conference of Mayors and DuPont, received more than seventy grant applications in its first year of the grant program. CUSP visits cities across the country and teams up with mayors to help create healthier, safer and more innovative and economically vibrant cities through science-based solutions.

"As chair of CUSP, I am delighted to stand with our partner, DuPont, in recognizing excellence and distinction in America's cities," said Orlando Mayor and CUSP Chair Glenda E. Hood. "Thanks to these generous grants from DuPont, children across the country will be healthier, stronger and have better futures. We hope that mayors in these award-winning cities serve as an example for other cities and that their creative programs and initiatives can be replicated."

"DuPont is proud to support the 'Lead-Safe...For Kid's Sake' Grant Program," said DuPont Senior Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer and General Counsel Stacey J. Mobley. "These award-winning cities truly exemplify the type of innovative thinking that is necessary to make our cities lead-safe and to ensure a brighter tomorrow for our nation's children. I commend every city that applied to the program. The work they are doing helps us to meet the challenge of making our cities lead safe."

Additionally, CUSP awarded all cities that applied to the grant program best practice certificates for their exemplary efforts of implementing effective solutions to make city neighborhoods lead-safe.