Grassley has been at work with Iowans for nearly two years to develop a coalition called Face It Together ? or FIT ? to respond to the growing drug problem in Iowa. On August 27th, he will travel to six Iowa cities to release FIT's grassroots plan for action.
Grassley will be accompanied on this announcement tour throughout the day by some of the individuals who have helped to develop this strategy, including:
In addition, in four of the six communities on Grassley's schedule, the mayor will join in making the announcement on Thursday, including:
These Iowans, along with many other community, political and business leaders, have worked on a steering committee or participated in meetings or surveys organized by Grassley to build the FIT Coalition. Six individual task forces have been at work examining various options to fight substance abuse. They focused on 1) Parents, Youth, Schools, 2) Media and Public Perception, 3) Workplace and Workforce, 4) Law Enforcement and the Courts, 5) Religious, Fraternal and Community Groups, and 6) Medical Accuracy and Research.
The recommendations of these task forces were presented to thousands of individual Iowans who participated in April and July in the 21 anti-drug town meetings Grassley conducted across Iowa. The results of this grassroots survey effort have been incorporated into the action plan that will be unveiled Thursday. In addition, Grassley solicited input from each of Iowa's 947 mayors in formulating the FIT blueprint. "My goal in organizing Face It Together is to bring together all elements of local communities to fight substance abuse and make our families, neighborhoods, schools, and workplaces drug-free," Grassley said. "In addition to aiming directly at the growing problem we have in Iowa and providing the necessary know-how for community leaders, I want our work to serve as a model for the rest of the country. I will be sharing our grassroots strategies and successes with other senators so that they can coordinate the same kind of effort to fight drugs in their states."
Last year, Grassley won passage of a bill he introduced to re-direct federal resources from the Washington bureaucracy to local community coalitions with a proven record of combating drug use. This year alone, the Drug Free Communities Act will make possible as many as 200 grant awards for as much as $100,000 each.
Detailed information follows regarding the news conferences scheduled for Thursday. Grassley said he will release a copy of "Iowa's Grassroots Blueprint for Action" of the FIT Coalition at each news conference.
Face It Together ? FIT Coalition News Conferences
Thursday, August 27, 1998
9:30-10:30 a.m. ? Council Bluffs
In the lobby of the Municipal Airport/Advanced Air, Inc.
16801 McCandless Lane in Council Bluffs
11:15-12:15 a.m. ? Des Moines
In the Cloud Room of the Des Moines International Airport
With Mayor Preston Daniels
1:30-2:30 p.m. ? Burlington
In the conference room of the Regional Airport
With Mayor Tim Scott
3:00-4:00 p.m. ? Davenport
In the board room of the Davenport Municipal Airport/Carver Aero
With Mayor Phil Yerington
4:30-5:30 p.m. ? Cedar Rapids
In the conference room of the main terminal of the Eastern Iowa Airport in Cedar Rapids
6:00-7:00 p.m. ? Waterloo
In Wader's Restaurant at the Waterloo Municipal Airport
With Mayor John Rooff