Come join HUD's First Lady Kitty Martinez as she kicks-off the Department's observance of National Women's History Month. Mrs. Martinez, today's keynote speaker, will address HUD staff at 10:30 a.m. in the HUD Cafeteria.

The theme of this year's observance is "Women Pioneering the Future."

Mrs. Martinez will highlight a few women who have been past pioneers�women whose contributions touch our lives today.

Among those are Brigadier General Wilma Vaught, a highly decorated military leader who helped spearhead an effort to erect a memorial in Washington to honor women who served in the American military, from the Revolutionary War to today.

Another is Condoleezza Rice, President Bush's National Security Advisor. Ms. Rice became the first woman provost at Stanford University, in addition to being its youngest provost and its first African-American.

In addition to talking about famous pioneering women, Mrs. Martinez will also discuss ways in which we all can be future pioneers by reaching out and changing something for the better whether through work, through our children or through other means such as volunteerism.

The event can be seen as a HUD webcast and will be archived in the video library after the initial broadcast.