One of my great privileges as Mayor is the opportunity to celebrate the achievements of outstanding people from Baltimore.  This week, Comptroller Joan Pratt, Councilwoman Belinda Conaway, Councilwoman Rikki Spector, and Councilman Carl Stokes joined me on Wednesday for the presentation of the Key to the City to best-selling author Wes Moore.  The City is honoring him because of his life-long commitment to excellence and public service. 
 
Mr. Moore is the author of "The Other Wes Moore" which explores the amazing stories of two men who share a name but ultimately arrived at two very different destinies. Mr. Moore graduated from Johns Hop­kins Uni­ver­sity in 2001 with a bachelor's degree in Inter­na­tional Rela­tions. At Johns Hop­kins he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, and was honored by the Mary­land Col­lege Foot­ball Hall of Fame.  After Hopkins, he earned a degree in Inter­na­tional Rela­tions from Oxford Uni­ver­sity as a Rhodes Scholar in 2004. 

As a Cap­tain in the United States Army, Mr. Moore served his country with a tour of duty in Afghanistan with the 82nd Air­borne Divi­sion in 2005-2006.  After completing his military service, he was a White House Fel­low from 2006-2007, serving as Spe­cial Assis­tant to Sec­re­tary of State Con­doleezza Rice.  Most recently, he works as an invest­ment pro­fes­sional in New York at Cit­i­group, focus­ing on global tech­nol­ogy and alter­na­tive invest­ments. "The Other Wes Moore" is his first book and was written to inspire constructive conversation about the importance of education, the family unit, personal responsibility, and giving back.  Mr. Moore is donating 10% of his proceeds from the sales of the book to two service organizations, City Year and the U.S. Dream Academy.
 
Honoring Wes Moore was important to me because of how he represents the city of Baltimore to the world.  For decades, Baltimore has been portrayed in fiction as a city of lost and derelict children.  If you believe what you see on television, you might think every child is rudderless, and doomed for a life of crime. However, people who live here know better. 
 
In the same way that no one is born an honored author or Mayor, neither is anyone born a criminal. Where you end up in life is the result of the choices you make, and-most importantly-the people who help guide you along the way.
 
For Wes, one of the great sources of strength in his life was his mother, Ms. Joy Thomas Moore.  She gave him the love and support he needed to become a success.  The Key to the City is as much a tribute to Wes Moore's achievements as it is a tribute to his mother's love and devotion to him.
 
I strongly urge everyone to read "The Other Wes Moore."  It is an inspiring book that should be shared-especially between parents and children.  Your local branch of the Enoch Pratt Free Library will have copies.