MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. DAY
Video from King’s speeches, music, student speakers and volunteer opportunities planned
By DEBBIE GILLUM
Wednesday January 14, 2015 11:06 AM
Dublin’s 2015 Martin Luther King Jr. Day Remembrance Celebration is planned from 11 a.m. to noon Monday, Jan. 19, in the Dublin Coffman High School Performing Arts Center.
Unlike in previous years, the keynote speaker this year will be Martin Luther King Jr. himself.
Short video clips of King speaking will be shown three times throughout the celebration.
Deb Maynard, a celebration committee member, said she is confident it will be a “fantastic” program and community members will have a great time.
“Honoring Martin Luther King and recognizing what he did for our country is very important,” Maynard said.
She said she believes serving others is one of the most important things people can do.
The program will start with a video of Martin Luther King’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech and then a soloist will sing, If I Can Help Somebody Along The Way which was made famous by Mahalia Jackson, who is known as the Queen of Gospel, according to Maynard. The song corresponds to the theme which is “If I Can Help Somebody.”
Speakers will include Dalton Maynard, Superintendent Dr. Todd Hoadley and Dublin Mayor Michael Keenan.
There will be performances by the Rock Squad (Coffman’s step team), the Coffman Jazz Band, Mount Olivet Baptist Church gospel choir and a gospel choir of selected Coffman students.
One student from each of Dublin’s three high schools was selected to give a brief speech in regard to the program’s theme.
Yannick Gbadouwey, a senior from Jerome, said he is excited to represent her school and is honored that principal Cathy Sankey selected him.
“The title of my speech is ‘If I Can Help Somebody’ and it will be about how the day signifies the message of working together in order to solve the current problems of the present and to help each other,” she said in an email.
Kali Steele, a sophomore will be the speaker from Scioto and Kaden Molock, a senior, is the speaker from Coffman.
The Drum Major Award, will be given to a deserving Dublin citizen who embodies the spirit of Martin Luther King.
Joe Neidhardt was posthumously awarded the first Drum Major Award last year.
After the ceremony, community members can gather to serve as part of the National Day of Service and choose from four volunteer opportunities.
Volunteers can be matched with a senior for a “This is My Life” interview, go to a rehabilitation facility to spend time with a patient in need of social interaction, register for the Neighbor-to-Neighbor Program, or write a friendly card for a local senior.
There will also be a Red Cross blood drive from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Dublin Community Recreation Center.
Debbie Gillum Wakefield 