Local King Day Celebration

Attachment: My Speech

Photos & footage taken by Gail D. Johnson

Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

Gail and I wish all of you and your families a happy and safe Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Day. I also like to remind you that all city offices except for the police department will be closed today in honor of the slain civil rights leader and Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipient on this nationally recognized holiday set aside as his birthday.

Mayor’s Proclamation

In Observance of
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

WHEREAS, on November 2, 1983, at a White House ceremony inside the Rose Garden, President Ronald Reagan signed a bill into law creating a national holiday named in honor of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who is also one of the most important and recognized figures in our Nation’s History; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., exemplified the values of equity, justice, and brotherly love, and through nonviolence brought an end to segregation and other forms of oppression, both in the United States of America and abroad; and

WHEREAS, the sun set early, ending the life of the dreamer but not the dream of this young thirty-nine year old preacher from Atlanta Georgia; and

WHEREAS, more than forty years after his assassination, his dream of living in a world where one is judged only by their character and not the color of their skin, has finally rung true with the election of Barack H. Obama as the first person of color elected President of these United States of America; and

WHEREAS, we celebrate the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., on the eve of the Inauguration of Barack H. Obama as President, let us move from this day in the spirit of brotherly love, as one Nation under God with Liberty and Justice for all.

NOW THEREFORE, I, Van W. Johnson, Sr., Mayor of the Historic City of Apalachicola, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the City Charter, do hereby proclaim and call upon all residents of the City of Apalachicola, to observe, celebrate and adopt the spirit of service on January 19, 2009, in honor of the legacy left behind by the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and to prepare for the dawn of a new era with the presidency of Barack H. Obama.

HEREBY PROCLAIMED, in the year of our Lord this 15th day of January, 2009.

FOR THE CITY OF APALACHICOLA

VAN W. JOHNSON, SR., MAYOR

Dr. King Day Celebration

The Love Center Ministries will be hosting their 2009 Martin Luther King, Jr., Holiday Celebration on Monday, January 19 at 11:00 AM at the Love & Worship Center Church located at 151-10th Street in Apalachicola.

The guest speaker will be Delwynn G. Williams, Pastor of St. John Missionary Baptist Church in Panama City, Florida, where he was called to the office of pastor in May of 2001. A native of Orlando, Florida, Williams graduated from Orlando’s Edgewater High School before attending Springfield Christian Bible Seminary in Springfield, Massachusetts where he received a Doctor of Divinity and a Bachelor of Theology. He currently serves as the President of the Bay County Chapter of the NAACP and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. He’s also listed in the 1996 Edition of Strathmore's Who's Who Among Business Leaders and the 1987 Edition of Outstanding Young Men of America.

Love Center Ministries General Overseer and Celebration Coordinator Apostle Shirley C. White along with Senior Pastors Leonard D. & Sheila W. Martin welcome and invite the community to come out and join in the celebration of one of America’s most important figures.

For more information on the 2009 Dr. King Day Celebration, call the ministry at (850) 653-2203.

National Day of Service

Next Monday, January 19 is National Day of Service. It is a day that was set aside by Congress in 1994 to give each of us an opportunity to help make a difference in our communities and in the lives of others. On this day and in the spirit of service, thousands of people from across the country will be involved in volunteering for programs and projects to help shape and make a major impact in their communities.

This year the day has an even greater significance, it’s the day before the Presidential inauguration, and it falls on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

President-elect Barack Obama and his wife Michelle will be doing their part by volunteering to participate in community service activities and they are encouraging all Americans to join with them. The day will also equally serve as a tribute to Dr. King’s legacy by transforming the federal holiday honoring him into a national day of community service grounded in his teachings of nonviolence and social justice.

The goal is to make the holiday a day where all people regardless of age, gender, race, or religion come together to work toward building one community in order to improve the lives of everyone living within that community.

As Mayor, I encourage all Apalachicolian to take full advantage of National Day of Service by taking the initiative to get involved and volunteer to help in one of the following areas:

- Remove litter from the roadside;
- Clean up one of our beautiful parks;
- Help an underprivileged child;
- Take a senior shopping;
- Rake the yard of an elderly person;

Or any activity that may lend itself to improving the community in which we live. However, I must caution that random acts of kindness are addictive and may lead to further acts of kindness.