MLK Annual Celebration Includes Distinguished Service Awards

PULLMAN, Wash.— Everyone is invited to nominate individuals and organizations that exemplify the ideals of Martin Luther King Jr. by making meaningful contributions to the Pullman and Moscow communities through leadership, service and education. To make a nomination for the 2007 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Distinguished Service Awards people are asked to submit an essay of 800 words or less describing the individual’s or organization’s qualifications. 

Nominations from the Pullman/WSU area should be sent to Alice Coil, Women’s Resource Center, on the WSU campus. Nominations from the Moscow/University of Idaho region should be sent to Francisco Salinas in the Office of Multicultural Affairs at the University of Idaho.  Visit www.wsu.edu/MLK or www.students.uidaho.edu/oma for additional guidelines and addresses.

Nominations must be received no later than Jan. 8.

An awards presentation will be held at the WSU Smith Center for Undergraduate Education Atrium on Jan. 15. The University of Idaho will present awards at the 1912 Center on Jan. 16.

Pulitzer Prize winning newspaper columnist Leonard Pitts Jr. will kick off the MLK Community Celebration at 9 a.m., Jan. 13, as the speaker for the Latah County Human Rights Task Force Breakfast. Tickets for the Breakfast, held in Moscow Junior High School, are $8.00 for adults/$4.00 for students and children. Tickets can be purchased at Book People in Moscow.

Pitts’ Miami Herald column appears in newspapers across the nation through syndication. Many columns are devoted to politics and culture. He won the 2004 Pulitzer for his column on the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

“Conversations with Leonard Pitts” is planned for 2 p.m., Jan. 13, in the WSU Murrow School of Communication Addition, CAAD 21. It is open to the public at no charge.

The annual celebration will include a presentation by Martin Luther King III at 7 p.m. Feb. 5 in the University of Idaho’s Kibbie Dome. King III follows the legacy of his father, Martin Luther King Jr., in pursuit of equality and justice for all people. He has devoted his life to motivating audiences around the world with messages of optimism and responsibility.

Tickets for the Martin Luther King III speech will go on sale Jan. 2 at the Kibbie Dome Tickets West Box Office or by calling 208-885-6466. All tickets are priced at $2.00 each and proceeds will be split between the creation of a new Associated Students of University of Idaho Student Achievement Award and the memorial under construction in Washington, D.C., honoring Martin Luther King Jr.

Other celebration activities include:

Jan. 14:

– Noon-6 p.m., annual food drive, Pullman and Moscow Safeway stores.

Jan. 15:

– 8:30 a.m., Breakfast and Registration for day’s events, WSU’s Smith Center for Undergraduate Education, second floor

– 10:30 a.m., Shandra L. Terry’s presentation, “The Legacy is Alive in Me!—A Journey Through Time,” Smith Center Auditorium.

– 11:30 a.m.  2007 MLK Distinguished Service Award Presentations, Smith Center Auditorium

– Noon-1:30 p.m., Lunch Program

– 1:30-3:30 p.m., Freedom School educational program for youth, Smith Center second floor.

Jan. 16:

– Noon, “I Have a Dream” speech by Rev. Happy Watkins, UI’s Commons Food Court, marimba band will follow speech.

– 5 p.m., Civil Rights Commemoration March, UI Friendship Square to 1912 Center.

– 6 p.m., Potluck honoring Rev. Happy Watkins and presentation of UI’s MLK Distinguished Service Awards, 1912 Center.

Feb. 3:

– 9:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m., Legacy Ride—Journey to Freedom, leaves from bus stop outside WSU’s Smith Center.

Feb. 5:

– 7 p.m., distinguished speaker, Mr. Martin Luther King, III, University of Idaho’s Kibbie Dome

For more information, visit www.wsu.edu/MLK and www.students.uidaho.edu/oma.