March 29, 2024
Annapolis, US 46 F

7 community leaders to be honored at the Annual MLK Memorial Breakfast

The guest speaker at the 34th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Breakfast will be Katherine Hernandez Marroquin, an Anne Arundel County middle school student. The breakfast is Monday, Jan. 19, at the David S. Jenkins Gymnasium on Anne Arundel Community College’s Arnold campus, 101 College Parkway. For tickets, contact Eugene Peterson at 301-538-0887 or Erica Matthews at 443-761-9734.
The guest speaker at the 34th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Breakfast will be Katherine Hernandez Marroquin, an Anne Arundel County middle school student. The breakfast is Monday, Jan. 19, at the David S. Jenkins Gymnasium on Anne Arundel Community College’s Arnold campus, 101 College Parkway. For tickets, contact Eugene Peterson at 301-538-0887 or Erica Matthews at 443-761-9734.

Seven civic leaders and educators who best emulate the spirit and mission of the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. will receive awards Jan. 19 at the 34th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Breakfast at Anne Arundel Community College. This year’s theme, “Children Are Our Future” is highlighted by having Bates Middle School sixth-grader Katherine Hernandez Marroquin as the keynote speaker.

Tickets are still available. Doors open for the event at 7:30 a.m. with breakfast served at 8 a.m. in the David S. Jenkins Gymnasium on the AACC Arnold campus, 101 College Parkway.  Participants are asked to donate canned goods as part of a food drive sponsored by breakfast co-sponsors, the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority and the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, for neighbors in need.

The award recipients are:

Bailey Barcome of Severna Park, a senior at Severna Park High School, who won the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Award from the City of Annapolis Human Relations Commission. She has spent the past two summers doing missionary work in Honduras with St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church and helped this past year by volunteering to aid in the care of refugees from Central America. She hopes to work for the Peace Corps after graduating from college.

Candace Nicole Green of Pasadena, an accountant with KPMG in Baltimore, who is the recipient of the George H. Phelps Jr. Distinguished Public Service Award presented by the Anne Arundel County NAACP. She worked two part-time jobs and participated in an internship and still graduated summa cum laude with a Master’s of Business Administration at Hampton University this past May. She had earlier graduated magna cum laude with departmental honors with a Bachelor of Business Administration from Hampton. She held many leadership positions with college organizations during her undergraduate years, including mentoring young girls and teens in the nearby community and recruiting events for the college.

Patricia Omaña of Laurel, regional outreach manager for Health Howard Inc. and president of the board of The Center of Help, better known as El Centro de Ayuda, which works with the county’s immigrant community, winner of the Dallas G. Pace Sr. Humanitarian Award given by the Anne Arundel County Human Relations Commission. Omana’s career began in radio and television communications where she analyzed research for primarily Spanish-speaking stations in major cities in the United States, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and Puerto Rico. When she moved to the WILC-AM VIVA 900, radio station in Laurel, she moved the station to a community focus so that organizations could stay informed about major issues that mattered in their daily lives. She then moved to a nonprofit, leading the Center of Help. She was chosen in 2013 as one of Maryland’s Top 100 Women by the Daily Record.

The Rev. Zina Pierre of Annapolis, founder of The Breaking Room virtual prayer ministry which provides twice-weekly prayer and teaching sessions through the Internet and conference calls, is the recipient of the Leon H. White Clergy Memorial Award given by the United Christian Clergy Alliance of Anne Arundel County. She was the first woman licensed to preach in her family church, First Baptist Church of Annapolis, and served as youth minister for eight years. She worked in the White House of President Bill Clinton, ran for mayor of Annapolis in 2009 and volunteers with organizations in Annapolis and Anne Arundel County. She also is associate pastor and member of the Board of Trustees of Temple of Praise Church in Washington, D.C.

George J. Trotter of Annapolis, who retired after 40 years as a teacher and administrator, is the winner of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Humanitarian Award given by the Anne Arundel Coalition of Tenants. Trotter, who has a Bachelor of Science degree from University of Maryland Eastern Shore and a Master of Education in school administration/supervision from Bowie State University, has kept active in retirement and is principal of the Alternative Center for Education program based at the Bates Boys and Girls Club of Annapolis. Through his years of teaching, he has received numerous awards for his outreach to youth, including the Anne Arundel Trade Council Outstanding Educator Award, The Omega Psi Phi Award for Outstanding Citizenship, The Apple for Teacher Award, The Martin Luther King Award for Service to Youth, The National Conference of Christians and Jews Award for Service to Youth and The Anne Arundel County Volunteer Center Lifetime Mentor Award.

Anita T. Ingram of Columbia and James P. Messenger of Grasonville, educators at Anne Arundel Community College, dual winners of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Zeitgeist Award presented by the AACC Black Student Union to individual(s) who have helped AACC in achieving its equal opportunity and affirmative action goals. Ingram, an associate professor in AACC’s Homeland Security and Criminal Justice Institute, is a partner with The Ingram Firm LLC, with a law practice focusing on immigration and entertainment law. In addition to her practice and teaching, she provides pro bono legal work to unaccompanied children released from detention in the United States. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Maryland and a law degree from University of Baltimore. Messenger, an assistant professor in mathematics, received a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from University of Notre Dame, served as a 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Army and the U.S. Army Reserves and then earned a Master of Science in Mathematics Education from Florida State University. He has more than 22 years of teaching experience and has earned the Teaching Excellence Award at AACC and been selected for the John and Suanne Roueche Excellence Award. He is chair of the Adjunct Faculty Affairs Committee and helped design two online master courses in AACC’s math department.

Attendees are asked to reserve tickets or RSVP by Jan. 9, 2015. Tickets cost $35 each or $350 for a table for 10. Make checks payable to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Breakfast Committee and mail to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Breakfast Committee, c/o Erica Matthews, P.O. Box 1951, Annapolis, Md. 21404. Breakfast proceeds support scholarships and help maintain Maryland’s only memorial to Dr. King, which is located on AACC’s Arnold campus.

For tickets or information, contact Eugene Peterson at 301-538-0887 or Erica Matthews at 443-761-9734.

[do action=”blackwall-hitch”/]

Previous Article

Woman assaulted, robbed in Annapolis’ Ward 1

Next Article

Bayhawks announce 2015 schedule

You might be interested in …