We cordially invite you to attend the 21st Knox County Martin Luther King Day celebration, which will take place at Mount Vernon Nazarene University (800 Martinsburg Road) on Jan. 15 at 9 a.m. This annual celebration has been a beloved community tradition for 20 years, and we are delighted to continue it. Our theme for this year's celebration is inspired by Dr. King's famous speech at the Washington Monument: "Out of a Mountain of Despair, a Stone of Hope."
The keynote speaker for the event will be Bishop Edward Cook. With his lifelong dedication to serving others, Cook was awarded the NAACP President's Award in 1998 for his leadership in Toledo, Ohio. He was the president and board chairman of Covenant Youth Development Corporation, an after-school program designed to help at-risk boys between the ages of 10 and 14 and their families in collaboration with the Lucas County Juvenile Court. He was also a founding member of Covenant Pastors of Toledo and the Covenant Community Development Corporation, a local Christian Community Development Corporation. He serves as the state bishop of Ohio North First for the Church of God in Christ.
We are also thrilled to have the following speakers at this event: Matthew Starr, mayor of Mount Vernon, Leeman Kessler, mayor of Gambier, Julie Kornfeld, president of Kenyon College, and Carson Castleman, president of Mount Vernon Nazarene University.
The event is free and open to the public, but registration is required as breakfast will be served. If any accommodations are needed for you to attend, please contact odei@kenyon.edu.