The 17th annual Lake Michigan College Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration and Award Ceremony is Jan. 16 at the LMC Mendel Center. It will kick off a series of programs during the college’s Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration.
All events are free and open to the public. Continental breakfast will be provided starting at 7:45 a.m.
The opening celebration program begins at 8:15 a.m. and will feature a presentation by keynote speaker Lem Barney.
A native of Gulfport, Miss., Barney was a three-time All-Southwestern Conference star and a comparative unknown when he joined the National Football Leagues as a second-round draft pick of the Detroit Lions in 1967.
Since then, he has been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He is the director of physician relations at Detroit Medical Center and an associate minister with Hope United Methodist Church in Southfield. Barney is active in metro Detroit philanthropies and mentors inner-city youth.
LMC will also present its 12th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Diversity Award during the program.
Other speakers include U.S. Rep. Fred Upton, LMC President Dr. Robert Harrison and LMC Board of Trustees Chair Judy Truesdell. All God’s Children Choir and Voices LMC will perform.
Other presentations throughout the week include:
n “What Are You Doing For Others?” – Keynote speaker, Reverend Kenneth James Flowers delivers a speech at 12:15 p.m. Jan. 17 in F-103 at the Mendel Center.
n “What Are You Doing for Others?” features a panel of members from the Race Relations Council of Southwest Michigan, who will discuss service opportunities in the community.
This event will be 12:15 p.m. Jan. 18 at Planetarium D-116, Napier Avenue Academic Building on the Lake Michigan College campus.
The deadline to register for any of the events is Jan. 13. Contact Jannette Yergeau at (269) 927-8100 ext. 5266 or Kathy Tebell at (269) 927-6197.