MLK event will be Jan. 20 at Wheatley

Mareece Webb will be the keynote speaker at the 34th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration, which will be held Monday, Jan. 20, in Poplar Bluff.

King’s Dream for Our World - Service is the theme for the event, which will begin at 11 a.m. at the historic Wheatley school on Garfield Street.

Wheatley Historic Preservation Association executive board is organizing the program.

Webb is described by friends and family as being family-oriented, and active in church and the community.

Prior to becoming an engineer for the Union Pacific Railroad, Webb worked at the alternative school and was an assistant basketball coach at Poplar Bluff High School. Webb is the son of Carolyn Britton and the late Raymond Britton. He is also active in Mt. Calvary Powerhouse Church, working with the youth ball programs and helps with the church’s community toy drive.

The program will begin with Rhonda Kennney of the WHPA executive board presenting the welcome. After Nabre Burns’ solo, prayers will be offered for the city by JoAnn Brandon of Lively Stone Church, for the state by Jeff Carter of Mt. Calvary Powerhouse, and for the nation, with the speaker to be announced.

A tribute will be given by the Rev. Greg Kirk, executive director of the United Gospel Rescue Mission. Poplar Bluff Mayor Robert Smith’s talk will be entitled “My Journey.”

Deacon Russell Kennedy of Pleasant Hill Missionary Church will close the program.

Erin Ceesay of the WHPA executive board and the keynote speaker at last year’s event will provide an opportunity for individuals who are not registered to vote to enroll after the program.

Rex Rattler said additional speakers may be added to the program.

King, born Jan. 15, 1929, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. A Baptist minister and social activist, King led the civil rights movement in the United States from the mid-1950s until his death in 1968.