Warmth marks Dr. King holiday
During a week that started out cold, there were plenty of warm hearts in celebration of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday.
In Apalachicola, organizer Dolores Croom and her committee moved the event to Sunday afternoon, Jan. 19 so as not to conflict with the inauguration at noon on Monday.
During the program at the Fort Coombs Armory, emceed by Bishop Roibert Davis of the Love Center and Pastor David Walker of Covenant Word, the program opened with a musical prelude by Bobby Wintons and Funmasterway, the Pledge of Allegiance led by Isabelle Grace Bal, a singing of “Lift Ev’ry Vopice and Sing,” considered the Negro National Anthem; and an invocation by Pastor Valentina Webb of Tabernacle of Faith.
Mayor Brenda Ash and County Commissioner Anthony Croom offered welcomes, followed by a celebration of dance by the Hillside Dancers.
Micah Edwards recited excerpts from Dr. King’s speeches, followed by award presentations by members of the holiday’s advisory board.
LaTrinda Cummings presented Elinor Mounty-Simmons, a longtime leader of H’COLA (Hillside Coalition of Laborers for Apalachiaola) with the Community Service award. Fonda Davis, Sr. presented the staff at Weems Memorial Hospital with the Economic Development award.
County Judge J. Gordon Shuler presented Jame Donald, a retired Army general who lives on St. George Island and is devoted to an inmate ministry program at the county jail, with the Humanitarian Award.
A Lifetime Award was presented by Myrtis Wynn to Dr. Dreamal Worthen, a longtime extension agent with Florida A & M University. The Pioneer Award, presented by Walker, went to Retha McCaskill, a retired schoolteacher now in her 90s.
Apostle L. D. Martin, with the Love Center’s outreach in Panama City, delivered the keynote address, with musical selections from the North Port St. Joe Choir both before and after his remarks.
A march to the steps of the county courthouse was cancelled due to the weather.
In Port St. Joe on Monday, a commemorative walk was held despite the cold, celebrating “40 Years of Legacy: Marching Forward United in Justice and Peace.”
The morning parade made its way down Reid Avenue, and down Dr. Martin Luther King to Avenue G. A luncheon program followed at the Washington High School gymnasium, hosted by the Freedom Exchange Community Development Centers of the Americas Foundation, Inc.
Meet the Editor
David Adlerstein, The Apalachicola Times’ digital editor, started with the news outlet in January 2002 as a reporter.
Prior to then, David Adlerstein began as a newspaperman with a small Boston weekly, after graduating magna cum laude from Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts. He later edited the weekly Bellville Times, and as business reporter for the daily Marion Star, both not far from his hometown of Columbus, Ohio.
In 1995, he moved to South Florida, and worked as a business reporter and editor of Medical Business newspaper. In Jan. 2002, he began with the Apalachicola Times, first as reporter and later as editor, and in Oct. 2020, also began editing the Port St. Joe Star.