Purpose Letter

Dear Community Member:

We would like to invite you to the 4th Annual Westerville Martin Luther King, Jr. Breakfast Celebration that will take place on Monday, January 19, 2009, at Villa Milano Banquet & Conference Center, 1630 Schrock Rd. Doors will open promptly at 7:30 a.m. and the program will begin at 8:00 a.m. This year’s theme is “Stepping Together.”

If you attended the breakfast last year (view photos), we hope that you and your family plan to attend again. If you missed the event last year, then you are definitely in for a treat!

The morning will include entertainment, guest speakers, and, of course, good food. We will also present the Second Annual Fouse and Alston Awards, which have been established to recognize one student and one community member who have put the ideals of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. into action. Finally, the breakfast Keynote Speaker is Jefferson A. Thomas. Mr. Thomas was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, and attended the all-Black public schools, as did his seven older siblings. Because of the US Supreme Court’s ban on Public School segregation (Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, May 17, 1954), Mr. Thomas volunteered to desegregate the all-White Central High School along with a group of eight other Black students, now known as the “Little Rock Nine.”

We hope you will plan on reserving a place at the breakfast table for your families, schools, organization and business! Registration prices for the breakfast are $20 per adult and $10 per student. Individual registrations can be purchased through January 18, 2008.

Businesses are encouraged to become a table sponsor for $250, which includes 10 breakfast registrations and the recognition of your business as a table sponsor in the event program. Table sponsorships will be sold through January 12, 2009, but to ensure that your business is listed in the program as a table sponsor, we ask that you have your sponsorship confirmed by December 31, 2008.

Advertising opportunities are also available in the program (page size is 8½” x 5½”), including Individual Sponsor for $25, Business Card for $50, ¼-page for $100, ½-page for $250 and Full Page for $500. The deadline for purchasing program advertising is December 31, 2008. Call Kristi Robbins at (614) 901-3101 for details.

Our goals for this breakfast remain the same:

To promote awareness of cultural diversity
To elevate issues surrounding equality
To encourage dialogue amongst our diverse neighbors in the Westerville community

We look forward to seeing you in January and thank you in advance for your support.

Sincerely,
The Westerville Martin Luther King, Jr. Planning Committee

Planning Committee

Pastor Vaughn Bell, Triumphant Church of God

Kimberly Brazwell, Columbus State Community College

Kathy Cocuzzi, City of Westerville

Laura Ehninger, Westerville Schools

Richard Johnson, Heritage Christian Church

Amy Miller, Westerville Schools

Kristi Robbins, Leadership Westerville

Brian Smith, Mt. Carmel Health

Caitlin Tully, Otterbein College

Greg Viebranz, Westerville Schools

Beth Weinhardt, Westerville Public Library