Story and photos by Mollie Skipworth
On Sunday, January 14th, community members gathered at the Todd Central High School auditorium to attend the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration. The event was sponsored by the Todd County School District and the Laity & Ministers Alliance of Todd County.
Dana Orr announced the banner winners with North Todd in first place. Orr also presented the winners of the coloring contests and essay winners. The following were winners of the North Todd coloring contest: Emery Lear, 1st place; Ellison Monroe, 2nd place; and Miyah Rippy, 3rd place.
For the North Todd essay contest, the winners were Analeigh Laster in 1st place, Leslie Hill in 2nd place, and Emma Jolly in 3rd place.
Analeigh Laster delivered her essay to those in attendance.
South Todd’s winners for the coloring contest were Anna Nava de Jesus in 1st place, Ian Vasquez, in 2nd place, and Ainsley Shanklin in 3rd place. The essay winners for South Todd were Ellery Jenkins, 1st place; Luella Tabor, 2nd place; and Emma Thompson, 3rd place.
South Todd’s multimedia winners were Serenity Herrington in 1st place, Markeia Welch in 2nd place, and Jude Griffith in 3rd place. Todd County Middle School’s essay winners were Emma Chapman in 1st place, Allie Monroe in 2nd, and Jade Henderson in 3rd. The winners for the middle school in the category of multimedia are Sydnee Vass in 1st place, Natalie Cruz in 2nd place, and Jaxtyn Landford in 3rd.
The Todd Central High School essay contest winners were Lexie Bumpus in 1st place, Marah White in 2nd, and Heavenly Coiner in 3rd.
The featured speaker for the event was Reverend Joe Leavell, who is the Pastor of Johnson Chapel Baptist Church in Hopkinsville, Ky.
The South Todd Choir then led the congregation in the song “Lift Every Voice”. For special music, the choir sang “Sing About Martin”. The final performance by the choir was “This Little Light of Mine” while an offering was taken up for the LAMA Backpack Program. The North Todd Elementary choir then performed “A Wish for Peace”, followed by “A Million Dreams.”
To close the service, Reverend Lisa Balboa led the congregation in the song “We Shall Overcome.” She then proceeded to deliver the
benediction.
Reverend Willard Knipp of Petrie Memorial Methodist Church, Father Frank Ruff, and Reverend Lisa Balboa also participated in the service.
