Well-known servant leadership educator and speaker Tom Thibodeau will keynote Gateway Technical College’s 21st Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. celebration Jan. 19 at the Madrigrano Auditorium in the college’s Conference Center on its Kenosha Campus, 3320-30th Ave. The theme for this year’s celebration is: Care. Serve. Act.
Doors open at 11:15 a.m. and the event begins at noon.
Thibodeau is the chairman of the master’s degree Servant Leadership program at Viterbo University in La Crosse, one of only two master’s-level servant leadership programs in the country.
Gateway will also honor three who have been selected as this year’s Humanitarians. These individuals are recognized for their humanitarian contributions to society in his or her school, business or profession, as well as their dedication to volunteerism or philanthropic life’s work.
Beverly Hicks, Racine. Among other work, Hicks has been a longtime life member of the Racine Branch NAACP, serving on its executive committee for many years; served on the NAACP Wisconsin State Conference of Branches; has received the YMCA’s Corrine Owens Award; the YMCA Women of Distinction Award; William Horlick High School Graduate of Distinction Award; community service award for Wayman Church; received the Insider Woman of the Year Award; is involved with Harvest Outreach and continues to work with youth in Racine.
Her award nominator says Hicks “is truly a drum major for justice in the Racine/Kenosha area.”
Kam Buhler, Franksville. Buhler, born and raised in Hong Kong, has done much to reach out to immigrants and foreign exchange students to help them succeed in college and life. She has sponsored several scholarships, visits the sick and serves as a counselor to an area jail.
Her award nominator says Buhler’s “message to young people is: ‘With hard work you can do it – but you must care for others.’”
Harborside Academy students, Kenosha. Students from a Harborside classroom received the award for showing selfless service to others by ensuring all students were able to participate in a major class activity. Students embraced inclusiveness so that one student had the same opportunity as they did to participate – and, in doing so, continued the legacy of Dr. King.
In addition to speakers and presenting Humanitarian Awards, the mime troop Inspired Movement from Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church of Chicago will also perform at the event.
The celebration will conclude with the second annual education summit, this year focusing on mentoring in Southeastern Wisconsin. Mentoring groups from Kenosha, Racine and Walworth counties have been invited to discuss the current state of mentorship in the region, key needs of area programs and how to work together to improve the success of all educational programs. The discussion begins in Madrigrano Auditorium at 2 p.m. and will conclude at 4:30 p.m. Members of the public are welcome to observe the discussion.
For more information: www.gtc.edu/mlk
For further questions, please contact Zina Haywood at (262) 564-3104.