“If you see it, then it will come.”
Recalling a similar line from “Field of Dreams,” those were the parting words from State Sen. Reginald Thomas at EKU’s annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Banquet on Wednesday, Jan. 25.
It was the keynote speaker’s way of urging his listeners, including many Eastern students, to envision a brighter future and then work to make it happen, much as King himself did decades ago.
“There will always be dark days,” Thomas said, “but even in dark times, America has prevailed, and America will prevail this time. There’s always a better day ahead. We always have to keep that next day in mind.”
Thomas, of Lexington, represents the 13th District of Fayette County in the Kentucky Senate.
The event, which attracted a capacity crowd to the Keen Johnson Ballroom, also recognized several individuals who have lived up to the ideals embodied in King’s life.
Diamond Richards, a criminal justice major from Lexington, received the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Student Community Service Award. Other Student Community Service Honorees were Noe Aguazul, Kristen Gibson and Raniesha Wassman.
Dr. Roger Cleveland, associate professor of educational leadership, received the Staff/Faculty Community Service Award. Other Staff/Faculty Community Service Honorees were Dr. Bryan Cole, Dr. Minh Nguyen and Dr. Salome Nnoromele.
Dr. Elaine Farris, long-time central Kentucky educator and Kentucky’s first African American school district superintendent, received the Alumnus Community Service Award.