Locals set to remember MLK Jr. legacy

By LYNETTE SOWELL
Cove Leader-Press 

Slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. would have turned 89 years old on January 15, 2018, and this year, locals are planning to remember King and his legacy. 
The 13th annual remembrance hosted by the Knights of Columbus is set for Saturday, January 13, at the Knights of Columbus Hall. 
For longtime Copperas Cove resident Ira Brand, he finds it personally very important to volunteer to help commemorate King and his legacy each year and hopes others will do so along with him.
“The message, methods and vision of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. must be exposed to a generation of Americans who have no clue of the price that has been paid for the civil rights they enjoy today. They must know how far America has come as a nation,” Brand said. “They must understand what is at stake if they don’t become engaged in keeping and furthering the civil rights gains that have been made. Every generation has new privileges to protect and challenges to overcome. Without the foundation of history, they are destined to repeat the mistakes of the past.”
He said King demonstrated a shining example of how to achieve civil, social and political change without abandoning his Christian values.  
The event on January 13 starts at 6:30 p.m. and includes a dinner with a program to follow. Tickets are $15 per person and available for purchase from Ira Brand at 247-7524 or at the offices of Holy Family Catholic Church, located at 1001 Georgetown Rd. 
Brand advises those who would like tickets to purchase them prior to January 10, as seating for the event is limited. 
Every year there is a keynote speaker. Keynote speaker for 2018 is Joseph Burns, superintendent of the Copperas Cove Independent School District. 
Burns has been at the helm of CCISD since 2012, and is married with four sons. He currently serves as an executive board member for the Texas Association of Community Schools and the Texas Association of Federally Impacted Schools. He serves as the chairman of the Copperas Cove Crime Stoppers, president of the Copperas Cove Lion’s Club, and serves on the board for the Sunshine Exchange home in Copperas Cove.
Past speakers have included Dr. William G. Louis, of Metroplex Hospital; the Rev. Malcolm E. Hess; Texas Education Agency Commissioner Michael L. Williams; Carlyle Walton, CEO of Metroplex Hospital; Col. Patrick D. Sargent of Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center; Clementine Lewis; and Father Reginald Samuels of St. Hyacinth Catholic Church in Deer Park; as well as Eddie Bell Sr., president of the Korean War Veterans Association for the state of Texas.