<p>Adams-David</p>

Adams-David

<p>Parsons</p>

Parsons

<p>Stanback</p>

Stanback

<p>Bostic</p>

Bostic

<p>Medlin</p>

Medlin

<p>Robson</p>

Robson

The annual series of events to celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. will be held via Zoom this year, which can be tricky for those who aren’t used to it. Below is the information you need to make sure you don’t miss the festivities this weekend.

The Zoom link will be: https://zoom.us/j/98937985990?pwd=QW1QOVd2MDhiWnREaHZQOHpDMjBVUT09. Enter the ID “989 3798 5990” and password “MLKWEEKEND” when prompted.

The events are as follows:

• Jan. 16 – Prayer Breakfast at 9 a.m., Youth Extravaganza at 6 p.m.

• Jan. 17 – Ecumenical Worship at 5 p.m.

• Jan. 18 – Closing Celebration with a panel discussion at 12 p.m.

The theme for this year’s celebrations is “Continuing to Push Forward!” Proceeds from the events go to benefits Richmond County students as they pursue higher education. To support these events or these students, reach out to the “Richmond County Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Foundation” on Facebook.

Meet the lineup of speakers for the panel discussion, which will be moderated by Kimberly Harrington:

Marchell Adams-David

Marchell is a native of Richmond County. She is A 1988 graduate of Richmond Senior High School, And also an undergraduate and graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She began her career with the City of Hamlet in 1993 where she served for 20 years – the last 13 years as City Manager. Marchell became the assistant city manager for the City of Raleigh in 2014 and now serves as the City Manager for the City of Raleigh. She is the first female and the first African-American to serve in that capacity in North Carolina’s capital city.

Marchell is a true public servant and has committed her life to public service for the past 27 years. She is active member of, the Alexander YMCA Board of Directors, The YouThrive Board of Directors, The Triangle Chapter of the American Red Cross, N. C., The Water Pollution Control System Operator’s Certification Commission, The Local Govt. Federal Credit Union Advisory Council, The Project REACH, Triangle J Council of Govts. and the Hillsborough Street Community Services Corporation just to name a few.

Abby Covington

Abby is a native of Hamlet, NC, and a graduate of Hamlet High School. She received a BS Degree in Finance and Management from St. Andrews University in Laurinburg and a Masters degree in Finance and Economics from Appalachian State University in Appalachian, NC.

Abby began her career at Richmond Community College in Hamlet, NC as an instructress in the Accounting Department. She later became the Chairperson of that department. When her career ended in 2011, she was the Chairperson of the entire Business Division. While working at RCC she was elected to the Hamlet City Council, where she served for more than 40 years. She also served for 10 years as the Mayor of Hamlet.

Abby has served on the Boards of Trustees for both the former Hamlet Hospital, and the former Sandhills Regional Medical Center. She has also served on the Richmond County Board of Health.

Currently, she serves on the The First Health/Richmond Hospital’s Board of Trustees, the Hamlet City Council and works with The Hamlet Soup Kitchen.

Keith Parsons

Keith is a native of Ellerbe and a 1987 graduate of Richmond Senior High School. He received his Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism from Elon University in Burlington, NC in 1992 and worked in the Journalism Field before moving back to Richmond County in 2006. At that time Keith joined what is now First Horizon Bank in Rockingham, and worked in the Banking Industry until 2018.

In 2018, he became a Civic Instructor at Richmond Senior High School and currently works as a Business Instructor and Golf Coach at RSH and a Boy’s Basketball Coach at the Hamlet Middle School in Hamlet.

Angela Medlin

Angela is a native of Hamlet. A 1986 graduate of RSH and an undergraduate of North Carolina State University’s College of Design. She was named the 1st, NAACP, Miss Black Richmond County.

Angela has three decades of innovative apparel design and leadership experience with brands such as Nike, Adidas, The North Face, Eddie Bauer, and Levi Strauss & Co. She is a career mentor, serves as a design leader on multiple boards and is the founder of the FAAS DESIGN, which provides creative and professional development to underrepresented creatives desiring to enter the product creation industry.

Currently, Angela lives in Portland, Oregon. She is the Owner and Designer of House Dogge, where she designs exquisite dog toys and accessories. Her beautiful, well crafted, simplicity of design and functional products have become well known and have been feathered in Oprah’s O magazine as one of Oprah’s Favorite Things. They have also been feathered in Better Homes and Gardens, Sunset, Design Milk and others magazine. Welcome home Ann.

Tavares Bostic

Tavares Bostic is a native of Marston and a 2003 graduate of RSHS. After graduation he joined the Army National Guard as a Combat Engineer. He is also an honor graduate of North Carolina A&T State University with a degree in Social Work, a graduate of The University of Pittsburgh, with a Master’s Degree in social work and a certification in clinical mental health. He is founder and CEO of Bostic Counseling and Consulting, which specializes in geriatric psychiatry for individuals residing in assisted living and retirement communities. He is a licensed clinical social worker and practices in 3 states (Virginia, North and South Carolina).

Tavares has dedicated the last 10 years of service to those suffering from chemical dependency, mental illness, and the geriatric community. Notably, He has worked extensively with individuals diagnosed with dementia and with their caregivers. Tavares conducts caregiver burnout, medication management, and financial literacy trainings for caregivers and facilitates grief support groups for individuals that have lost a love one to dementia. Additionally, He is also the founder of the community organization (B.L.A.C.K) “Brothers Leaning on Another Creating Kings”, which focuses on changing the negative narrative of young African American males ages 12-18. Additionally, he is a Hospice volunteer, president for the young democrats of Richmond County and is currently on The Board of the Richmond County Commissioners.

Adrian Robson

Adrian graduated from Richmond Early College High School and Richmond Community College in May of 2013 with his high school diploma and associate of arts degree, focusing in emergency services. He then continued forward in his education for one year at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke where his studies continued in emergency services until he received a higher calling. Even though Adrian was already singing and playing piano in church, the Lord called Adrian to preach and to be a messenger by spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Adrian concluded seminary through Fruitland Bible College and was licensed on Dec. 15, 2015. It would be less than 2 years later in August of 2017 that he would be ordained.

Throughout his education, Adrian has served on the Northside Fire Department as a firefighter for 3 years, Richmond County Rescue Squad as an EMT and Lieutenant for 4 years, and has been serving Ellerbe Rescue and it’s citizens as a certified Safety Officer and EMT since 2018. Adrian is currently finishing his studies at Montgomery Community College where he will become a certified law enforcement officer in the State of North Carolina.

Rev. Robson grew up in the West Rockingham Church of God as well as Sweet Haven Church as a teen and at Abundant Life Church as a young adult.