The Greater Scranton Martin Luther King Commission will hold its annual Community Celebration and Awards Dinner this Sunday.
This year’s theme is “Still I Rise.” It is inspired by Dr. King’s quote: “We must walk on in the day ahead with an audacious faith in the future.”
The keynote speaker is Attorney Sara Sofanelli. She serves as special counsel for Pro Bono Initiatives at the law firm Schulte, Roth and Zabel in New York City. A ‘Q and A’ will immediately follow Sofanelli’s presentation, which is titled “Where do we go from here?”
Also at the event, the commission will honor three members of the greater Scranton community.
They include: Melanie-Rose “Torshie” Wentum, who will receive the Youth Leader of the Year Award. Wentum is a junior at Moravian Academy in Bethlehem. She serves as president of the school’s Christian Community Club and participates in Black Student Union. She is also a content creator for WoolStitch, a Christian clothing brand she co-founded by her father.
Rashida Lovely, Dunmore, will receive the Business Leader of the Year Award. She is the owner of Newave Studios. It's NEPA’s first black-owned multi-arts and science studio.
Norma Jeffries will receive the Community Leader of the Year Award. Jeffries grew-up in Scranton, then returned to the area after residing in New Jersey and retiring from Verizon Communications. She currently serves as board secretary for the Scranton Municipal Recreational Authority and is a member of the Scranton Shade Tree Commission and the Electric City Foundation.
The celebration will be held at 2 p.m. in the University of Scranton’s DeNaples Center. Tickets are $25 and can be ordered online.