By WJBC Staff
NORMAL – The Human Relations Commissions in Bloomington-Normal have named this year’s Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. award winners.
The Adult Human Relations Awards went to Kevin Jones of Bloomington and Mary Aplington of Normal. Jones works with the Bloomington Regional Alternative School. Aplington has been a counselor in Bloomington schools for 19 years.
The Youth “I Have a Dream” Award winners were Anniah Watson, a student at Normal West High School, and Sujith Molakala, a student at Normal Community High School.
Watson has helped lead the Helping Youth Progress and Excel (HYPE) program, has emerged as a leader within the Not In Our School chapter and is the co-founder of a not-for-profit “Book4U,” a mobile book service that supplies free college text books to low-income students.
Molakala is a member of Class Board and National Honor Society, a peer tutor, and recently spearheaded an effort to extend the Little Free Pantry to NCHS.
The four were honored at the 41st Annual Martin Luther King Awards Luncheon at Illinois State University’s Bone Student Center on Saturday. The event included the awards presentation and featured broadcast journalism pioneer Monica Pearson, who in 1975 became the first minority and first woman to anchor the evening news in Atlanta, Georgia.
MLK service
A day off for many shouldn’t be a day of rest says the head of a group that wants Illinoisans out serving their state. Scott McFarland, Executive Director of Serve Illinois, said there is no better way to honor the legacy of Martin Luther King.
“We are hoping that people will use their day off to have a day on as MLK has been since 1994,” McFarland said. “It is the largest say of service in the country and we are hoping thousands of Illinoisans will get up and work In the community.”
A list of service projects can be found at www.serve.illinois.gov.
