Annual breakfast celebrates legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.

The 12th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Community Breakfast will be held at 9 a.m. Jan. 15 in Eagle Commons, on the PennWest Clarion campus. This year’s theme, “The King Legacy: Progress Through Peace,” commemorates the 60th anniversary of King’s Nobel Prize for Peace.

Cost of the breakfast is $8 at the door. RSVP here. Donations of non-perishable food items will be accepted in support of Clarion Community Food Bank.

Dr. Joseph Croskey will deliver the keynote address. Croskey is a professor at PennWest Clarion, where he directs a program that supports students who have few financial or academic resources, and is executive director of the Frederick Douglass Institute for Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education.

Croskey studied systems engineering at the United States Military Academy at West Point. After graduating, he forged more leadership skills in U.S. Army Ranger School and as an Infantryman leading a platoon in the Desert Storm combat. From there, he completed a master's degree at The George Washington University and went on to earn his Ph.D., researching the benefits of mindfulness training for college students. 

Secondary education/English major Bupe Watson will be the student speaker. Watson is sales supervisor and social media manager for The Clarion Store and chair of the Clarion Students Association board of directors. After graduating from PennWest, she plans to give back to the community through social work.

Clarion Community Choir will lead the singing of “Lift Every Voice.”

The breakfast is sponsored by PennWest Clarion and Clarion community businesses, churches and organizations.