By The Public Communications Office
In this episode of “What’s Up, College Station?” Marketing Coordinator Grace Hallowell and Lincoln Recreation Center Supervisor Cheletia Johnson discuss the many events scheduled in January to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday.
Transcript
Grace Hallowell:
What’s Up, College Station? I’m Grace Hallowell, and today, I’m joined once again with Ms. Cheletia Johnson, the Center Supervisor of our Lincoln Recreation Center. Hi, Cheletia.
Cheletia Johnson:
Hello. How are you today?
Grace Hallowell:
I’m doing well.
Cheletia Johnson:
Good.
Grace Hallowell:
I’m excited, because you’re here to talk about our annual Martin Luther King Day celebrations.
Cheletia Johnson:
Yes, I am.
Grace Hallowell:
And this is something I know the community looks forward to every year. You guys put on a lot of great events in celebration of Dr. King and his works. So what is the first event that we have?
Cheletia Johnson:
Well, the first event that we are going to do is the community cleanup, and that’s going to be the first Saturday, January the 6th. And we will start at 8:30 AM. It’s open to 14 and older, for those that want to come and help clean up the community. Just to walk around the neighborhood, the parks, and just kind of beautify it at the beginning of the year. And then, we are also hosting our Fit Fest again, to where we want people to get inspired, be encouraged, to start a new health journey.
Grace Hallowell:
Yes. January is a very good time for that.
Cheletia Johnson:
Yes, it is. And so, we want to invite the community out to see all of the different health programs, fitness programs that we offer at the Lincoln Center for affordable prices. They will be able to participate in the demos from our Foreversize to Zumba to line dancing and the new program called GoodinFit Program, it’s like a bootcamp. And so, he will be doing some demonstrations as well. And this is all free. Everything that I’m naming off is free. And the Fit Fest is also going to be on January the 6th, starting at 11:00 AM. It’s not too early for you to get up, but for you to come and get a good workout for a Saturday morning. And then, going into the following week, it’s hard to believe that the Lincoln Center has been doing an MLK program for 40 years.
Grace Hallowell:
Wow. Yes. 40 years.
Cheletia Johnson:
40 years. Okay. So we are going to be hosting our 40th Annual Celebration on Friday, January the 12th, at 6:30 PM. All right? Our guest speaker, our keynote speaker, is one of our former students, one of our Lincoln Center kids, Mr. LaFredrick Smith, who is a principal at a school in Houston, Texas. And he’s written two books to help encourage teachers. So we are looking forward to him coming, as well as our musical guest is Unity of Navisota. They are gospel recording artists. So we are delighted to finally have them here with us to celebrate a man like Dr. King.
And then, also, we will be doing Keeping The Dream Alive Award. This time, this year, because LaFredrick is an educator, we decided to honor educators, the ones that kind of grew up in the neighborhood, grew up Lincoln Center kids, just have made a tremendous impact in the area of education in the Brown College Station area, as well as some of our volunteers that have just come through for us on a regular basis, sharing their gifts with our kids. And so, we are looking forward to that. And then, I have on last year’s shirt, but for those that come early, they will get a new shirt that says 40th Annual Celebration.
Grace Hallowell:
Yes. I’ve seen the designs briefly, and you’re going to want to get one of these shirts.
Cheletia Johnson:
Yes, yes, especially because it says 40th. And definitely to play homage to the woman that started this program, to the late Lillian Jean Clark Robinson. I have to give honor to her, for her starting to do this. And so, we just want to keep her legacy alive and then, celebrate a man that made so many contributions to this nation, to this world. And we do not want to forget about him and, hopefully, to continue to, hopefully, live his dream of being in a community where everybody respects everyone, a community of unity.
Grace Hallowell:
Yes. And the keynote speaker, that’s a good point that you brought up, he’s a former Lincoln Center kid, that went through the afterschool programs. And there is several other ones currently that that could be them one day. So definitely, bring your kids out, bring your families. It’s a very inspiring story.
Cheletia Johnson:
It is. And so, all our programs are open to everyone. And then, hopefully, people will take the time out to come and celebrate Dr. King. If you don’t celebrate with us, find something to do in the community to remember him, to help keep his legacy alive.
Grace Hallowell:
Yes, keep the dream alive.
Cheletia Johnson:
Keep the dream alive. That’s it.
Grace Hallowell:
Is there anything else you can share with us that’s going on in the Lincoln Center?
Cheletia Johnson:
Yes, we are hosting a job fair also.
Grace Hallowell:
Yes.
Cheletia Johnson:
Well, we are collaborating with Brazos Valley Regional Workforce Solution, and they are partnering with us again this year to where we’re going to host a job fair. And it’s going to be Wednesday, January the 24th, starting at 10:30 AM at the Lincoln Center. So for anyone that’s currently looking for a job, just to get their names out there, I know they are planning to have at least 25 vendors at this event. So if you need a job, looking for a job, they will be hiring on site, and you will be able to fill out your application in our computer lab. So take advantage of all the opportunities that’s being presented.
Grace Hallowell:
Yes. Bring a copy of your resume, dress to impress.
Cheletia Johnson:
Exactly. All of those things. And so, if they need some help with their resume, they can always contact the Brazos Valley Workforce Solution. They have staff there that’s willing to help them with their resume and get them ready for the job fair.
Grace Hallowell:
Yes.
Cheletia Johnson:
Yes.
Grace Hallowell:
Well, if anybody has questions or wants to know more about this information, where can they find that?
Cheletia Johnson:
Well, they can always go to the City of College Station website, cstx.gov/lincolncenter. And all the great programs that’s going on at the center, you can find on the website.
Grace Hallowell:
Yes. Or they can stop in, if they want to tour the facility.
Cheletia Johnson:
Exactly, yes. Anything that you would like to do, you can go to the website, you can stop at our facility. You can even go to Central Park and pick up information just about any of the City of College Station facilities. There should be some type of announcement or flyer about the different things, that’s not only taking place at Lincoln Center, but within our department.
Grace Hallowell:
Yes. Because there’s always something going on.
Cheletia Johnson:
It’s always something going on. So we love making things better for our citizens, so we do provide the great things in life.
Grace Hallowell:
Yes. Well, thank you so much for joining me, Cheletia.
Cheletia Johnson:
Oh, thank you for having me.
Grace Hallowell:
You’re welcome. And that’s what’s up.
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