The MLK, Jr. breakfast was held at the Crowne Plaza on Saturday with 1,100 people in attendance; it was a sold out event. Joe and Jean McGuire attended, as did Andrew and Mary Beth Atherton. Bob Oast, Alan, Sam and Sarah enjoyed time with Lin and Dave Brown, and Lucy and Gene Keil. A truly fabulous keynote was given by Patricia Russell-McCloud. She opened her address by reciting Langston Hughes’ poem which starts: “life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.” Like the poem, her speech focused on how we have to keep climbing, even when there are splinters in the stairs, even when we are climbing in the dark, even if we trip and fall. I wish all of you could have heard her speak.
Joe McGuire serves on the Board of Directors of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Association of Asheville & Buncombe County, which plans this annual community event. Joe received many warm wishes of thanks for his efforts and contributions to the event as well as for McGuire Wood & Bissette serving as a “community partner” for the event.
