City of Columbia Recognized Winners and Sponsors of Dream Keeper Scholarships Program During 36th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration

On Monday, January 15, 2024 the city held its 36th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration. The annual celebration began at 4 p.m. at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Park, 2300 Greene Street.

 

This community event featured musical selections, a keynote presentation by Dr. Bobby J. Donaldson, and a special acknowledgment of the sponsors and winners of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Dream Keeper Scholarship and Honor the Dream Food Drive. Thanks to an increase in sponsorships, ALL students were able to receive awards, which included scholarship winners, runners-up, a certificate and a gift card to Chick-fil-A.

 

The winners of the Dream Keeper Scholarships are:

 

Elementary Winner:

• 1^st Place; $100 Marley No’Elle Green, (John P. Thomas Elementary)
• 2^nd Place; $75 Dylan Nance, (Carver-Lyon Elementary)
• 3^rd Place; $50 Layla Overton, (Horrell Hill Elementary

 

Middle School Winners:

• 1^st Place; $250 Chloe Jada Singleton, (Hand Middle School
• 2^nd Place; $175 Mikay’lah A. Tilley, (Southeast Middle School)
• 3^rd Place; $100 Miyah McDade (W.A. Perry Middle School)

 

High School Winners:

• 1^st Place; $1000, Aidan Randall Dong, (Dreher High School)
• 2^nd Place; $500 Jordan Knapper, (A.C. Flora School)
• 3^rd Place; $250 Noah Kelson, (A.C. Flora High School)

 

The Sponsors for this years’ program were:

          $1,000:

• Columbia Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
• Aubrey D. Jenkins, Fire Chief, Columbia-Richland Fire Department
• Columbia, SC Branch of the NAACP

          $500:

• Halligan, Mahoney & Williams, P.A.
• Omicron Iota Lambda Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.
• 100 Black Men of Greater Columbia
• Omicron Phi Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.

          $250:

• Alpha Psi Lambda Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.
• Chi Iota Iota Chapter Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.
• Law Office of Ernest Cromartie
• In Loving Memory of Donald L. Palmer, I
• City Councilman Tyler Bailey
• Teresa Wilson, City Manager, City of Columbia
• Henry Simons, Assistant City Manager, City of Columbia
• William Holbrook, Chief of Police, City of Columbia Police Department
• Randy Davis, Director, City of Columbia Parks & Recreation
• Gamble Chiropractic

$100:

• Melron Kelly, Deputy Chief of Police, City of Columbia Police Department
• Martin Luther King Neighborhood Association
• Frank Auto Body Shop
• Vince Gatling, Jr.

    Less Than $100

• Minnie Bivins
• Kim Glasgow
• Daris Harris
• Kenya Bryant
• Taurus Lewis
• Veronica Walker
• Tracey Dixon
• Le’shunn White
• Anukkah Chandler
• Vivian Clark
• Austin Donovan

 

The Honor the Dream Food Drive winners were:

Largest School Donations (lbs/student):

• Richland One Middle College: 3.97

Largest Park Donations:

• Martin Luther King Jr.: 541