Sandy Springs Prepares For MLK Day Community Celebration

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Sandy Springs, GA -- The city of Sandy Springs is just days way from hosting its 10th annual MLK Day Community Celebration.

The city’s event will kick off at 10 a.m. Monday, Jan. 18 in the Council Chambers at City Hall, which is located at 7840 Roswell Road Building 500.

This year’s keynote address will be given by Fulton County Commission Chairman John Eaves. In November 2014, Eaves was elected to his third, four-year term as chairman of the Fulton County Commission.

Since 2007, he has led the state’s most populous and dynamic county, which is home to nearly one million residents and 14 cities.

Before entering politics, Eaves held leadership roles in nonprofit and academic arenas, both nationally and abroad. For seven years, he served as the southeast regional director of the Peace Corps, helping bring educational and healthcare assistance to the citizens of South Africa, Sierra Leone, Paraguay, Jamaica, Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

Here at home, Eaves is most proud of launching Fulton County’s SMART Justice Advisory Council, a group of community and law enforcement leaders working to reduce recidivism rates, find alternative programs for first-time offenders and help motivated inmates reclaim their lives. He has also been an unwavering champion for the Grady Hospital System.

Eaves is a graduate of Morehouse College, has a master’s degree in religion from Yale University and earned his Ph.D. in educational administration from the University of South Carolina. Eaves resides in Atlanta and is the father of two children, Isaac and Keturah.

In addition, the MLK Day program includes remarks from several Sandy Springs leaders:

• Pastor Henry Bush, Sharon Community Church: In February 2002, Pastor Henry Bush was appointed to lead the Sharon Community United Methodist Church, a congregation as diverse and multicultural as the community it serves. Today, Sharon’s once tiny, all-white congregation has more than 300 members representing more than 10 countries and nationalities.
• Rabbi Dr. Analia Bortz, Congregation Or Hadash: Along with her husband, Rabbi Mario Karpuj, and their daughters, Tamar and Adina, Rabbi Analia co-founded Congregation Or Hadash in 2003. Rabbi Analia was ordained in 1994 at the Seminario Rabinico Latino Americano, Marshall T. Meyer as the First Woman Rabbi in Latin America. Dr. Analia Bortz is a medical doctor with postdoctoral studies in bioethics.
• Reverend G. Thomas Martin, Sandy Springs United Methodist Church: Reverend Martin joined SSUMC this past summer. A native of south Georgia, he graduated from Duke Divinity in 2008 and served Peachtree Road UMC before becoming senior pastor at SSUMC.
• Oz Hill, firestorm principal and Chief Executive Officer of International Security Solutions Inc., a full-service security consulting, planning and program management corporation, Hill returns as master of ceremonies.

As part of the celebration, the 2016 Humanitarian Award will be presented.

The award honors an individual who has shown outstanding commitment to community service in Sandy Springs.

Past recipients include: Phil and Betty Klein (2015), Hugo Mullins (2014), Felix Lora (2013), Tamara Carrera (2012), Melanie Noble-Couchman (2011), Carolyn Axt (2010), Lucy Hall-Gainer (2009), Randi Passoff (2008) and Nancy McCord (2007).

Students from North Springs Charter High School and the Spalding Charter Elementary School Choir will also participate. The MLK Day Celebration is open to the public, and there is no charge to attend. Light refreshments will be served.

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Photo: Mayor Rusty Paul presents the Humanitarian Award to Phil and Betty Klein during the 2015 MLK Day Community Celebration. Looking on are several of their children. In the background is Reverend Sullivan from Holy Innocents’ Episcopal Church.