The Butler County Civic League aims to continue its 24-year tradition of honoring the dream of a civil rights legend with this year’s annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Breakfast.

Butler County Civic League president and event coordinator George Cook said that, like all other celebrations before, the goal of this year’s breakfast is simple.

But that doesn’t mean it’s any less important to carry out.

“The main focus is to celebrate and commemorate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,” Cook said.

“Dr. King said ‘I may not get to the Promised Land with you, but we, as a people, will one day get to the Promised Land.’ He did so much to help move us forward, but we just sit down, and if we just sit down instead of making progress, we’ll recess.  The main focus is to try to get people to realize what Dr. King was all about.  Dr. King was not just for black people, but all people.”

This year’s event will also feature greetings from a number of prominent leaders throughout Butler County, including County Commissioner Chairman Frank Hickman, Greenville Mayor Dexter McLendon, Georgiana Mayor Jerome Antone and McKenzie Mayor Lester Odom.

According to Cook, the country-style breakfast menu, which consists of “good-old-fashioned eggs, grits, bacon, sausage and those big cathead biscuits,” will follow the opening remarks, punctuated by a message from guest speaker Rev. Dennis B. Bennett, pastor of the Freewater Missionary Baptist Church in Irvington, Ala.

Bennett is no stranger to Butler County, as he served previously as pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church, located on the east side of Butler County, and has headlined two prior speaking engagements for the Butler County Civic League.

The memorial breakfast will close by offering some perspective for old and young audiences alike with reflection on some of the events that occurred during the civil rights movement right here in Greenville.

The breakfast begins at 8 a.m. at the Dunbar Recreation Center in Greenville.  Tickets can be purchased at the door for $5.