Links plan MLK breakfast

Published 6:26 pm Saturday, January 9, 2016

 The Links, Inc. are preparing for their annual MLK Jr. Unity Breakfast. Shown are members Nancy Sewell, Penny Williams, Evelyn Evans, Charlotte Griffeth, Juana Maxwell and Jeannie Evans.

The Links, Inc. are preparing for their annual MLK Jr. Unity Breakfast. Shown are members Nancy Sewell, Penny Williams, Evelyn Evans, Charlotte Griffeth, Juana Maxwell and Jeannie Evans.

The Selma Chapter of The Links, Incorporated will continue a Selma tradition this Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

The organization will sponsor its 23rd annual Unity Breakfast. According to organizers, this year’s event is already sold out.

“We are really excited and grateful for the response from the community,” said Links member Juanda Maxwell.

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This year’s speaker will be Selma native Meria Joel Carstarphen, who is now the superintendent of Atlanta Public Schools. She is the daughter of Joe and Donna Carstarphen.

She has been with the Atlanta school system since July 2014. Before that, she was superintendent of the Austin (Texas) Independent School District going back to 2009.

In her 20-year career, Carstarphen has also worked for district in Saint Paul, Minnesota and the District of Columbia.

However, before going to work in major metropolitan public school districts, she started her career as a middle school teacher in her hometown of Selma.

Carstarphen earned her bachelor’s degree in political science and Spanish from Tulane University in New Orleans and master’s of education degrees from Auburn University and Harvard University.

She would go on to earn her doctorate in administration, planning and social policy with a concentration in urban superintendency from Harvard’s Graduate School of Education.

In addition to welcoming Carstarphen home, the Links will also honor their 2016 Distinguished Citizen Award. That honor will go to Chad McEachern, who was recently promoted to president and CEO of the Edmundite Missions.

In his new position, McEachern continues to raise critically needed funds to sustain outreach efforts for the poor and develop strategies to feed, clothe, shelter and educate the needy in the Deep South.

A multi-cultural children’s choir will also perform under the theme of “Celebrating the Legacy.”

While tickets are sold out, anyone with questions should contact Links member Charlotte Griffeth at (334) 467-5143.

The annual event helps The Links award scholarships to local students, who will also be honored during the breakfast.

The event starts Monday, Jan. 18 at 7:30 a.m. at the Carl C. Morgan Convention Center behind Selma City Hall on Washington Street.