Demetrius Bynes, MLK parade Grand Marshal The local celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King’s birthday will begin 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 14, at with the Mr. and Miss Dream Queen-King Pageant to be held at the Millen Community House.

The Prayer Breakfast will be held at 8 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 16, at the First Baptist Church Annex. The Rev. A. A. Bush will be the speaker. Tickets are on sale for $5 and may be purchased from any member of the Millen Optimist Club.

A Unity Worship Service/Recognize Grand Marshal will be held 4 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 10, at Nannie E. Williams U.M.C.

The Service of Rededication will be held 5 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 17, at the Zion Baptist Church. The keynote speaker will be the Rev. Kenneth Thomas, pastor of the Williams Grove Church Of God In Christ.

On Monday, Jan. 18, the activities will begin at 10 a.m. with a parade through downtown

Millen. Grand Marshal for the parade will be Demetrius Bynes, a Millen native and the son of Melvin and Carlene Bynes.

Bynes is a 1998 honor graduate of Jenkins County High School and a 2002 Magna Cum Laude graduate of Georgia Southern University (GSU) with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Management with an emphasis in Human Resources Management. In 2004, he received a Master of Business Administration degree in General Business from GSU, and in 2005, he received the Professional in Human Resources (pHR) certification from Human Resource Certification Institute (HRCI). Currently, he serves as Employment Manager at GSU and oversees the hiring of all non-faculty positions. Bynes has also served as an Adjunct Faculty member at GSU and Ogeechee Technical College (OTC). He has over 10 years of experience which includes stints at OTC, the County Council of Beaufort County and GSU.

Bynes’ Professional affiliations include the Magnolia Midlands Society for Human Resource Management Chapter, Society for Human Resource Management and College and University Professional Association for Human Resources (CUPA-HR). He served as president of the Magnolia Midlands Society for Human Resource Management Chapter and a board member of the SHRM Georgia State Council from Jan. 1, 2007 through Dec. 31, 2009. He has served as a board member of the Management and Supervisory Development Committee at OTC since January 2008.

The Jenkins County High School and Portal High School bands will also participate in the parade.

Following the parade, a program will be held at Bethel A.M.E. Church. The speaker for this program will be the Rev. William Patterson, pastor of New Light Baptist Church. He is also band director for Portal High School. Awards for parade participants will be given out during this program.

For further information on the Dream King-Queen Pageant, contact Miriam Johnson at 982-8951 or Annie Anthony at 982-8092.

For more information on the Prayer Breakfast, contact Bobby Anthony at 982-121 or Pam Dwight at 982-1667.

For information on the Service of Rededication, and parade contact, Walter Thomas at 982-1503, Johnnie M. Sherrod at 982-2822, Maebel McCloud at 982-2374 or Mae Della Sapp at 982-1877.

For information on the after parade program, contact Pam Dwight at 982-1667.