Gateway Humanitarian Award Winners Announced

Deep commitments to their communities is what motivates this year's Martin Luther King, Jr. Humanitarian Award Winners.

Olatoye Baiyewu of Racine, Veronica King of Kenosha and Al Levie of Racine are the recipients of the 2012 Gateway Technical College Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Humanitarian Award.

The three will be honored at the 18^th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration noon, Monday, Jan. 16, in the Madrigrano Auditorium of the Conference Center on Gateway Technical College’s Kenosha Campus, 3320-30^th Ave. The three were selected for exemplifying the daily principles of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

• Olatoye “Ola” Baiyewu. Ola Baiyewu is the executive director at Human Capital Development Corp. Inc./First Choice Pre-Apprenticeship Training.

Baiyewu’s nominator says: “Over the years, Ola has made it his personal mission to educate, mentor, encourage and develop the potential of disadvantaged people – women and men with no color attached – in Racine County, and to improve the community through effective leadership.”

• Veronica King, Kenosha. Veronica King is the secretary of the Kenosha branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. She is a social worker for the Wisconsin Department of Corrections and is a Gateway Technical College graduate.

King’s nominator says: “No task is too big for Ms. King to take on. She puts service before herself, and is always willing to go the extra mile. Whoever is in need, whatever the need is, Ms. King is there to assist in any way she can.”

• Al Levie, Racine. Al Levie is a teacher at Horlick High School and serves on the executive board of Voces de la Frontera.

Levie’s nominator says: “Al Levie has worked throughout his life to promote the values of Dr. Martin Luther King. These values demand a life of action directed toward remediating the injustices that Dr. King so patiently and vehemently opposed.”

The keynote speaker for this year’s celebration will be nationally known motivational speaker Dr. Earl Suttle. The 2012 theme is “The Dream – Make it Your Own.” The Pleasant Prairie-based Kal Bergendahl Project is slated to perform at the event.

Doors to the event open at 11:15 a.m., the program begins at noon and a short reception will follow the program. The program is free and open to the public.

Audio and video of the event will be streamed at Gateway Technical College’s Web site www.gtc.edu. The program will be carried on WGTD live at noon. WGTD, based out of Gateway Technical College, can be heard in Kenosha/Racine at 91.1, in Elkhorn at 101.7 and in Lake Geneva at 103.3.