AROUND THE AREA

Ed Shikoski, who owns the Lake Martin Event Center at The Rodeo Club, was selected as Lake Martin Dadeville Area Chamber’s Person of the Year.

He said it’s an honor and it is just where he wants to be to help those who want help.

Helping the community is exactly what got Shikoski selected for the prestigious community award, said chamber president Michael Carter.

Shikosi credits his wife Marge with most things and said they are a great couple. Marge is also an owner of the club and can be seen with Shikoski in the community supporting the chamber and other businesses.

“We are a team. You ask me to do something, you get us both,” Shikoski said.

The Shikoskis have been married for a while and Ed said they complement each other.

~ Cliff Williams Dadeville honors Ed Shikoski

Man of the Year Ed Shikoski, owner of Lake Martin Event Center, wins an award for outstanding community involvement.

Alexander City native Chief Warrant Officer Janey Milliner monitors the airspace around the Arleigh Burke-class guidedmissile destroyer USS Rafael Peralta (DDG 115) Jan. 23, 2020. Rafael Peralta, part of the Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group, is on a scheduled deployment to the Indo-Pacific. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jason Isaacs) Local assists U.S. Navy in Indo-Pacific

The dream is alive in Alexander City Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream is still alive but is far from being completely fulfilled, according to Talladega College president Dr. Billy Hawkins.

“In my opinion, the movement Dr. King stood for is still misunderstood today,” Hawkins said. “He was a man of passion for equality and spoke often of his dream that one day all men would be treated equally. “Here we are 52 years later, and still his dream is questioned whereas in recent years we have had some setbacks with race relations in equality. If we are to fulfill Dr. King’s dream, we must all – no matter your color – admit we still have a long ways to go in this country.”

Hawkins was the guest speaker at the MLK Day celebration at the Stephens Elementary School gym last month and said that racial equality and relations begin at home.

Alexander City Mayor Tommy Spraggins honored the Martin Luther King Jr. celebration committee with a resolution. A moment of silence was held along with an empty chair on stage to remember community leader Alfred Cooper, who died last year.

The event ended with the audience holding hands and singing “We Shall Overcome.”

~ Gabrielle Jansen Celebrate History Sarabi and Brinson Spradley wave from the float belonging to Friendship Baptist Church.