Posted By: Camila Orti
corti@klkntv.com
Hundreds of people joined together for a memorial breakfast to kick-off the weekend before Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Organizers say more than 600 people from across the community gathered at the Embassy Suites for the 2014 Freedom Breakfast, an annual event that's been around for more than 20 years.
"It's a day, it's a morning that helps the city realize that Dr. King's legacy is still alive, but yet there's still work to be done," organizer Thomas Christie said.
Keynote speaker Dr. Marilyn Johnson Farr, a professor at Doane College, challenged her audience to be champions for social justice, and to remember Dr. King's dream of equality.
Farr challenged her audience to make a difference in the community, in honor of a man who dedicated his life to making a difference.
"It just sells the message that difference is good and difference is important," attendee Jennifer Dets said.
"One thing people need to realize is that Dr. King made an impact on the world, not just the United States of America, but the entire world," Christie said.
Christie says the event gets bigger every year. This year's breakfast sold out nearly two weeks before the event.
Mayor Chris Beutler also spoke at the event.
Proceeds from the breakfast help fund scholarships for high school seniors heading to college. In 2013, six students were awarded $1,000 each.
