Rev. William C. Webb, pastor emeritus, Second Baptist Church of Reno, delivers a rousing welcome at 2012 MLK Jr. Celebration PHOTO: Stephan Fuelling

The Northern Nevada Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Committee and the Nevada Clergy Association jointly presented the annual Martin Luther King Jr. community memorial events for 2012.

Lonnie Feemster, keynote speaker at the 2012 MLK Jr. celebration. PHOTO: Stephan Fuelling

The 26th annual interfaith memorial service was held Sunday January 15, 2012, at 3:00 p.m. at the First Methodist Church in downtown Reno. The theme of this year’s event was “Remembering the Dream, Fulfilling the Mandate.” Keynote speaker was the current president of the Reno-Sparks NAACP, Mr. Lonnie Feemster.

Members of the Second Baptist Church Choir perform at the 2012 MLK Jr. celebration. PHOTO: Stephan Fuelling

Musical selections were performed by the Second Baptist Church Choir, directed by Dr. Jesse Hall, and by the group The Power of Love, headed by Leon Smith.

The Power of Love, headed by Leon Smith, performing at 2012 MLK Jr. celebration. PHOTO: Stephan Fuelling

The video tribute to Dr. King was coordinated by the Rev. Deacon Stephan Fuelling of the International Community of Christ.

Owing to the efforts of the late Reverend Onie Cooper of the Second Baptist Church, this event was originally brought to fruition and has continued for decades. The Nevada Clergy Association and the Holiday Committee have joined to help “keep the dream alive.” Both the Nevada Clergy Association and the Northern Nevada Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Committee are presently headed by ICC Head Bishop Gene Savoy Jr.

On Monday January 16, a memorial caravan, beginning at 10:30 a.m. at the Second Baptist Church in Reno, followed the twenty-six miles of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Highway along US 395. This was the 14th annual community memorial caravan.

(left to right) Gene Savoy Jr., Radheka Patel, Debra and Lonnie Feemster at 2012 MLK Jr. Dinner Celebration. PHOTO: Lisa J. Tokla

On the evening of January 16, Bishop Savoy and fiancee Radheka Patel attended the 24th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Dinner Celebration, sponsored by the Northern Nevada Black Cultural Awareness Society, at the Peppermill Resort in Reno.

On Sunday, January 17, 2009, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Annual Community Memorial Service was held at the Second Baptist Church. The program offered musical performances, award presentations, and a keynote address by University of Nevada-Reno professor R. Grant Seals, PhD., that told the “real” history of civil rights activism in the United States from the eighteenth century to the present. Bishop Gene Savoy Jr, who served as master of ceremonies at the celebration, was announced to be the successor to the Reverend Onie Cooper as chairman of the Martin Luther King Jr Holiday Committee. At the event, Rev. Cooper publically announced his retirement from the committee, which he founded in 1981, and appointed Bishop Savoy as his successor. The event was attended by several members of the Second Advent community, including the Reverend Dr. Bill Bartlett, who delivered the Benediction; Roger Weld; Stephan Fuelling; and Robert Roy, who videotaped and photographed the event.

On the morning of January 18, the new chairperson of the MLK Holiday Committee, Bishop Gene Savoy Jr, was in the lead car in the Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Caravan, driven by the Reverend Robert Petrovich. Second in the caravan was the car that carried the Reverend Onie Cooper, founder of the committee, who had nearly singlehandedly worked to have a portion of US 395 designated as the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Highway. Approximately twenty vehicles participated in the caravan, which paraded over a portion of the MLK Highway, which runs from Bordertown to Mt. Rose Highway on US 395. Prior to the caravan’s departure, Bishop Savoy was interviewed by Channel 2 News, as was Rev. Cooper. That evening, at the 22^nd Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dinner sponsored by the Northern Nevada Black Cultural Awareness Society at the Peppermill Resort, Bishop Savoy was invited to present the Goodwill Service Award in his new capacity as chairman of the Northern Nevada Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Committee.

On Friday evening April 3, Bishop Gene Savoy Jr. attended the Cultural Image Awards gala at the Peppermill Resort and Casino in Reno. At the request of the Reverend Terry McCray-Hill, pastor of Bethel AME Church, Savoy delivered the invocation for the event.
Individuals in attendance with whom Bishop Savoy conversed included Washoe district court judges Bretn Adams and Patrick Flannigan; Lonnie Feemster, president of the local chapter of the NAACP; Dolores Feemster; Guy Rocha; archivist Gerald Miller of the Reno Gazette Journal; Shirley Rogers of Nevada State Bank; and Alberta Rederford.