Franklin leadership breakfast
Published 11:53 am Friday, March 4, 2016
Members of the Franklin High School Jazz Band played at the Franklin Community Leadership Breakfast. Pictured from left to right: Nachelae Harper, James Grant lV, Destany Washington, Craighon Olds and director Twynnette Anderson. — Frank Davis | Tidewater News
FRANKLIN
The snow and extreme weather conditions recently resulted in the 18th Annual Franklin Community Leadership Breakfast being postponed until Saturday, Feb. 20. It also caused the scheduled speaker, Portsmouth City Manager Dr. Lydia Pettis Patton, to not be able to come due to a previous engagement. The organizers of the event were able to secure a substitute speaker in the person of Rev. Dr. Joseph “J.J.” Ferguson, pastor of the St. Paul United Church of Christ in Handsom.
Franklin Mayor Raystine Johnson-Ashburn, Angela Artis, Dr. Joseph Ferguson and JoAnn Fault were presented with an award for community leadership.
The event opened as planned at the Paul D. Camp Community College Workforce Development with Angela Artis presiding as the Mistress of Ceremony. Extending greetings on behalf of the City of Franklin, Mayor Raystine Johnson-Asburn, who also introduced other members of the Franklin City Council who were also present for the annual event. Greetings were also given by Chris Smith, a member of the School Board of Southampton County.
The Franklin High School Jazz Band under the direction Twynnette Anderson provided special music for the event. The band performed several numbers and also featured members going solo with the members doing backup.
Dr. Ferguson during his keynote address noted the number of youth that were in attendance and encouraged them to keep attending this event. “We are losing leaders some them because of age and not only in the social world but also in the church,” stated Dr. Ferguson. “One of the main reasons is because of the stuff, foolish stuff that they have to deal with as leaders. How sad that it is even as a preacher we have been used to saying what the spirit leads us to say but we have come to a day now that some of the things that we say that are lead by the spirit can get you in trouble. But if we don’t start speaking up, standing up and praying up, we are going to go down under.”
He concluded that we are not going under because there is hope and that hope is God.
At the conclusion of the program awards were given to, Rev. Danny Dillon, Rev. Anthony Rawlings and Rev. Dr. Joseph Ferguson by the sponsors of the event, The Franklin Tri-County Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. & the Franklin Department of Parks & Recreation.
