Local MLK Celebration Planning Committee announces plans for 2026 holiday
Jan. 12, 2026
The life and legacy of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. will be remembered and celebrated during three events planned for the 2026 MLK Day holiday and preceding weekend.
Members of the Blount County MLK Celebration Planning Committee recently announced information about events set for Jan. 16-19, including the names of guest speakers and theme for the holiday weekend: “The Time is always right to do what is right … THE TIME IS NOW!”
Sam McKenzie, state representative for Tennessee’s 15th District (Knox County), will be the keynote speaker at the annual MLK Day Business Luncheon, scheduled for noon on Friday, Jan. 16, at the Airport Hilton in Alcoa. The Rev. Ben Lewis Jr., senior staff chaplain at the University of Tennessee Medical Center and senior pastor of Bethel Missionary Baptist Church, will lead the community worship service at New Providence Presbyterian Church in Maryville (703 W. Broadway Ave.) at 4 p.m., Sunday, Jan. 18. Special music will be provided by contemporary Gospel and Christian music group The Overflow.
Adriel McCord ’00, vice president and private client relationship manager at First Horizon Bank in Maryville, will offer up the keynote address for the 2026 MLK Day Celebration, scheduled for 2 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 19, in the William Baxter Lee Grand Foyer of the Clayton Center for the Arts (CCA) at Maryville College. Currently co-chair of the Blount County MLK Celebration Planning Committee, McCord has been a member of the group since 2005.
“We believe the events planned for this MLK celebration will highlight the love, services, diversity and unity we have in Blount County,” said Vivian Hill, co-chair of the Blount County MLK Celebration Planning Committee. “Our hope and goal are to remind all people of the words Dr. King said during his commencement speech at Oberlin College in 1965: ‘The time is always right to do what is right.’”
McKenzie is business luncheon speaker
Sam McKenzie, who was born and raised in District 15 and graduated from Austin-East High School, has represented his community in the Tennessee House of Representatives since 2020. A former chairman of the Tennessee Black Caucus of State Legislators, he is currently the minority whip of the Tennessee Democratic Caucus. The Knoxville legislator serves on several House committees, including Education, Government Operations, Health, and Ethics, and is also a member of the Joint Education, Health and General Welfare Committee. Prior to his election to the House, he was a member of the Knox County Commission from 2008 to 2016.
He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in physics from Fisk University and the University of Memphis, respectively, and worked for Oak Ridge National Laboratory for 34 years, spending many years working at the Spallation Neutron Source. Retired from ORNL, McKenzie is now a small business owner and professional youth sports official. He is on the board of directors at ORNL Federal Credit Union and a member of the Fisk University Board of Trustees. He is the former district representative for the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity as well as the recipient of the Omega Lifetime Achievement Award.
Lewis to lead worship
Rev. Ben Lewis, an Alcoa native, is in his 21st year as a board-certified senior staff chaplain at the University of Tennessee Medical Center, where he serves as a spiritual leader and source of pastoral support for patients, their family members, and medical center employees. Lewis also serves as a mentor to chaplain residents and interns and an advisor to medical center leadership on racial equity and diversity/inclusion-related issues. In 2019, he won the Tennessee Hospital Association’s Diversity Champion Award.
As the founder of Genesis Diversity Solutions, Lewis has led educational sessions and workshops on unconscious bias, equity, and inclusive leadership for various organizations and schools. The City of Knoxville recognized his work in 2023 with the Martin Luther King Jr. Diversity Champion Award.
The 13th senior pastor of Bethel Missionary Baptist Church in Alcoa, Lewis holds a master of divinity degree from Earlham School of Religion.
Monday activities begin with march
The holiday observances on Jan. 19 will begin with the annual MLK Day March, led by Grand Marshal Frank E. Smith, who was the first director of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center in Alcoa. Marchers will assemble at 12:30 p.m. at the Martin Luther King Community Center in Alcoa and walk to the Maryville College campus for the afternoon celebration, which will begin at 2 p.m. in the CCA’s William Baxter Lee III Grand Foyer.
In addition to the keynote address, attendees at the community celebration will see and hear selections prepared by members of the Bethel Baptist Alcoa Youth Choir, led by Chrystyn Sammy, and students in the William Blount High School Theatre program, led by Tracey Halter.
Jamie Dulany, founder of the youth organization All Are Worthy, will be presented with the Anthony Dunnings Community Service Award, and the winner of the MLK Essay Scholarship Contest will be announced.
A fair of local non-profit organizations, including All Are Worthy and MLK Center, will run concurrently in the foyer.
“Service plays such an important role in our community, and service is a huge part of Dr. King’s legacy,” Hill said. “By inviting these nonprofits to the Monday celebration, we want to connect attendees with opportunities to serve and build what King spoke so often about — ‘the beloved community.’”
McCord to give Monday’s keynote address
Adriel McCord moved to Blount County in 1996 to attend Maryville College. A native of LaGrange, Georgia, he majored in business and organizational management and was a four-year letterman on the men’s basketball team. Following graduation in 2000, he stayed in Blount County and began a career in banking that has spanned various roles. Today, as vice president at First Horizon in Maryville, he works with the bank’s personal and business clients and has been recognized as a top performer and leader among his peers.
A member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., McCord frequently volunteers his time to teach financial literacy to students in local schools and organizations.
Along with wife Nichole Johnson McCord ’02, Adriel has volunteered for various causes and served on numerous boards. Current and previous board service includes Maryville College, Smoky Mountain FCA, Blount County United Way, Blount County Chamber of Commerce, the Maryville City Schools Foundation and Leadership Blount. In 2024, Leadership Blount provided Adriel with its Community Leadership Award. He was presented Maryville College’s Kin Takahashi Award for Young Alumni in 2005.
The McCords attend and serve at Foothills Church in Maryville.
Tickets for the business luncheon are sold out. Both the worship service and community celebration are free and open to the public. For more information, visit facebook.com/mlkblount.