King County employees are invited to join in honoring human rights leader and King County’s namesake, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at the annual celebration on Thursday, Jan. 12.

The theme for the celebration is “Truth, Light, and Hope,” along with the guiding quote “An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity” by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The keynote address will be given by Port of Seattle Commissioner Hamdi Mohamed.

The celebration will Thursday, Jan. 12, from noon to 1 p.m. View the KCTV livestream here. You can also view the event:

• Comcast Channel 22 and 322 (HD)
• Wave Broadband Channel 22
• Event website

For more information, contact Jasmine Harbor at jaharbor@kingcounty.gov or Michael Padilla Ocampo at MPadillaOcampo@kingcounty.gov.

2023 Larry Gossett Service Award

The event will also honor the 2023 Larry Gossett Service Award recipient, Zenovia Harris, with the Kent Chamber of Commerce. Zenovia has been instrumental in leading not only the Kent Chamber in their equity work, but also other Chambers throughout King County, including the Renton Chamber, Kirkland Chamber and Seattle Southside Chamber to name a few.

Through Zenovia’s leadership, she has supported both her own and other local chambers with the following:

• Revisited the Chambers mission/vision, ensuring that they are leading with equity
• Diversified Board member participation (age, race, position etc.)
• Introduced a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee that has been doing internal/external work to ensure their Chamber is leading with equity.
• Instituting equity talks (open to both chamber members and larger community)
• Performing internal evaluations to understand where the challenges and needs are in order to meet their equity goals for their members.