I will take service to a new level

Dr. King has been an inspiration to me since I can remember. As a child, celebrating the King Holiday with reverence was an absolute must. We watched documentaries all week in school leading up to the day. Our church service honored him as a man of God and you were always reminded of Dr. King because there was always a photo somewhere in the house of him.

Now that my childhood days have passed, I have become busy with stuff and haven't celebrated his legacy the proper way.

The past four days have been a reconnection for me to Dr. King; a connection that I so desperately need as a husband, father and the founder of L.E.A.D.

I celebrated the legacy of Dr. King Friday at Ebenezer Baptist Church with my mentee Jason Heyward during an ESPN Town Hall Meeting discussing the image of the black athlete. Dr. King was a fan of sports and fought to make sure that black athletes were judged by the content of their character instead of their skin color. The image of the black athlete was portrayed as negative on Friday just as it was when Dr. King was alive.

I celebrated the legacy of Dr. King Saturday at the Celebration of Greatness Dinner at the Hyatt Regency. I enjoyed the celebration with three L.E.A.D. Ambassadors. We heard inspiring words from Ambassador Andrew Young and the wife of the late Senator Edward Kennedy. I left feeling the charge to empower youth in Atlanta and continuing to accept my role as a young leader.

On Sunday, L.E.A.D. was a guest of the Unitarian Universalists Congregation of Atlanta. Their pastor recited the last sermon of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The congregation also chose L.E.A.D. as the "Give The Plate" beneficiary. They actually donated the entire offering from two services to L.E.A.D. Wow! We are committed to connecting communities while transforming communities.

I celebrated the legacy of Dr. King on Monday serving as a Marshal for the Dr. King March. What an amazing sight to see our Ambassadors up front with Mayor Kasim Reed and Martin Luther King III.

I am truly empowered and energized to take service to a new level after my four day celebration of Dr. King.