UPO Communications

PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
upopublicawareness-362/05a

Contact: Dana M. Jones, UPO Chief Executive Officer
(202) 238-4692 (direct) - E-mail: djones@upo.org

Robert Durham, co-chairperson, MLK Breakfast Committee
(202) 238-4712 (direct) - E-Mail: rdurham@upo.org

Harvey N. Johnson III, UPO Public Awareness Director
(202) 238-4696 (direct) - E-Mail: hjohnson@upo.org

December 28, 2005

UPO’s 22nd Annual Martin Luther King, Jr.
Memorial Breakfast is Monday, January 16, 2006

The United Planning Organization (UPO) sponsors its 22nd Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Breakfast on Monday, January 16, 2006 beginning at 7:45 AM. The event takes place at the spacious Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, 2660 Woodley Road, NW Washington, DC, located in the Woodley Park neighborhood.

Proceeds from the Breakfast endow the UPO/Joseph A. Beavers Scholarship Fund which, since 1989, has awarded nearly $250,000 in scholarships to deserving District of Columbia high school and General Education Development (G.E.D.) graduates. Breakfast attendees will meet past scholarship recipients, one of whom will address the gathering.

UPO will present awards to citizens, businesses, and organizations including the Mildred Claypoole Community Service Award, which recognizes outstanding volunteer service by an individual; two Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Awards, accorded to a corporation and a community organization that have both strived to improve the quality of life for residents of the District of Columbia; and the George H.R. Barney Ross Memorial Award which recognizes meritorious service in providing job opportunities for unemployed Washington residents.

The United Planning Organization’s sponsorship of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Breakfast dates back to 1983 when the agency saw a need to honor the civil rights leader and help to foster his ideals. Nearly 20,000 individuals have attended the UPO event since its establishment.