News

College to Host Community Martin Luther King Day Program

Motivational Speaker Valarie Willis to Give Keynote

01/05/10

An evening of music, reflections and a keynote address honoring the legacy of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. will be held Jan. 18, at 7:30 p.m., at Wilmington College’s Hugh G. Heiland Theatre.

The Martin Luther King Day program annually brings together the College and greater community in recognizing the contributions of a man that gave his life so that others could realize the promise of a nation founded upon the virtues of equality and justice.

Keynote speaker will be Valarie Willis, an entrepreneur, author and motivational speaker from Cincinnati.
The program’s masters of ceremonies will be Sigrid Solomon, dean of students, and William E. Peelle, prosecuting attorney in Clinton County, from 1993 to 2009, and a member of WC’s Board of Trustees.

College President Dan DiBiasio will provide welcoming remarks and Alan Willoughby of Sugartree Ministries will provide the invocation. Personal reflections will be offered by Esmail Hejazifar, professor of physics; Alana Bornhorst, president of Student Government Association; and David Diaby, a senior from Sweden whose father’s side of the family is from West Africa.

Music will be provided by the Wilmington College Chorale, directed by Catherine Roma; WC’s Voices of Praise gospel choir, under the direction of Steve Milloy; and the Bible Missionary Baptist Choir, directed by Michael Freeman.

Willis is president of Valarie Willis Consulting in Cincinnati. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Wilmington College and a master of business administration degree from Xavier University.

Known for her passion and energy, she has worked with governmental entities and companies in such industries as health care, pharmaceutical, manufacturing, wholesale, retail, technology and finance. Her clients range from Fortune 500 companies to small businesses and non-profit organizations.

Willis’ work as a speaker, author, facilitator and consultant often focuses in the areas of leadership, motivation, branding and change.

Her mission is to “guide and provoke” organizations to optimize business results through leadership development. Throughout her more than 20-year career, she has led a major merger and served as a director of sales and operations, and director of information technology. Also, she was managing director of client services for a major consulting firm.

Willis is the author of Words for Women and a contributing author of the Leading the Way to Success Anthology, as well as a writer for several business publications.

She is a contributing author of the soon-to-be-released book How the Fierce Handle Fear: Secrets to Succeeding in Challenging Times, which also features pieces by Donald Trump and Jack Canfield.

Willis is a member of the National Speakers Association and the International Speakers Network.

The community is invited to join Wilmington College students in bringing a canned good or nonperishable food items to the MLK program. These items, along with those collected during the College's week-long food and clothing drive, will be delivered to Sugartree Ministries, where WC students are volunteering to help serve meals on Jan. 19 and 23.