The 2018 Moton Community Banquet was an impressive event.

I remember being at the Longwood University Health & Fitness Center one time during the summer when I was covering the Jayson Gee Basketball Camp, and the space was transformed the night of March 10. The basketball court was blanketed by a sheet of blue, dotted with a myriad of tables bedecked with white tablecloths. There were three separate rows of long tables where the food was served and then an elevated stage where most of the formal elements of the event took place.

Completing the epic nature of the event were the number of people there — hundreds. Six hundred were expected, and the crowd included a who’s who of prominent people in the area and beyond.

I spotted a couple of candidates running for the 5th Congressional District seat. They included Andrew Sneathern and Leslie Cockburn. I covered Cockburn a couple times last month and was excited to know that she was the mother of actress Olivia Wilde, though more relevant to Cockburn’s congressional run is her Yale University degree and her distinguished 35-year career in journalism. This career included being a producer for CBS News’ “60 Minutes” and a correspondent for PBS’s “Frontline.”

I cite Cockburn and Sneathern to note that the Moton event drew many important people and rightfully so.

It was special to see the keynote speaker, Nadine Marsh-Carter, get a touching introduction from her son, Dwayne S. Marsh.

Marsh-Carter’s address brought a standing ovation.

It was particularly exciting toward the end of the event to see a lovely painting of Barbara Rose Johns be presented to the Johns family. This appropriately alluded to the Moton story that continues to inspire many here in the Heart of Virginia and abroad.

Bravo to the Robert Russa Moton Museum and its staff for a well-run event.

TITUS MOHLER is the sports editor for The Farmville Herald and Farmville Newsmedia LLC. His email address is Titus.Mohler@FarmvilleHerald.com.