The 14th annual Martin Luther King Birthday Commemoration Luncheon will be held at noon on Jan. 18, at the Prince Edward County Middle School in Farmville.

The luncheon is sponsored by The Southside VA Chapter of the Virginia State University Alumni Association (VSUAA).

The Rev. Sybil Franklin Jones, a native of the Pamplin area of Prince Edward County, will be the keynote speaker. Jones is the daughter of Patsy Cobb Franklin and the late Rev. James H. Franklin. She is a graduate of Prince Edward County High School and holds a B.S. degree from St. Paul’s College. She continued her education by earning a M.S. degree in social work with a certificate in Aging from the Virginia Commonwealth University and completing a B.A. degree in religious studies from the Tabernacle Divinity School in Chesterfield.

At the age of nine Jones was appointed the Ministry of Music at the Sharon Baptist Church in Farmville, under the leadership of her father who was church pastor for 27 years. During the period between 2005-07, Jones was licensed to preach the gospel, and was ordained to the ministry by the Sharon Baptist Church. Currently Jones serves as Minister of Music, and she has been the Sharon Baptist Church, “first lady” for many years. As “first lady,” she serves as minister of Liturgical Worship. She has facilitated women’s ministry workshops “Beyond the Veil through Praise and Worship” and “Praise is What I Do.”

Jones is employed at Johnston-Willis Hospital, in Richmond, as a case manager. She is married to the Pastor of the Sharon Baptist Church, the Rev. Robert R. Jones. They are the proud parents of two grown children.

The local VSUAA chapter is fortunate to have Jones as the keynote speaker. She is a minister of the gospel, and deeply rooted in her religious faith and the struggles for equality for all. She will speak about the proud legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King.

For ticket information contact Kylor or Mary Reed at (434) 392-6350, Edith Austin at (434) 392-6958, Barbara Marshall at (804) 561-3651 or Van Petty at (804) 492-4518.