Florida Tech Celebrates Martin Luther King Jr. at Community Event Thursday, Jan. 12
University Will Bestow
Bridge Builder, Pioneer Awards
MELBOURNE, FLA. — Florida Institute of Technology will celebrate the life and achievements of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 12, in the Hartley Room of the Denius Student Center on the university’s Melbourne campus.
Florida Tech President T. Dwayne McCay will join other university and community leaders at the free public event, hosted by the Florida Tech Alumni Association. The agenda includes a presentation of King’s “I Have a Dream” speech by orator Leonard Ross, a keynote address by R. Shaun Ferguson, senior pastor, Faith Temple Christian Center and a newly elected member of the Rockledge City Council, and the presentation of the university’s Julius Montgomery Pioneer Award and Dr. Harvey L. Riley Bridge Builder Award.
The Rev. Nathaniel Harris will be the recipient of the Pioneer Award, named for Florida Tech’s first African-American student. Harris, a Mobile, Alabama native and U.S. Air Force veteran, has been pastor at Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church in Melbourne for 24 years.
Among his initiatives at the church, Harris spearheaded the founding of the Macedonia Community Development Corporation (MCDC), which provides affordable housing. In partnership with Brevard County, the City of Melbourne and Habitat For Humanity, the MCDC has built and is renting five single-family affordable homes and a duplex structure for families in need.
Harris is a Howard University graduate and worked for 29 years as a civil servant with the U.S. government.
Michael A. Cadore Sr. will be presented the Rev. Harvey L. Riley Bridge Builder Award, which recognizes success in community activism and improvement. The associate provost for the Palm Bay campus of Eastern Florida State College and an adjunct professor, Cadore also continues to serve as a sworn officer for the Rockledge Police Department.
At the police department, Cadore’s innovative style and leadership led to his unit being named the National Neighborhood Watch Program by the National Sheriffs Association in 2011. In 2014, he was recognized as Reserve Police Officer of the Year for his community outreach and crime prevention awareness programs for the citizens and businesses of Rockledge. Also that year, Cadore was recognized as the 2014 Central Florida Humanitarian of the Year.
Prior to becoming a law enforcement officer, Cadore earned national recognition at Eastern Kentucky University as a record-setting kick returner. After college, he was drafted into the National Football League by the New Orleans Saints and later finished his professional football career in Canada. In 2014, he was inducted into the 2014 Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame.
RSVPs are requested as space is limited. Please RSVP to Stevie Pursell at spursell@fit.edu or 321-674-6826.
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