Florida Tech to Commemorate Martin Luther King Day, Bestow Award for Community Achievement, Jan. 11
MELBOURNE, FLA.—Florida Institute of Technology will celebrate the life and achievements of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on Jan. 11 at 7 p.m. The event will be hosted by Florida Tech’s Office of Alumni Affairs and the Department of Humanities and Communication. It will be held in the John and Martha Hartley Room in the Denius Student Center on campus.
A highlight will be the presentation of the Seventh Annual Julius Montgomery Pioneer Award by Florida Tech President Anthony J. Catanese. The 2012 award recipient, Melbourne resident Valene Croskey, will be honored for his significant contributions to the community.
Additionally, Dean of Students at Brevard Community College and Melbourne resident Leroy Darby will sing gospel selections and community notable Leonard Ross will recite Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I have a Dream” speech.
Croskey, who began a teaching career as a science instructor at Stone High School in 1958, was assistant principal at Melbourne High School, principal at DeLaura Junior High and Central Junior High, assistant to the superintendent and director of student services for the Brevard School District. He retired in 2000.
A member of Greater Allen Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church for 50 years, Croskey serves as financial secretary, steward and choir member; he is one of the Sons of Allen, a class leader and provides orientation classes for new members. He is also director of lay activities for the Daytona Beach District Lay Organization, treasurer of the Central Conference Lay Organization and serves on the Commission on Schools and Higher Education for the 11th Episcopal District.
Croskey is a life member of the NAACP. He is also on the audit committee of Florida’s Technological Research and Development Authority (TRDA); a consultant for the Florida Association of District School Superintendents and director of the U. F. Gibbs Memorial Scholarship Fund.
He is married to Melvina and the father of two children, Carol and Terrance (deceased).
Melbourne, Fla., resident Julius Montgomery was one of Florida Tech’s first African American students. An associate of Florida Tech founding president Dr. Jerry Keuper, Montgomery was a technician and co-worker of Keuper’s at RCA at Cape Canaveral in the late 1950s.
For more information, contact Melissa Klos at (321) 674-6826, or at mklos@fit.edu.
