Florida Tech to Celebrate Martin Luther King Day with Pioneer Award

MELBOURNE, FLA. — Florida Tech will celebrate the life and achievements of Martin Luther King Jr. on Wednesday, Jan. 10 at 7 p.m. on campus. The
commemoration will take place in the Denius Student Center’s John and Martha Hartley Room on the second floor.
To be honored at the commemoration will be Charles W. Jackson Sr., who will receive the Julius Montgomery Pioneer Award.
A resident of Melbourne for about 70 years, Jackson graduated as salutatorian from Melbourne Vocational High School in 1954. He began his own electrical
business, Jackson’s Electric, in the early 1970s. He later expanded into the roofing and construction industries, creating what today is known as Jackson
Enterprises of Brevard Inc. For his work in recruiting graduates from his alma mater, Denmark Technical College, in Denmark, S.C. named him alumnus of the
year in 1994.
Jackson is a member of the Board of Directors for South Brevard Habitat for Humanity and was recently honored by the City of Melbourne as the longest
tenured board member for his 28 years of service on the Board of Adjustment. He is a lifetime member of the NAACP and a corporate sponsor.
Melbourne resident Julius Montgomery was one of Florida Tech’s first African American students. An associate of Florida Tech founder, Dr. Jerry Keuper,
Montgomery was a technician and co-worker of Keuper’s at RCA at Cape Canaveral in the late 1950s.
The public is welcome to attend this presentation of short lectures, which will be followed by light refreshments. Please RSVP to Susan Chasteen at (321)
674-7232.