Dr. Leslie Hutchins, Speaker MLK Jr. Banquet
Leslie Hutchins, MD, is a 2000 graduate of Cooper High School and a 2004 Abilene Christian University graduate. She earned her medical degree at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. She completed both a general surgery internship and an internship in neurological surgery at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia, where she also served in a Transition to Practice Fellowship on the Neurosurgery Clinical Faculty.
“It’s a privilege to give back to the community that molded and shaped me into the person I am.”
Dr. Hutchins is a member of the Association of Women Surgeons, Women in Neurosurgery, the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, the Congress of Neurological Surgeons, the American College of Surgeons, and the Texas Association of Neurological Surgeons. She has shared her expertise as a reviewer, author and lecturer in her field. 
Source: Hendrick Health website

By Loretta Fulton

A breakfast, a dinner, a neighborhood cleanup, and a march are all planned as part of the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebrations.

The dinner, sponsored by the Abilene Black Chamber of Commerce, will actually be held the day before the official MLK Jr. federal holiday. The dinner will begin at 6 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 18, at the Abilene Convention Center, 1100 N. 6th St. Guest speaker will be Dr. Leslie Hutchins, a neurosurgeon who practices at Hendrick Medical Center. She is a 2000 graduate of Cooper High School and a 2004 graduate of Abilene Christian University. 

Tickets for the banquet are $40 each or $400 for a table of 10. No tickets will be sold at the door. To buy tickets, send email to 1975ABCC@gmail.com or call 325-672-7950 or 325-201-5849.

On the holiday itself, Monday, Jan. 19, Hardin-Simmons University will kick things off with a free breakfast at 7 a.m. in the Johnson Building. This will be the fourth annual Big Country MLK Prayer Breakfast. The event is free and open to the public. RSVP to: president@hsutx.edu

Let Us Breathe and Keep Abilene Beautiful invite the public to join in a cleanup of the former Fannin Elementary School site, 2726 N. 18th St. Hours are 9 a.m. to noon. Volunteers are asked to bring gloves, bags, and other supplies and tools. The following is from Let Us Breathe:

“In the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., we’re coming together to serve our community, restore our neighborhoods, and breathe new life into an important historic space. This cleanup is part of our ongoing effort to transform the former Fannin campus into a safe, vibrant, and welcoming community complex for families, youth, and future programming.”

The annual MLK Jr. Day march will begin at 1 p.m. with a gathering in the parking lot at the Woodson Center for Excellence, 242 Cockerell Drive. The march will take place over the MLK Bridge on East Highway 80. For more information, contact Michael T. Royals, 325-721-8845. 

Loretta Fulton is creator and editor of Spirit of Abilene