'Treating all persons with respect and dignity'

The Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations will hold its 32nd annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Kids Program Thursday, Jan. 12.

The event will start at 9:30 a.m. at the Lake City Community Church at 6000 N. Ramsey Road in Coeur d’Alene.

In January 1986, the KCTFHR joined the Post Falls and Coeur d’Alene school districts to inaugurate a program for all fifth-graders to remember and honor the life, works and birthday of civil rights icon Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

The long-running partnership has featured prominent civil rights guest speakers who visit classrooms and give presentations at the end of the week-long program.

Students celebrate Dr. King’s birthday through song, dance and the children’s essay readings. So far, more than 36,000 fifth-graders have gone through the program.

This year, the program for the Coeur d’Alene fifth-graders will be at 9:30 a.m. followed by the Post Falls fifth-graders at 11:30 a.m.

This year’s guest speaker will be Stu Cabe, the founder of the Ovation Company, Standing Up for What Is Good — established in 2004. His topic for the fifth-graders will be a children’s story titled "The Big Elephant Story."

Cabe’s work takes him to schools across the United States and Canada to assist in building strong school communities and improving campus culture and climate. His work includes information and methods to combat student bullying.

He is a children’s theater expert and has worked with professional theater companies, nationally and internationally.

Cabe holds a bachelor’s degree in drama and double master’s degree in education. He has taught both high school and middle school.

He and his wife, Callie, have two kids who attend school in Coeur d’Alene.

The school coordinators for this year’s celebration will be educators Bill Rutherford and Aaron Drake from the Coeur d’Alene School District, and Lisa Hoffeld and Janelle Baker from the Post Falls School District.

“We are so pleased and proud to have been part of this remarkable event for 32 years and observing the outstanding work of the teachers and administrators that have touched the lives of some 36,000 children,” said KCTFHR Board President Christie Wood. “We know that this meaningful work teaches the children the importance of treating all persons with respect and dignity.”