Good evening. My name is Mike Franklin (inaudible) from the Plano East Mighty Fine
Panther Battalion and I'd ask that you would please stand and join us while we post the colors
and assist us with the pledge of allegiance and remain standing until the colors exit.
Color guard attention.
Forward march.
Left. Right. Left.
Left.
Left.
Left. Right. Left.
Left.
Left.
Left. Right. Left.
Left.
Left.
Left. Right. Left.
Left.
Left.
Left. Right. Left.
Left.
Left.
Left. Right. Left.
Left.
Left.
Left. Right. Left.
Left.
Left.
Left. Right. Left.
Left.
Left.
Left. Right. Left.
Left.
Left.
Color guard halt.
Right face.
Post.
Down.
Present arms.
I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America,
and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
Order arms.
Right face.
Forward march.
Up.
Up.
Up. Right.
Up. Up. Up. Right.
Up. Up. Up. Right.
Up. Up. Up. Right. Up.
Thank you. You may now be seated.
Good evening and welcome to the 2018 Plano ISD Martin Luther King, Jr. Tribute Event.
My name is Kevin Moore, and I am the 2017 Plano ISD Secondary Teacher of the Year.
Next to me is Cody McGregor, the 2017 Plano ISD Elementary Teacher of the Year.
Thank you for joining us this evening. Not only are we here to honor the life
and achievements of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. but also celebrate the
wealth of diversity we experience here in Plano ISD and the Plano community. In
the district alone, 96 different languages are spoken. The richness that
comes from students working side by side with others from backgrounds and
cultures different from their own is incredibly valuable to their educational
experience and to the future of this community. Tonight, we are here to
celebrate our wonderfully diverse community and the role it plays in our
student’s lives as they are, “Creating The Future.”
Throughout this evening, you will
see our elementary writing contest
winners along with video show casting
their pieces written in role of creating
our future. These seven compositions from
second, third, fourth and fifth grade students were chosen by a panel of judges as the top
writings out of hundreds of entries. Congratulations to all of our winners. I
cannot wait to hear what you've written. 
But first, we're going to step aside and let
our Martin Luther King, Jr. Diversity Committee Chairman Emeritus Dr. Myrtle
Hightower welcome you in her own words.
Good evening and welcome to Plano ISD’s 2018 Diversity Celebration honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Dr. King’s legacy is one of love, leadership and working
for the betterment of all people. I am so excited to be part of this legacy in
Plano where we honor and celebrate our extremely talented and highly diverse
student and community population. This year’s theme, reminds us that bright
futures begin right here in Plano ISD. Join with me in thanking and
congratulating our talented students and the dedicated staff and community
members who have worked so hard to make this event possible.
Thank you and enjoy the program!
(music)
Take a look at the past, compare it to
the present and imagine the future. Now
take away everything that Martin Luther
King, Jr. did. Everything Mahatma Gandhi,
Rosa Parks, Susan B. Anthony did. Imagine the future; what is it like? Separated,
unequal, unfair. Millions of people would still
be treated as property or some even like
animals. If a nation is separated that
nation is not equal. Black, White, Hispanic,
Asian, Muslim, we are all worth the same
value. We are all worth the same. This
nation will forever be impacted by these
people who took a stand. Who were brave
enough to fight for us. Those who lie
peacefully in their graves for you, for
me, for everyone, have set a path for us
to build our future and to set a trail
for the generations to come. Even when
others fought with hatred and violence,
people like MLK and Rosa Parks were
able to influence their opponents with
love and peace. So always remember to
give thanks to those people who changed
the past, present and future.
(music)
Creating our future.
(music)
(Plano East Men’s Chorus performing Betelehemu)
(applause)
Good evening. I’m Nancy Humphrey and as secretary of Plano ISD’s Board of
Trustees, it is my distinct honor, on behalf of my fellow trustees, to welcome
you to this community celebration and tribute to Plano’s diverse community
and to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I am especially proud of this event in the
way it highlights our Plano ISD students. I want to thank all of the
students who have helped us create this amazing program. Let's give them a hand right now.
(applause)
Audience tonight you were greeted as you
walked through the door with an
energetic performance by Rice Middle School’s Jazz Band directed by Josh Reyna.
Please join me in giving these talented students a round of applause. (applause)
I'd also like to thank Williams High School for hosting this wonderful event again this
year. Many thanks to Principal Gloria Martinez and her staff for all of their
assistance and hard work in preparation
of this evening (applause)
As we celebrate the inspirational leadership of Dr. King, we can’t forget
to mention our district and community leaders who are with us tonight. Joining
with me tonight are my fellow school board members or trustees,
and I am honored to introduce them. I invite each of them to stand, and
remain standing, until they all have been introduced.
They are trustee Angela Powell you have to stand (applause) and it looks like we might have an empty seat.
So I will also let you know
that this evening board president Missy
Bender, Vice President David Stolle,
trustee Tammy Richards, trustee Dr. Yoram
Solomon and trustee Jeri Chambers
were unable to attend the event this
evening and they send their regrets.
Thank you Angela. (applause)
Also, joining us tonight from the City of Plano is Mayor well maybe not yet is he
here yet
Mayor Harry LaRosiliere  pardon not here
my mistake well we wish he was here
along with Mayor Pro Tem Rick Grady, (applause)
City Councilmember Angela Miner (applause) and thank you for being here this evening.
Plano ISD is fortunate to have outstanding district
leadership, under the direction of Interim Superintendent of
Schools Sara Bonser. Sara please stand, along with your cabinet members. (applause)
Her cabinet members are Dr. Katrina Hasley, Assistant Superintendent for Academic
Services; Randy McDowell, Assistant Superintendent for Business Services;
Susan Modisette, Assistant Superintendent for Campus Services;
Dr. Kary Cooper, Assistant Superintendent for District Services;
Dr. Beth Brockman, Assistant Superintendent for Employee Services
Karla Oliver, Assistant Superintendent for Government, Community and Planning initiatives;
and Dan Armstrong, Assistant Superintendent for Technology Services
Now this event would not be possible without the work of the
Plano ISD MLK Planning Committee under the direction of Dr. Myrtle Hightower.
Would members of the MLK planning committee please stand so that we may recognize you?
(applause)
Each year, students from all grade levels participate in the annual Plano ISD
Martin Luther King, Jr. Art Contest. Finalists are chosen from four
categories divided by grade and are recognized at this event with a certificate and a
gift card. Board President Missy Bender along with ArtCentre of Plano Executive
Director Suzy Sloan Jones and Plano ISD Director of Fine Arts
Kathy Kuddes were the judges for this contact. I know from experience that that
is not an easy job. Very difficult. There were so many wonderful entries! This
contest always yields amazing artwork from our incredibly talented children.
And you saw on the video samples of
their art and hopefully you got to see
it down in the gallery and if you didn't
before swing by there at the end and you
can see those. Thank you to our fine arts team and all of our teachers who make
this contest happen. Also, a thank you, a special thank you to the Plano ISD
Education Foundation for generously sponsoring the gifts provided for our
top four finalists. Now it is my pleasure to announce the
the finalists for this year’s contest. Students, as I call your names, please
come to the stage where the Plano ISD Visual Art Coordinator Laura Grundler
she'll be joining me up here in a moment
she will greet you. Please remain on the
stage until all have been recognized.
Alright finalists in the Kindergarten to
second grade division Jatvik Veerisetty 
from Wells Elementary School.
You can please come forward. (applause)
He's in first grade. (applause)
Ok finalist in the
3rd to 5th grade division Sandra Aguirre
Haggar Elementary School (applause)
Finalist in the ninth to twelfth grade
division Katie Lau from Jasper High School.
(applause)
And last but not least our finalist in
the sixth to eighth grade division and
winner of this year's contest
Harrison Klotz, Murphy Middle School
(applause)
All right I know we just applauded but
please join me in applauding all of
these outstanding student artists. (applause)
Thank you students and thank you again
to the Plano ISD Education Foundation.
(music)
Dear Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. we can
still learn from the past. Instead of fighting
with fists you would use nonviolent methods.
Even though your house is bombed and you're
threatened you did not stop. In the past
you were strong and brave; now in the
present you made the world a better place.
In schools now white kids and
black kids can go to school together.
Black people can go to places where white
people go. There are no more signs that say "whites only". Our present looks better than our past because
of you. In the future I want to also make
the world better place. I want to make a
bright future for the world, like you did.
I want to create a world where people
don''t care about the color of each
other's skin. I want everyone to get
along and to respect each other more. I want
to make it happen. I can drive out hate
with love. Love is still the key.
(music)
Creating our future.
(music)
(Nrutashala Dance Group)
(music)
(applause)
(music)
A day in Washington; a march for equal
rights, African-Americans engaged in a
peaceful fight. A day in Washington; they all
gathered at Abraham Lincoln's silent
home. A day in Washington; Martin Luther
King stood tall and spoke of freedom.
A day in Washington; freedom fighters
listened with hope to the big dream.
A day in Washington; MLK preached his dream so big a dream of equal rights.
A day in Washington; the
battle was won for the freedom fighters. A
day in Washington; our future was built.
Generations to come an unsegregated life.
(music)
Creating our future.
(music)
(applause)
Hello again. I am honored to introduce tonight’s special guest, Dottie Gandy. As an avid
supporter of women in business, she is a co-founder of the National Association
of Women Business Owners. In June 2014, Dottie was inducted into the National
Association of Women Business Owners Hall of Fame.  In 2016, the association
also awarded Dottie their Susan Hager Lifetime Achievement Award. She has had
successful careers as a corporate executive, a business owner, consultant,
keynote speaker and author. Dottie says her proudest moment is, “being in the
crowd in Washington, D.C., when Dr. Martin Luther King made his I Have a Dream
speech.” That had to be pretty incredible. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, Mrs. Dottie Gandy.
(applause)
okay for those of you who've just pulled
out your mental calculators to determine
if I was also present at the Gettysburg
Address I am a very young 78 years old
and proud of every one of those years. (applause)
I grew up in Waco, Texas as a part of a set
of identical twins and Waco was a rather
small town then so identical twins got a
lot of attention and my mother enhanced
that by enrolling us in every
conceivable dance class that she could
so we could be seen in recitals. Well
never mind all the other type of stuff I
fell in love with tap dancing so much so
that at 16 when my friends were trying
out for cheerleader I was still
passionate about tap dancing. So one day
my father who by the way my mother
graduated from Baylor and my father had
a ninth grade education and it was very
important to him that his girls make
something of themselves and get an
education; so when I was approximately 16
or 17 my father said to me "So what is it
you think you want to do with your life?"
and I so proudly said to him "I'm fairly
sure I want to be a tap dancer on
Broadway!"
Well now any reasonable father would
have been well within his boundaries to
have said something to the effect "Are
you crazy?!"
"What makes you think a little girl from
Waco, Texas could survive 15 minutes on
the streets of New York City? You'll be a
waitress the rest of..." and on and on and on. But he said
none of that! What this man said instead
was "If you want to be a tap dancer on
Broadway you'll be the best one they ever had!"
Now it didn't register with me at the
time the impact of those remarks
although by the time I got to Baylor I
had come to my own conclusion that maybe
Broadway was not my destiny. However when
I did graduate from Baylor I headed off
to Washington D.C. that first summer with
a group of Baylor friends and we all had
summer jobs working in D.C. At the end of
that summer I was offered a permanent
job by Senator Ralph Yarborough who was
a Senator from Texas and he asked if I
would stay on permanently. Well I thought
that was very exciting so I rushed back
home to Waco to pack my bags and get all
of my things ready to move to our
nation's capital. And my father
encouraged me to go to the one bank in
Waco and make a modest loan in his name
of course to support my first month's
rent or whatever. And I went to the bank
and the Vice President because there was
one bank in Waco and everybody knew
everybody the Vice President said to me
"So exactly what do you want this money
for?" and I said "Well I'm gonna go to
Washington D.C. and I have a job working
for a U.S. Senator!" And this Vice
President's response was "What do you
want to go to Washington D.C. for? There's
nothing but a bunch of N words living up
there." I could not pack my bags fast
enough and I headed off to Washington D.C.
and started working for Senator
Yarborough in the fall of 1962. In August
of 1963 he called the staff in and said
tomorrow there's going to be a big event
on the mall in front of the Lincoln
Memorial. I'm closing the office tomorrow
and while I can't require you to be
there I would certainly like to
encourage you to be there and he himself
along with other senators who were
willing
to be seen on that dias with Dr. Martin
Luther King was there and here I was a
young girl from Waco, Texas standing in
the midst of a crowd that was probably
larger than Waco at the time and all I
knew was that something very special was
going on and most of you know the story
that it was very clear that when Martin
Luther King finished his prepared
remarks the audience had not had enough.
They demanded more and not sure how to
proceed Martin Luther King heard this
voice behind him say "Martin tell him
about the dream" as he had shared with
others and it was at that point that
spontaneously Dr. Martin Luther King
started into the only part of that
address that most of us remember
otherwise known as the I Have a Dream
speech. I continued working for Senator
Yarborough through 1968 when he was
defeated and another person I another
young woman we decided we would open our
own business. We wanted to help women get
jobs that weren't just part-time grocery
clerks or whatever else and so we were
going to go and consult with
organizations on how to best utilize
women because there was a lot of Equal
Employment Opportunity legislation
coming down at the time and corporations
were unsure about what this meant they
needed to do with women. So we decided
that we needed to get our name out but
you see this was in the early 70s and in
the early 70s women could not be members
of the JC's or the Chamber of Commerce
or the Kiwanis Club which was really the
best place to do what nowadays we would
call networking I'm not sure that term
existed then and so we said "Okay, we
know other women like ourselves one and
two-person maybe ten person firms maybe
we could meet in the backroom of our
office and find out ways that we can
support one another in being successful"
and so we did over a number of weeks
there were a group of about 10 to 14 at
any one time and we decided that we were
going to call ourselves the Association
of Women Business Owners. I think really
we were in the right place at the right
time Washington D.C. in the 70s when the
legislation was coming down and almost
overnight without even asking it became
the National Association of Women
Business Owners and within a year we had
been invited to the White House to offer
some input on how to best support the
success of women who wanted to own their
own businesses. In fact I was so
confident that we could succeed that
that business was probably the first of
oh I don't know seven or eight
businesses that I have started over the
past few years and it's interesting
about a year into this process of the
National Association of Women Business
Owners a fortune 500 food retailer in
Washington D.C. was being threatened with
a lawsuit because women were paid less
in certain departments then others and so
they said "We need to go out and hire
ourselves a feminist" and so shortly
after starting the National Association
of Women Business Owners I was invited
to become the director we called it the
Director of Employee Relations and it
was to coach this organization on how to
utilize and promote the women in their
ranks; which we did and in fact the
Washington Post ran a headline on the
business page that said "Giant food hires
its own feminists". Well I did that for
about 10 years
it was an extraordinary career but then
the desire to be on my own again came
back and so for the next probably five
or ten years after that I continued to
do my own business primarily as a
consultant as a speaker working with
organizations on how to utilize the
female talent which they had and that
lasted until 1991 when I moved back to
Texas to marry. This is one of those stories. I
moved back to marry my college
sweetheart who've I have not seem since we
had graduated from Baylor some 28 years earlier.
So I've been here in Washington D.C. I
mean been here in the Dallas area and
once again I needed to be doing my own
thing and my favorite book at the time it
had just come out it was a best-seller
and it was called "The Seven Habits of
Highly Effective People" by Dr. Stephen R. Covey and in the first editions of
that book there was an 800 number on
almost every page. I would dial that 800
number and I said "Hi! Where are you located?" and they said "Utah"
and I said "I think you need to be in
Texas too. Why don't you let me set up an
office for you here?" and they said "What a
great idea! We have about a hundred and
fifty resumes so far we're considering
about ten cities of which Dallas is one."
But you see if I could be successful as
a tap dancer on Broadway from Waco, Texas
I knew that I was destined to open the
first regional office for what was then
called the Covey Leadership Center and I
did. The designation went to Dallas to
open the first prototype center and so I
spent the next 17 years full-time and
part-time working for that remarkable
man Dr. Stephen R. Covey. Now here's
something that he had in common with Dr.
Martin Luther King
Covey had a saying that when you were
called to do something big but it was
really, really comfortable to play small he used
to say to us "It is easier to say no when
there is a larger yes burning inside" and
so my invitation to you whether you are
the parent or a student or a member of
Plano ISD in any form or capacity
I think our obligation is to encourage
whatever that yes is inside of our
students and our co-workers so that they
too can have a dream to be a tap dancer
or as I saw on the screen they probably
have a lot more noble ambitions than I
did at that time. However some people
will say "Well I never had a dad that
told me I could do anything I wanted."
Well guess what?! I'm standing here and
I'm going to say to each and every
student or perhaps parent in this
audience you can do whatever you want to
and when you have enough people telling
you "No, you can't" you say "Yes I can
because there was this quirky old lady
who came and spoke at our meeting and she
told me it was okay to dream
big". So here's the message that I want to
leave you with there's no such thing as
playing small I don't think any of us
came here for the purpose of playing
small and in my opinion I'm not sure
whether the contributions I made as a
woman are any more significant than
those of a man with a ninth grade
education who told me that I could be
anything I wanted and as evidenced by
what we've seen on the screens here
tonight and in this marvelous, marvelous
celebration on the remarkable Dr. Martin
Luther King I'm here to say it is much
easier to say no when there is a larger
yes burning inside thank you so much. (applause)
(music)
Dear Dr. King, like you dreamed of, black
and white people are joining together in
harmony. The white only signs have faded
away but there's still racism, hate and
violence in the world. We the people will
help change racism and other bad things
into good. We will help do good things
for bad people even though they feel
hate. In turn, those bad people will
feel love and help others until the
whole world feels love. It's like a
domino effect, in a good way.
(dominoes falling)
(dominoes falling)
(recording of MLK) "Free at last. Free at last. Thank God, Almighty, we are free at last." (cheering)
So Dr. King what I want to say to you is I
have a dream and that dream is love over
hate for future generations.
(music)
Creating our future.
(music)
(Plano Senior High School Samba Ensemble performs, Samba Cat #1)
(music)
(applause)
(music)
(applause)
(music)
Martin Luther King, Jr. created a future
for us to be in a school with all colors
from black to brown to yellow. I will
create my future by recycling, donating
and encouraging others in my future.
I will be as good as a dime. I will be
having a great time when I create my
future. If it turns out well then there
is one person I want to thank, his
name is Martin Luther King, Jr. because
in his last years he created a future
for us that gave us hope.
Thank you Martin Luther King, Jr. Thank you.
(music)
Martin Luther King, Jr. created a future for us.
(music)
I’m Misty Tippen, chairman of the 2017 - 2018 Plano ISD Diversity Advisory
Committee. I am so thrilled to be here tonight to honor not only the great
leader Dr. King, but also to honor a group of truly inspiring leaders right
here in our own community with
the presentation of the 2018 Diversity
Leadership Awards. This award is coordinated annually by the Plano ISD
Diversity Advisory Committee to recognize students, staff and community
members who have shown leadership and commitment in fostering and promoting
harmony, respect, acceptance and understanding among the beautifully
diverse cultures within this community.
All of our nominees tonight have been
invaluable assets to Plano not only for promoting and embracing diversity
but for their efforts to educate others on diversity as well. Nominees, as I call
your name, please join us on the stage.
Our 2018 Diversity Leadership Award nominees are Heba Abdelghani, Robinson Middle School (applause)
Kaki Bennett, Haggard Middle School (applause)
Kathleen Good, Murphy Middle School (applause)
Hedgcoxe Elementary School PTA, Hedgcoxe Elementary School (applause)
Hickey Elementary PTA and Multicultural Committee, Hickey Elementary School (applause)
Mayor Harry LaRosiliere, City of Plano (applause)
McCall Elementary PTA Board, McCall Elementary School (applause)
Stephanie Mullins, Armstrong Middle School (applause)
Plano’s Closet and the PTSA Outreach Committee, Plano Senior High School (applause)
Terri Richards, Schimelpfenig Middle School (applause)
Maria Roos, Armstrong Middle School (applause)
Tina Vaguine, Davis Elementary School (applause)
and Brandon Watts, Huffman Elementary School (applause)
(applause)
Congratulations to all of our nominees. Thank you so much for you commitment to
this school district and community. Please join me in one more round of
applause for this amazing group. (applause)
So now I get to announce our winners of the Diversity Leadership Awards, we got a
little bit of help from our young friends at Beaty Early Childhood School.
(music)
I extend my sincere congratulations to all of our Diversity Award nominees and
winners. As I call the names of the winners, please come forward to receive
your awards from Autry Daniel of the Plano ISD Human Resources Department.
First up, I would like to congratulate our nominee
who was named honorable mention, Stephanie Mullins. (applause)
As the Department Head for the ESL Department at Armstrong Middle School, Stephanie Mullins has a particularly strong skill for developing
an inclusive environment within the school so that all English learners are
able to take advantage of the wide range of opportunities that exist on
Armstrong's campus. This is evident as she works with students, parents and
staff members. 
She is a vital member of the leadership
team as she advocates for her students to pursue their interests, passions and
strengths through appropriately challenging courses. This fall, she led
the multicultural committee in organizing the campuses First Annual
Hispanic Heritage Night and has already begun planning a Spring Multicultural
Night. This has lead many community
families to feel comfortable actively participating in their child's school
experience.  Thank you Stephanie for working so hard on behalf of your students. (applause)
Next up, I would like to congratulate our Individual Diversity Leadership Award
winner, Heba Abdelghani. I apologize. (applause)
ln the classroom with her ESL students, Mrs. Abdelghani creates a safe environment for her students as they learn to speak English
at Robinson Middle School. Students gain a sense of belonging as she creates a
family environment in the classroom. She teaches her students problem-solving
skills so that they can advocate for themselves both inside and outside the
classroom. Through her communication with ESL parents and families that are new to
the country, they more quickly feel that they are a part of the Robinson
community and less reserved about getting involved in their child’s
school. This has lead to an increase in volunteerism on the campus and more
parents being a part of the PTA. 
The implementation of the Robinson ESL
Parent Academy, as well as Mrs. Abdelghani's day-to-day outreach
to parents, can be greatly contributed to these successes. Thank you, Heba,
for your commitment to your students and their families. (applause)
Okay now, please join me in congratulating our Group Diversity Leadership Award honoree
this evening, the McCall Elementary PTA. (applause)
McCall Elementary feels extremely fortunate to be a campus represented by several different cultures. There are 35 to 40
different languages spoken on their campus each year. They take pride in and
cherish that rich multicultural heritage. The McCall PTA has really stepped up to take
the lead in fostering student educational opportunities in cultural
awareness and appreciation through community outreach and family events
such as Multicultural Night. 
At this event, students and their families bring
food, music, clothing and artwork to celebrate and educate others on their
cultural heritage. This event is designed to help build a meaningful understanding
of how we are all connected. 
Thank you, McCall PTA, for your leadership
and promotion of diversity within the school and surrounding community. (applause)
Our next honoree this evening is Plano’s Closet and the PTSA Outreach Committee from Plano
Senior High School in the category of Diversity Leadership Service Award. (applause)
This joint effort by Plano Senior High School’s PTSA Outreach
Committee spearheaded by Cynthia Flores-Harris and Plano's Closet, a
student organization sponsored by English teacher Jacqueline Mizeur, has
worked tirelessly to help provide basic needs to students who find themselves
living in challenging circumstances.
Jacqueline is the dynamic teacher who has inspired students for the last few
years to form and participate in this program. By educating the school
community, she has also created an environment where students feel safe to
reach out for help. They know they can contact any adult on campus if they have
food or clothing needs. 
Cynthia and the PTSA Outreach Committee do a lot of
legwork for this program out in the community. They contact businesses for
donations of goods and gift cards, and reach out to the PTSA community for
donations. They also assemble everything so that students can easily pick up what
they need to take home. Jacqueline and Cynthia provide true leadership in
that they inspire others to work to help the Wildcat community. Their
selflessness and sheer delight in the results of their efforts inspire others
to keep these good works going. Thank you Jacqueline and Cynthia for leading these
amazing students and volunteers in this effort to take care of our community. (applause)
And last, but certainly not least, we would like to honor the City of Plano Mayor
Harry LaRosiliere with the Diversity Leadership Community
Impact Award. (applause)
Mayor LaRosiliere is passionate about fostering a sense of community. He views a crucial role of
being a Mayor is to inspire our students, especially our youth, to believe they
live in the best city in the nation and encourage them to give back to their
community through services. This is reflected through two community
initiatives he helped launch. The Nourishing Hope Program which affirms
to our food insecure elementary students and their families
that they will be provided access to nutritious food when needed throughout
the year. And he also helped to implement the Plano Mayor’s Summer Internship
Program which has given hundreds of senior high students real-world
workplace experience through an eight week paid internship. Mayor Harry
LaRosiliere was elected Mayor of Plano in 2013. He was sworn in as Plano’s 39th
Mayor and is the first African American to be elected to this office. In May of 2017, he
was sworn in for a second term. Prior to this he proudly served his community for
six years as a two-term City Council Member.  Thank you Mayor for all you do to
foster a strong community that values its rich and diverse residents. (applause)
I'd like to ask that the members of the
Diversity Advisory Committee please
stand and they're sitting over there. Yeah it's a little dark but there they are. If you'll join me in thanking them in the work that they did.
(applause)
And last I just want to say what an
incredible group of nominees that we had
this year! Join me one more time in a
round of applause for the Mayor LaRosiliere
and all of our 2018 Plano ISD Diversity Leadership Award nominees and winners. (applause)
(music)
You dreamed of light and love but not of
darkness and hate. You dreamed of freedom
and peace and diversity and debate. You
stood up proud and high under the injust
Washington sky. Together with the
people who gathered for rights towards
integration without fight.
Finally, you gave your life.
Millions of people got inspired;
among them was this little girl believing in
all the equal rights. In my school when a
new semester begins above the entrance
there is this sign "Welcome" in all languages
worldwide showing skin tone and culture
are not how we are defined.
Celebrate annual multicultural night
everyone in the parade starts shining bright
presenting myself with confidence
and a smile appreciating my friends with
respect and delight.
Team up with a girl in Special PE. Enjoy a game of flying
frisbee.
Even a girl in wheelchair can reach sky high with a twinkle, sparkle in her eyes.
In the library, Lego bricks pile up high.
They are red, blue, green, yellow, black and
white. Ask this question in your mind: "How
can we create a great scene with only one kind?"
(music)
Don't hate. Let's say "Hi!" There's
always a better solution than fight.
Holding hands with love and open mind.
King, me and we can contribute to a
better future with pride.
(music)
(Plano Children’s Chorale perform Morokeni)
(music)
(applause)
(music)
(music)
Before we welcome our final performance, let’s take a minute to recognize our
amazing student writing contest winners that we heard from throughout the evening. (applause)
Students, as I call your name, please come to the stage where Kevin will greet you. Please remain on the stage until all have been recognized.
Reian Abualjazer, 5th grade, Hedgcoxe Elementary (applause)
Myia Garcia, 3rd grade, Mitchell Elementary (applause)
Evelina Lindsjoe, 5th grade, Haun Elementary (applause)
Faeez Masha, 3rd grade, Stinson Elementary (applause)
Sydney Naser, 2nd grade, Beverly Elementary (applause)
Isabella Wang, 4th grade, Skaggs Elementary (applause)
finally Franyelis Zabala, 4th grade, Daffron Elementary (applause)
Let’s give these students a round of applause! (applause)
I would like to thank all of you for being here tonight.
I thank the community members and the district leaders who helped plan this
event. And I extend a special thank you to Dr. Myrtle Hightower. (applause)
I know we've talked a lot about our future tonight, but I’d like to add that
it is Dr. Hightower who created this event 31 years ago and has contributed
greatly to the bright future of our students and this community. Please join
me for one more round of applause for Dr. Hightower and her committee. (applause)
Ladies and gentlemen, we have one more treat in store for you before we dismiss
this evening. Please be sure to take a look at the MLK art display as you
exit tonight. But please welcome back the Plano East Men’s Chorus singing “Hakuna Mungu.”
(music)
(applause)
