MLKOA Leadership
ALVIN JACKSON
President
The Rev. Dr. Alvin Jackson has served as president since 1995. He has served as Pastor, St. Luke Missionary Baptist Church for the past 27 years, is a retired First Sergeant, U.S. Army, and retired educator in the Liberty County School System. Dr. Jackson serves on several community boards, including President, Liberty County Manna House Board of Directors; President, Wayne County Ministerial Coalition, and Executive Director, Global Ventures M2820.
DONALD LOVETTE
Vice President
Donald is the Chairman of the Liberty County Board of Commissioners. He has served two terms with the Commission and also served on the Liberty County Board of Education. Donald has written and directed many plays, written songs, and promoted African American theater, African American history, and the cultural arts for many years. He serves on many boards, including Savannah Technical College, the Hinesville Development Authority, and the Eleven Black Men of Liberty County, Inc. He is a life-long member and serves as Steward Pro-Tem of the Pleasant Grove AME Church, Hinesville, Georgia. His motto: “By helping others, one helps himself.”
SARAH BAKER
Secretary
Sarah has served as secretary for several years. She serves on several boards and is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority.
Briana Divens
Public Relations
Briana Divens is employed as an instructional designer for a naval contractor. Previously, she served for 8 years as an educator and instructional technologist with the Liberty County School System. Divens is an alumnus of Florida A&M University and Georgia Southern University. She has been a part of the Hinesville Martin Luther King Observance Association since 2023.
EARNEST WILLIAMS
Treasurer/Financials
The Rev. Dr. Williams is a retired military veteran and African Methodist Episcopal Church pastor. Since the 1980s, he has served in a variety of positions with the MLKOA including treasurer, financial secretary and chair of the parade committee.
ANTHONY JOHNSON
Chair, Youth/Generation Now
Anthony is the principal of Snelson Golden Middle School, Hinesville, GA. He earned degrees from Savannah State University and Liberty University. He has been an educator for 7 years and is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity. He is an ordained minister, serving as an Elder in the Church of God in Christ.
NICOLE CARTER
Chair, Poster & Essay Contest
Nicole is an award-winning Liberty County School System educator. She is a fourth grade teacher at Waldo Pafford Elementary School, and was named the systemwide 2008-09 Liberty County Teacher of the Year. Nicole has served with the MLKOA for many years and coordinates the poster and essay contests. She is active in several organizations and is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority.
YVONNE WOODS
Chair, Scholarship Committee
Yvonne is a retired Liberty County School System educator. She has served with the MLKOA for many years and currently chairs the Scholarship Committee and Leadership Breakfast Committee She is active in several organizations, including Vice-President, Liberty County Emancipation Proclamation Observance Committee and Treasurer, Hi-Fidelity Civic Club. Yvonne is a member of
the First African Missionary Baptist Church and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority.
VELMA WILSON
Parlimentarian
Velma is a retired Department of Defense clinical social worker. She earned a BA degree in Sociology from Paine College and an MSW in Social Work from Clark Atlanta University. Velma was the first Chairperson of the Liberty County MLKOA Scholarship Golf Tournament and currently serves as the Parliamentarian and a member of the Commemorative Program committee.
The Martin Luther King Observance Association (MLKOA) was formed to educate, inspire and motivate people of all races, religions, ethnicities, social and economic classes, political affiliations, ages, and genders to embrace the dream of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. We seek social justice, equality in education, employment and housing, personal freedom and peace and harmony among all people.
Dr. King’s “Beloved Community” is a global vision in which all people can share in the wealth of the earth. In the “Beloved Community”, poverty, hunger, and homelessness will not be tolerated because international standards of human decency will not allow it. Racism and all forms of discrimination, bigotry, and prejudice will be replaced by an all-inclusive spirit of sisterhood and brotherhood.