Boeing exec's words energize King event

A diverse gathering of students, business managers and city leaders assembled in the Exhibition Hall of the Gaillard Municipal Auditorium on Tuesday morning for the 10th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Business and Professional Breakfast.

The room was energized not just by a sense of community but by the promise of economic development and opportunity now that Boeing has located its final assembly and delivery plant in the Lowcountry.

Boeing Vice President and General Manager Marco Cavazzoni delivered the keynote address at the breakfast, promising to "bring the world to Charleston and bring Charleston to the world."

Cavazzoni praised the generosity and dynamism of the Charleston community and emphasized his intention to make Boeing part of it.

"We look forward to working with all of you without biases to spur economic growth," he said, then added, quoting King, "The time is always right to do what is right."

The annual breakfast was sponsored by the city of Charleston and the YWCA of Greater Charleston. It was the last large-scale event during a King holiday celebration that began more than a week ago with a series of church services.

Kathleen Rodgers, executive director of the YWCA, said the event raised about $50,000, which will be used to cover expenses and fund programming. It is the organization's major fundraiser of the year.

Boeing's commitment to diversity -- the company maintains a diversity office and has promised to hire minority contractors -- proves it is good for Charleston, Rodgers said.

King holiday events have drawn good crowds and prompted healthy competition among churches that organized special services on Jan. 10, presenting guest speakers and gospel choirs, she said.

Nothing signifies civil rights today more than education, Rodgers said. That's why it was so fitting for Charles Traynor "Bud" Ferillo to receive the Harvey Gantt Triumph Award at the ecumenical service this year, and for Ty'Sheoma Bethea, the Dillon student acknowledged by President Barack Obama, to speak of her determination to see the schools improve, Rodgers said.

Jaymes McCloud, a student at Garrett Academy of Technology who offered a short speech at the breakfast, echoed this sentiment.

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"Let's stand up, individually and together, to make a difference," he said.

The breakfast closed with the singing of "We Shall Overcome," a hymn associated with the Lowcountry. In 1960, folklorist and musician Guy Carawan, visiting Johns Island, first heard the song, which had been sung by striking workers 15 years earlier at a cigar plant in Charleston. After Carawan became music director at Highlander Folk School in Tennessee, the song became perhaps the best known anthem of the civil rights movement.

Reach Adam Parker at 937-5902 or aparker@postandcourier.com.