Join us for an evening of evening filled with meaningful fellowship, inspiring speakers, good food, and maybe even a little dancing. The Juneteenth Gala is the highlight of the Juneteenth celebration and will be held on the Lower Level at the Dalton Convention Center, located at 2211 Dug Gap Battle Rd. Last year’s event sold out at 450; so, this year we moved to a larger room and are expecting 500 of our neighbors and friends.

African attire encouraged, black tie optional. There will be a cash bar.

Individual tickets are $35 and may be purchased online or at the Mack Gaston Community Center. Tickets may be purchased by going to the eventbrite link below.

For table purchases (10 people/table), please contact Jackie Killings at (706) 483-6190 or jmkillings@yahoo.com or Christie Shelton at (706) 581-7926 or christylze@gmail.com.

This year’s keynote speaker is MICHAEL L. THURMOND, chief executive officer of DeKalb County, Georgia. He is also an attorney, author, and motivational speaker. He has previously served in the Georgia legislature, as director of Georgia’s Division of Family and Children Services, Georgia labor commissioner, and as superintendent of DeKalb schools. In 1997, Thurmond became a distinguished lecturer at the University of Georgia’s Carl Vinson Institute. His book Freedom: Georgia’s Antislavery Heritage, 1733-1865, was awarded the prestigious Georgia Historical Society’s Lilla Hawes Award and in 2004, the Georgia Center for the Book listed this book as “One of the Twenty-Five Books All Georgians Should Read.” CEO Thurmond, a sharecropper’s son, holds a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy and religion from Paine College and a Juris Doctor from the University of South Carolina’s School of Law. Thurmond also completed the Political Executives program at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. www.michaelthurmond.net