Law enforcement and educational leaders discussed community service during the Center for Energy Education’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. Community Service Program Friday.

It was an event where former Congresswoman Eva Clayton gave the welcome, a film on King’s acceptance of the Nobel Peace Prize was viewed, and Grover Rooks and the Gospel Travelers performed for the audience.

Law enforcement

Lieutenant Mitchell “Bo” Deloatch spoke on behalf of Northampton County Sheriff Jack Smith. “Community means partnership, trust, and responsibility,” he said. “Law enforcement is not just the people that serve — it’s the people we stand by every day. It’s built through honesty, visibility, commitment, and doing what’s right.”

After 24 years on the job, Deloatch said he has learned that effective policing doesn’t start with law enforcement. “It starts with a relationship. That means knowing our people, listening to their concerns, and solving their problems together.” 

Community also means investing in youth, he said. “Our young people are watching, learning, and forming opinions about law enforcement every day.”

Warren County Sheriff John Branche, who acknowledged Clayton, said, “I’m overjoyed to be in the presence of Warren County royalty.” 

Branche said King was the epitome of community service. “He believed that absolutely everyone was equal and served as an advocate of the African American people to bring us to the level of equality that he spoke of.”

He said, “When I hear people discussing issues within their communities but are unwilling to get involved, unwilling to take a stand, I point them to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s books. His collection of books talks about the importance of loving everyone in spite of all our differences. He encourages us to take action, work through the chaos, and give us goals to work towards on our own quest.”

Halifax County Sheriff Tyree Davis said he puts a lot of time into trying to influence children and get them to have a positive relationship with law enforcement. “When the community stands behind you and knows that you’re going to stay here and do the right thing, you know it means a lot.” 

Referring to accolades and awards his office has received, Davis said, “That lets me know that what we are doing every day makes a difference in our community because they trust us, they support us, they follow behind us.”

First Sergeant Levern Bynum of the North Carolina State Highway Patrol said community service simply means serving. 

He discussed a sermon by King where the civil rights leader said “the greatest among you shall be a servant and that’s the new definition of greatness. Service is greatness, giving back is greatness. This means that anyone can be great.”

Said Bynum: “You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subjects and verbs agree to serve. You don’t have to know Einstein’s Theory of Relativity to serve. You only need a heart that’s full of grace.”

Educators

“Every day that God allows us to wake up, we have an opportunity to serve and to help someone on this journey called life,” said Weldon City Schools Superintendent Tammy Boone. That service means people can help others be better than they were the day before. “Since we have that opportunity, we should all take advantage of that.”

Boone said, “The thing I love about Dr. King, when talking about community service, he didn’t just talk about it. He actually did the work.”

Dennis Carrington, COO of Warren County Schools, said, “Community service is love and action. When I think about the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., I am reminded that service was never optional.”

Community service means showing up — especially when it’s not convenient, he told the audience. “It means recognizing that schools do not exist in isolation. Our classrooms are reflections of our neighborhoods, our churches, our homes, and shared hopes.”

Said Carrington: “When one part of the community struggles, our schools feel it, and when our schools thrive, the entire community is lifted.”

Claude “Clutch” Cooper, vice chair of the Halifax County School Board, said community service means giving every student he’s ever encountered an opportunity to do better than he did. “It means giving people the opportunities that they would never have had.”

At 78, Cooper said he plans to continue serving. “Community service means giving people the chances that they deserve.”