Snyder to keynote King Unity Breakfast

Award-winning columnist Deron Snyder will be the keynote speaker for the second annual Martin Luther King Jr. Unity Breakfast, Monday, Jan. 19, at 7:30 a.m.

Mr. Snyder, who joined The News- Press as its general sports columnist in 2000, was promoted to the Editorial Board in January 2008. He currently serves as an editorial writer/community ambassador and writes a weekly op-ed column in addition to daily, online-only, "Instant Editorials."

In 2008, Mr. Snyder wrote several columns on Barack Obama, Sarah Palin and the presidential campaign, with his work frequently drawing the most comments on news-press.com. He also wrote three of the newspaper's top five "Instant Editorials" in 2008, including No. 1, on Mike Scott's use of Obama's middle name during a political rally at Germain Arena. The winner of numerous awards during his 22-year career in sports, Mr. Snyder most recently won first place in Serious Column Writing and first place in Sports Column Writing in the 2008 Florida Awards of Excellence.

The Unity Breakfast, sponsored by the Xi Omicron Lambda Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., takes place in the cafeteria of Dunbar High School (3800 East Edison Avenue). Doors open at 7:15 a.m. The theme this year is "Dr. King's Dream: Inspiring a New Generation Through Hope, Courage and Love." The Honorable Archie B. Hayward Jr., a Fort Myers native and Lee County's newest judge, will be honored. n