RESERVE – Celebrations will mark the anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday Monday, with a march and program in Reserve, a march from Luling to Hahnville with a program at the courthouse and a program at St. James High School. The public is invited to all three events. In St. John the Baptist Parish a Martin Luther King Day march is scheduled for Monday beginning at 10 a.m. from Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church. The march will proceed along River Road to the Reserve housing development, where a rally will follow. The Rev. Forell Bering, one of the directors of the MLK Day march and pastor for Bethlehem Baptist and New Pilgrim Baptist churches in Reserve, said this year’s theme is “Driving the Dream.” He said there will be a host of local ministers, political officials and marching bands participating in the event. In St. Charles Parish the 13th annual King Pilgrimage March will begin at 10 a.m. at the West Bridge Park, led by this year’s grand marshal, the Rev. Charles Johnson of Mt. Zion Baptist Church, Boutte. The noon program will also offer as featured speaker, the Rev. Dwight Webster of Christian Unity Baptist Church, New Orleans. Results of the annual school essay contest will also be announced, with the first-prize winners reading their own essays. The program is sponsored by the Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Organization of St. Charles Parish. Margaret Marshall is president. For more information on the march, program or organization, call Marshall at 785-2097. In St. James Parish, Irma Muse Dixon, chairperson of the Louisiana Public Service Commission, will be the featured speaker at the Martin Luther King Memorial Day Program at noon at St. James High School. The program is sponsored by the MLK Scholarship Organization. The MLK Scholarship Organization awards scholarships to deserving students of the west bank of St. James Parish. Offerings and donations from the people in attendance are accepted as a means of funding the scholarships. The program is the only fund-raiser conducted by the organization, which has awarded 55 scholarships at $500 per person, totaling $27,500 in the past years. Scholarship recipients are screened by the scholarship screening committee that works hard to assure that all applicants are treated fairly and are deserving of the scholarships. Members of the committee are James Florent, coordinator, Karen Pairrier, Frank Bourgeois, Whitney Hickerson, Geraldine Smith and Willis Octave. The MLK Scholarship Organization if governed by a board of directors, including founder the Rev. Lucien Garrett, chairman Larry Melancon, Louvenia Armant, Paul Aucoin, Ellis Bourgeois, Sheryl Dillon, Dolores Florent, James Florent, Bernadine Garrett, Ella Garrett, Lydia Gloster, Lena Kitchens, Marie Lewis, Mary Nelson, Ewin Octave and J.B. Schexnaydre. To learn more, call James or Dolores Florent at 225-265-7903 or Garrett at 225-265-3682.