Johnson City Mayor Greg Cox opened the Jan. 8 meeting by reading proclamations recognizing veteran suicide prevention, Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Human Trafficking Prevention Month.

Reading the Be The 1 proclamation, Cox said the American Legion Department of Tennessee established the commission to end veteran suicide and noted local Post 24’s outreach, including distribution of wallet-sized resource cards. An American Legion representative thanked the commission for the recognition.

The mayor proclaimed Jan. 19, 2026, Martin Luther King Jr. Day in Johnson City and encouraged residents to attend a series of events organized by the local MLK planning committee. The committee representative detailed scheduled events: an MLK prayer breakfast at West Lee Memorial United Methodist Church on Jan. 17 (9 a.m.), a worship service at Saint Paul AME Zion Church on Jan. 18 (5 p.m.), a Jan. 19 peace walk (1 p.m.), a health-information session (3 p.m.) and a community dinner (6 p.m.) at the Carver Center, and a Jan. 20 lecture at East Tennessee State University’s D.P. Culp Center featuring Professor Greg Ivers. The representative said noted historian and Pulitzer Prize–winning author Taylor Branch will participate in a conversation at the Jan. 17 breakfast.

Mayor Cox also proclaimed January 2026 Human Trafficking Prevention Month. A representative from the Community Coalition Against Human Trafficking (GrowFreeTennessee) described local aftercare services and asked residents to support a comfort-kit donation drive. The representative said the coalition provides “free community based aftercare services to survivors of sex and labor trafficking” and noted drop-off locations at the Johnson City–Washington County Family Justice Center and the Branch House Family Justice Center. The group also offered free trainings for health-care professionals, law enforcement, educators and community members.

No formal action was required for the proclamations; they were presented for recognition and community awareness.