Commissioner Lumen May of Escambia County opened a recorded January message by thanking residents and partners for holiday charity efforts and by urging continued civic engagement.

May said community partners including Community Caring and Own Bikes helped the county provide toys and bicycles and that "throughout this year, we were able to give out almost 800 children" items such as bikes and toys. She also noted volunteers and partners distributed turkeys and hams to seniors and described volunteers continuing outreach on Christmas morning.

The commissioner framed the message around upcoming commemorations. She highlighted January events honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., including "Living Your Dream" activities and a parade, and noted February is Black History Month, a time to recognize contributors to the county and nation.

May used the message to announce tributes to local figures. She said she would honor Georgia Blackman, owner of the Gavin's Book Awareness Center, who "would give me a book a month to read on black history" and whom May said had died. May also named H.K. Matthews as a civil-rights icon who died this past year, saying she would share a video of his remarks and thanked him for his sacrifices and legacy.

The message included a roll call of local clergy, NAACP leaders and elected officials whose work May said paved the way for current leaders and representation. Names she mentioned included BJ Brooks, Reverend Dave Thomas, Eugene Brown, Reverend Nathaniel Smith, Reverend S.L. Jones, Reverend John Roden, Reverend Theopolis May, Reverend Lonnie Wesley, Reverend Dave Wesley, Reverend Isaac Johnson, Willie Junior, Rita Jones, Hollis T. Williams and Cecil Hunter.

Two other speakers offered first-person recollections of the African American experience and the civil-rights movement. An unidentified speaker recounted growing up in Snow Hill, Ala., described a grandmother who walked long distances to teach, and urged that Black history be integrated into broader history instruction because "America's history is our history." That speaker also gave a first-person account of participating in a Selma voting-rights march and described state troopers and mounted police attacking marchers with clubs, tear gas and horses.

May used the remarks to urge residents to move beyond partisan divisions and to invest in "human capital" by sharing life experiences and naming local mentors. "To those of us who have been blessed, I think that God blesses us to bless others," she said, challenging listeners to "be important in the life of another."

May closed by thanking listeners for joining the message and encouraging participation in upcoming MLK and Black History Month events.

No formal votes or policy actions were recorded in the message.