David Toland, who will speak at Monday evening’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. celebration, had other ideas about where he’d be today when he graduated from Iola High in 1995. AFTER being graduated from Iola High and the University of Kansas, Toland soon found himself working in the mayor’s office in Washington, D.C. IN ADDITION to Toland four area folks known for their vocal skills — Becky French, Patricia Pulley, Lloyd Houk and Naomi Clounch — will perform at the King celebration.
“I thought I’d be practicing law in New York City,” said Toland, 35, executive director of Thrive Allen County.
He came from a family of attorneys and being a young man with ambitions, the bright lights of Gotham looked awfully good.
“At some point, I realized what I was passionate about,” said Toland. “I decided I wanted to see change and action at the local level, where I can help the most people.
“I want to devote my professional life to doing exactly that.”
His devotion to Iola and Allen County have been recognized several times, but none has touched him as much as the request to deliver the keynote address at the King event at Ward Chapel A.M.E. Church, 523 N. Buckeye. It will start at 7 p.m.
“I didn’t think I had accomplished enough or had enough of a record to be worthy of such an honor,” Toland said.
While he has yet to put together specific thoughts, Toland said he intended to talk about what Dr. King’s message means to contemporary society, “as well as our community today. It’s a call to action.”
That, in many respects, is what Toland has trumpeted in his five years of leading Thrive.
Its role is community action from any number of ways to make local communities more livable, economically sound and prosperous and to provide emphasis for citizens to have healthy and fulfilling lives.
“My perspective was broadened by living in Washington,” Toland said, and in more ways than adjusting to a bustling city that is the political center of the universe.
It gave him a better understanding of Dr. Kings’ message of inclusiveness, his call for freedom and for all to enjoy the same rights.
“Civil rights was important to me since I was a kid,” he said. When he and wife Beth purchased their first home in Washington, D.C., they learned first-hand “what it’s like to be a minority,” Toland said.
“We were the first whites to cross North Capitol Street, living in an otherwise totally black neighborhood,” he said. “The last white family to live there had moved out in 1958.
“What the experience did, from day one, was reinforce my belief that people are people, regardless of race or ethnicity,” Toland said.
“Actually, the neighborhood was much like Iola. It was a working class area. Some of the people were very poor, some were affluent and lots were in-between — hard-working folks trying to make a living and better themselves.
“We made some of the best friends of our lives while living there,” he added.
“We think the program will be very rewarding,” said the Rev. Joseph K. Bywaters, Ward Chapel pastor. Iolan Gena Clounch is the event’s chairperson.
Toland to speak at MLK event
