The Troy United Women's League's 15th Annual Black History Banquet will be at 6 p.m. Feb. 22 in the Adams Center Ballrooms.

The banquet's keynote speaker will be Dothan native, the Rev. Eddie W. Thomas.

&uot;We are extremely pleased to have Rev. Thomas as the featured speaker at our banquet,&uot; said Shelia Jackson, president of the women's league. &uot;Many people in our community know and respect him. We will all benefit from what he has to say.&uot;

After Thomas graduated Magna Cum Laude from Morehouse College in Atlanta, he entered the graduate program at Troy State University and received

master's degrees in secondary education and human resource management.

Thomas began his career as an educator at Charles Henderson High School. After teaching for more than 25 years, he retired from the classroom. He was then called to the ministry and licensed and ordained to preach.

Thomas is currently the pastor of the Mary Magdalene Baptist Church of Abbeville and Mt. Sinai Baptist Church in Newville.

As a member of the Alabama Citizens' Commission on Constitutional Reform and the Social Studies Course of Study Committee for the Alabama State Department of Education, he is able to have a wide influence in areas that affect the everyday lives of all Alabamians. He is also active in many religious and fraternal organizations.

&uot;Rev. Thomas is a very distinguished speaker and we look forward to having him with us,&uot; Jackson said. &uot;Also, as part of the program, we will recognize several distinguished guests. Each year, the Troy United Women's League honors a select group of Pike Countians who

have made outstanding contributions to their communities.&uot;

This year's distinguished guests at the 15th Annual Black History Banquet will be Tonya Terry, WSFA-TV news anchor and co-host of Today in Alabama; Cornelius Burrows, Brundidge city clerk; Sara Thomas, manager of the Beauty and Style Salon in Troy;

Charlie Sankey Jr., Crenshaw County Commissioner; the Rev. Herbert Reynolds, Econoputer Services; Veatrice Ware-Thomas; principal Meadowlane Elementary School of Phenix City; Lionel Maddox, Troy humanitarian; Sandra Whaley, physical therapist coordinator with MidSouth Home Health Agency of Montgomery; Aaron Whaley, branch manager for respiratory therapy service for MidSouth Home Health Agency of Montgomery; and D'Andrea Forbish Skipwith, assistant professor at Samford University's McWaters School of Pharmacy in Birmingham.

Tickets for the banquet are now on sale. They are available from any member of the Troy United Women's League or by calling 566-5488.