Florida Tech to Honor MLK, Community Leaders at Jan. 21 Event
The Rev. Dr. Lorenzo Laws, Bino Campanini to be Recognized in Awards Ceremony
Adam Lowenstein2 days ago
MELBOURNE, FLA. — Florida Tech will celebrate the life and achievements of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on Tuesday, Jan 21, as the university holds its annual commemoration of the civil rights icon.
The public is invited but free registration is required.
Things kick off at with the Breaking Barriers Cocktail Reception from 5-6:30 p.m. on the third floor of Evans Library, home to the powerful “Breaking Barriers” mural featuring Dr. Julius Montgomery. Guests will also be able to meet the new library dean, Jason Martin, Ph.D.
Attendees are encouraged to walk over to the Gleason Performing Arts Center for the 7 p.m. start of the 2025 MLK Commemoration. This event will include a live rendition of Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, as well as musical performances, powerful speakers, and an awards ceremony where two outstanding community members serving Brevard County will be recognized.
The keynote address will be by Pastor Steve Brock, author and senior pastor at Metropolitan Missionary Baptist Church in Cocoa. A Mississippi native, Brock earned a bachelor’s degree in business management and a master’s degree in divinity during his schooling at University of Mississippi, Truett Seminary at Baylor University, and Central Western University.
He has over two decades of experience “teaching, preaching and counseling,” according to his bio, and is known for his ability to connect with others through humor, warmth, transparency and fortitude. A successful author, Brock has written several books, notably “Dare To Be Great: Overcoming Fear, Complacency, and the Need to Be Average & Ordinary!”
Another highlight of the evening will be the bestowing of awards. The Rev. Dr. Lorenzo Laws will receive the Dr. Julius Montgomery Pioneer Award, and Albino “Bino” Campanini ’90 ’92 MBA will receive the Rev. Harvey L. Riley Bridge Builder Award.
The Montgomery Award is named for the late Julius Montgomery, the first African American student to enroll at Florida Tech and the first African American professional to work for the United States’ nascent space program, which happened in 1956. His namesake award is presented each year to a deserving candidate to honor their commitment and contributions to their community.
Rev. Laws has been making a difference for decades, whether from the pulpit or in the community.
Rev. Laws spent his youth in Daytona Beach. He would later earn bachelor’s degrees in sociology and Biblical studies, a master’s degree in divinity and a doctorate in ministry.
Currently serving as the presiding elder of the Dynamic Daytona Beach District of the AME Church and its 21 churches in Brevard, Volusia, and Seminole counties, Rev. Laws also served as pastor at Greater Allen Chapel AME Church, which opened in 1885 as Melbourne’s first house of worship.
While serving at Greater Allen, Rev. Laws initiated the 1st Annual Crane Creek Founders Heritage Festival in 2018, now called Melbourne Founders Festival. This annual event increased awareness of African American culture and history and the role it played in the development of the city of Melbourne.
Outside of the pulpit, Rev. Laws has been president and CEO of Laws & Associates Inc., a successful insurance & financial planning firm, for over 40 years. He has over 45 years of experience in the financial services industry.
It will be a homecoming for Bino Campanini, the two-time Florida Tech alumnus and former staff executive who helped launch the MLK Commemoration event and served as host for more than a decade. For the first time, however, he will be on the receiving end as he is honored with the Rev. Harvey L. Riley Bridge Builder Award, which recognizes success in community activism and improvement.
Growing up in Jersey, Channel Islands in the United Kingdom, Campanini was “immersed” in football (soccer in the U.S.), playing for the English National Public School boys’ team and training with the Southampton Football Club, according to his bio.
It was football that brought him to Florida Tech when he received a soccer scholarship, and he in turn helped elevate the program to new heights, leading the Panthers as team captain to their first NCAA Division II National Championship in 1988 and assisting as a coach in their 1991 national title win.
After a successful 17-year career in the architectural, engineering and construction industries, Campanini returned to Florida Tech in 2010, where he served in several leadership roles, including senior vice president for student life and alumni affairs. In addition to the MLK event, he helped create Florida Tech’s Homecoming Fest, Alumni Awards Gala and WISE Awards.
Between 2022-2024, he served at Eastern Florida State College, where he oversaw special projects and programs.
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