Lincoln Memorial University will join the Lincoln Birthday National Commemorative Committee and the National Park Service in commemorating the birth of Abraham Lincoln on Feb. 12, at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.

LMU President Clayton Hess, Trustee Jerry Zillion, Vice President and LMU Duncan School of Law Dean Gary Wade, distinguished LMU friend Gary Thurman and LMU’s Select Quartet will participate in the ceremony and wreath laying.

The program will feature greetings and remarks from various organizations and conclude with a wreath laying ceremony. Wade will recite Lincoln’s “The Gettysburg Address” during the program. Under the direction of Dr. Young Kim, assistant professor of music, LMU students Brooklyn Long, of Clinton, Tennessee, Carrie Orick, of LaFollette, Tennessee, Laura Rice, of Lebanon, Kentucky, and Kalie Rich, of Russellville, Tennessee, will perform the “Battle Hymn of the Republic.” Hess will place a wreath on behalf of LMU and Zillion will place the wreath on behalf of the Lincoln Birthday National Commemorative Committee, which he serves as vice chairman.

Abraham Lincoln Library and Museum (ALLM) Director Michael Lynch will give the keynote address at the annual Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States (MOLLUS) black tie dinner on Feb. 11. Lynch will be discussing Lincoln’s early frontier life and its influence on his politics and beliefs about America. The LMU Select Quartet and LMU Vice President for University Advancement Cindy Whitt will provide music during the evening. Senior Director of Alumni Services Sheliah Cosby and her husband, Dr. Marty Cosby, Special Assistant to the President for Executive Affairs Dr. Evelyn Smith, Dean of the School of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences Dr. Martin Sellers and his wife, Patricia, will also travel to Washington, D.C., to participate in commemorative events.

Following the dedication of the Lincoln Memorial in 1922, members of MOLLUS resolved to commemorate the anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s birth each year at the Memorial, starting on Feb. 12, 1923. The Lincoln Birthday National Commemorative Committee continues this tradition, together with the National Park Service and the Military District of Washington.