The dinner, in fact, was born out of an overwhelming turnout for the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Breakfast, which Snowden began 28 years ago but is now organized by a separate committee. Snowden's committee also sponsors the Fannie Lou Hamer reception each October to honor women for their contributions to the community.
"Carl, without question, is the heart and soul of not only the dinner committee, but the breakfast committee," said Alan Legum, an Annapolis attorney and member of the committee, who said he has been astounded over the years at the speakers and guests that Snowden has gotten to attend, including Julian Bond, chairman of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
Snowden said he realized there should be another venue that could accommodate more people to honor those in the county who work to further causes that King believed in.
The dinner began as a 400-person venue in Annapolis but quickly outgrew the space. Later, it was moved to Glen Burnie, where it could accommodate 1,200 people.
Both the dinner and breakfast are routinely sold out, and even with the current economic downturn, Snowden expects the same this year. As in the past, the event will feature some of the most prominent Marylanders.
State Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler will deliver the keynote address at the breakfast, which is held at Anne Arundel Community College, where Snowden helped to secure funding for a King monument on campus. Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon will be the keynote speaker at the dinner, which is held at La Fontaine Bleu restaurant in Glen Burnie.
Annapolis Alderwoman Classie Hoyle is receiving the Coretta Scott King Award at the breakfast and said she is "honored and humbled" to receive the award.
Hoyle, who said she has known Snowden since 1990, said he is "adamant" about ensuring that King is remembered.
"I think he believes in the process," Hoyle said. "He believes in what Martin Luther King has done. It's part of him. Carl, I think, is just dedicated to what Dr. King has done. He emulates what he does."
Legum, who has known Snowden since he was a young lawyer starting out in the late 1970s and Snowden was a community organizer, said each year he marvels at how Snowden puts it all together.
"The dinner starts at 6 p.m., and every year he's standing there a few minutes before, and I look up at the podium and I think, 'Carl, you've done it again.' "
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