The Robert “Bob” Hicks Foundation, Bogalusa Mayor Wendy Perrette, Bogalusa city council members and special guests Edward “Shaka” Butler and Nikita Wilson, will be joining the Bogalusa community on Monday, Jan. 18, during the MLK Day of Services at the Bob Hicks home, located at 924 E. Robert “Bob” Hicks St.

Foundation members hope that the home will be the site of a future civil rights museum. The event will be from 8 a.m. until noon and from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Wilson played college basketball at LSU. He is retired from the NBA and played with the Portland Trail Blazers. He has been involved with basketball camps for kids for nine years.

Butler is a woodcarving artist, who was born on the St. Louis Plantation in Iberville Parish. He sees his carvings as a learning tool, and a away to turn youth away from crime.
He will present his works, “History in Wood,” which will be unveiled between 8 a.m. and noon. They include carvings of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Mary McLeod Bethune, Harriet Tubman, Mack Charles Parker, Muhammad Ali, Thurgood Marshall, Trayvon Martin and others.

Artists, especially youth artists, are welcome to visit the museum site as Butler unveils his collections of wood carvings. Visitors are invited to join with Perrette and city council members as they paint the exterior of the museum throughout the day. There will also be various other jobs that need doing, and people of all ages can help.

Volunteers with skills and experience can help remove shingles from the roof, or drywall from the inside of the museum. Younger volunteers can help fill the dumpsters with old shingles, drywall, trash, rubbish and debris.

In addition, 25 members of the Bogalusa High School JROTC will be volunteering their services.

For more information on the event and how anyone can help, call the Robert “Bob” Hicks Foundation at 985-732-7449.