The Day1 ministry will hold its annual benefit banquet Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at the Cherokee Town and Country Club in Buckhead.

For the fifth year, the event will honor leaders in metro Atlanta who are well known for their commitment to the good of the community, but who may not have been recognized for their deep commitment to their church and the religious community. The event supports the radio and Internet ministry, Day1 (formerly the Protestant Hour).

“I think we’re going to have a wonderful group of exceptionally involved community leaders of their faith, so I’m looking forward to it,” said Jean Mori, a Day1 board member who also leads the honoree selection committee.

Rebecca Kurziak, Day1’s acting director of development, added, “We’re just happy we’re given this opportunity to shine a light on Atlanta and how faith plays a role in the community. It’s nice to have an evening where everyone can come together and celebrate faith.”

Representatives from each of the six participating denominations on Day1 will be recognized. This year’s honorees will be:

o Cooperative Baptist Fellowship: The Rev. R.D. Spear Jr., chaplain and vice president of the Cecil B. Day Foundation, Dunwoody Baptist Church

o Episcopal Church: Winifred Davis, community volunteer, and Tread Davis, senior counsel at McKenna, Long & Aldridge, All Saints’ Episcopal Church

o Evangelical Lutheran Church: Georgia Senior Judge Dorothy Toth Beasley, mediator and arbitrator at Henning Mediation & Arbitration Service Inc., Lutheran Church of the Redeemer

o Presbyterian Church: Florida Ellis, community volunteer and Doug Ellis, former CEO of Southern Mills, First Presbyterian Church of Atlanta

o United Church of Christ: Douglas R. Hooker P.E., executive director of the Atlanta Regional Commission, First Congregational Church UCC

o United Methodist Church: Lillian Darden, retired president and CEO of the Foundation of Wesley Woods, and Buddy Darden, senior counsel at McKenna, Long & Aldridge, Marietta First United Methodist Church

The dinner also will include a silent auction. Tickets for the event are $175 per person and can be purchased online at http://day1benefit.eventbrite.com or by calling Kurziak at (404) 418-6772 to make reservations.

Produced and hosted by Peter Wallace, Day1 is distributed nationally to more than 200 stations each week, including NewsTalk WSB in the Atlanta area (AM 750 and 95.5 FM, Sundays at 7:05 a.m.). It is also accessible by podcast at www.Day1.org. The award-winning program is produced by the Alliance for Christian Media in association with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, the Episcopal Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Presbyterian Church (USA), the United Church of Christ, and the United Methodist Church.

Day1 began in 1945 when leaders of several major denominations and church-related colleges and seminaries came together with the goal of spreading the good news through radio. Every week since then, the program has presented compelling sermons from outstanding preachers from across America, bringing faith and hope to hundreds of thousands of people around the world.

Information: visit www.Day1.org.