Iris St. Meran
Iris St. Meran, news anchor for Spectrum News Syracuse, will serve as emcee for the 35th annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration to be held on Sunday, Jan. 26, at 5 p.m. in the Dome.
“Iris St. Meran is a talented, trusted and popular public figure,” says the Rev. Brian Konkol, dean of Hendricks Chapel. “The Celebration Planning Committee was overjoyed when she accepted our invitation. We are confident that her presence will contribute to a wonderful celebration.”
The featured speaker at this year’s celebration is civil rights leader the Rev. Raphael Warnock, senior pastor of the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, the spiritual home of Dr. King. Warnock will speak to his connection with Dr. King under the theme, “A Living Legacy.” The celebration is the largest of its kind on a college campus and features performances, dinner and the presentation of the Unsung Hero Awards.
Tickets for the dinner and program and program only may be purchased online, in person at the Dome Box Office located in the Ensley Athletic Center at 1315 E. Colvin St. (Monday 9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., Tuesday through Friday 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.), and by phone (888-DOME-TIX or 315.443.2121, option “four”).
St. Meran has created a special connection with Central New York and Syracuse as a television news anchor at Spectrum News. St. Meran pursued her degree in journalism at Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts, where she also worked as a desk assistant and web producer at New England Cable News, now NBC Boston. St. Meran quickly immersed herself in the local community after moving to Upstate New York from Boston in 2008.
St. Meran has covered a myriad of meaningful stories since joining the Spectrum News team. She earned a first-place award from the New York Associated Press for her series Addicted: Heroin’s Hold. That series is an example of St. Meran’s passion for telling stories that make a difference in the lives of her viewers. In another multipart series, Troubled Water: Crisis in Flint, St. Meran found inspiration in that Michigan community’s ability to come together in the midst of crisis.
St. Meran serves as a mentor to students at the Institute of Technology at Syracuse Central in the Syracuse City School District. She also co-hosts a podcast called “The Ladies’ Room,” which features women making an impact on the world. She and her co-host, Jennifer Sanders, were profiled in Syracuse Woman Magazine for their work on the podcast and contributions to the Syracuse community. St. Meran has run the Utica Boilermaker 5K, and she enjoys the area’s vibrant history. She has spent her time here meeting the people, participating in the activities and exploring the places so special to Central New York.
