PASTOR ASPIRES TO FOLLOW KING'S FOOTSTEPS TOWARD COMMON GOAL; SARASOTA AND MANATEE COUNTIES ARE PLANNING A SERIES OF EVENTS TO COMMEMORATE THE LATE DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.'S BIRTHDAY.(LOCAL/STATE)

Byline: Patty Allen-Jones and Yvette Kimm STAFF WRITERS

More than three decades have passed since Pastor Gary C. DeSue of Sarasota heard the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. speak to a crowd in Jacksonville.

"There was an emotionalism that caused you to search yourself, search your self worth," DeSue, 45, recalled Tuesday. "If you were not careful, it was something that would cause you to shed tears.

"He had the gift to go beyond the color of your skin and the attitude of how you felt, and touch your soul," he said. "I believe, I am convinced, this was a God-given gift, and he shared it with mankind."

DeSue, the keynote speaker at next week's Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day Commemorative Breakfast in Sarasota, hopes to touch souls the way King did.

The breakfast Monday is one of several events that will be held in …