Tickets are still available for the 28th annual Suffolk Leadership Prayer Breakfast, which is scheduled for 7 a.m. May 3 at the National Guard Armory on Godwin Boulevard.

The event is held each year in conjunction with the National Day of Prayer, and the format of the Suffolk event corresponds to that of the National Prayer Breakfast inaugurated by members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives and held each year in Washington.

A couple of similar events, the annual Commonwealth Prayer Breakfast in Richmond and the South Hampton Roads Leadership Prayer Breakfast, are also part of the National Prayer Breakfast movement and regularly attract governors, mayors and other civic leaders interested in joining citizens in prayer for their communities, for the state and for the nation.

The purpose of the event is to “seek God’s guidance, as well as to reaffirm leaders’ faith in God, His plan and purposes,” according to a press release from the local organizers.

Organizers of the event in Suffolk choose to remain anonymous to avoid taking the spotlight away from the event itself. Organizers also do not announce the speaker or musicians scheduled for the Suffolk event in advance.

Past speakers have included Gov. Bob McDonnell, Attorney General Ken Cucinelli, Habitat for Humanity founder Millard Fuller, Lt. Gen. Jerry Boykins, Iraq war heroes, New York firefighters who responded to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, retired football coach Tom Landry, Adolph Coors Jr., PGA champion Paul Azinger and a variety of other luminaries large and small.

Musicians who have participated in the program have included Marilyn McCoo, former Miss America Tara Dawn Christensen, Steve Gatlin of the Gatlin Brothers, six-time Grammy winner Russ Taff, former Miss Virginia Meghan Shanely and others.

Participants in the breakfast often include Suffolk’s mayor and City Council members, current and former governors and members of their administrations, state legislators, School Board members, Chamber of Commerce and business leaders and student leaders from Suffolk’s public and private high schools.

Tickets sell out each year. They are available at the Hillpoint Branch of Farmers Bank, located at 3100 Godwin Blvd., or by calling 242-6111. Tickets are $15 per person or $120 for a table for eight.