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Last Updated: Oct 31, 2008 |
The Grand Marshals Announcement Party honors those who, through
community service and professional work, demonstrated an exemplary
commitment to Pride Houston’s mission of creating the means in which
gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered persons can celebrate,
commemorate and educate. Nominees were selected by a vote among
the entire community. The Pride Parade Grand Marshal titles are
some of the highest bestowed in the GLBT community.
The nominees who secure the four Grand Marshal positions – a male and
female, honorary individual and honorary organization – will lead the
evening Pride Parade on Saturday, June 23. In addition, the
headliners for this year’s Pride Festival will be announced.
Below are the nominees for the four Grand Marshal positions for the 2007 Pride Parade.
(1) Female Grand Marshal Nominees:
Maria Gonzalez has contributed to the GLBT community in regards to
politics. Maria was part of the 1999 formation of Progressive
Voters in Action (PVA) which was dedicated to identifying progressive
voters by concentrating on GLBT issues. In 2002, Maria joined the
Houston Gay and Lesbian Political Caucus (HGLBTPC) and quickly moved up
to the board, becoming vice-president in 2004. At this time she
convinced Tammi Wallace to begin the Equality Knocks project for the
caucus and soon after Houston Equal Rights Alliance (HERA) was formed
as an independent voter identification organization as well as alliance
builder. Maria then took the president role
in 2005, and under her leadership, the Caucus developed closer ties and
coalition relationships with HERA, Pride, the Community Center, NGLTF,
Equality Texas, the Victory Fund, and the No Nonsense Campaign.
Maria is still active with the board, especially in the candidate
screen process. She is an Associate Professor of English at the
University of Houston where she specialized in Mexican-American
literature with a concentration on Chicana lesbian writers. She
also teaches the Feminist Theory courses as well as creating the Queer
Theory course, a class that investigates the theoretical assumptions of
sexual and gendered identity in culture.
Judy Reeves is best known for her tireless and caring work as the
Curator/Archivist at the Gulf Coast Archive & Museum of GLBT
History, Inc. A founding member in 1999, Judy has served as the
Secretary of the organization since its inception, and is now in her
second year as Chair of the Executive Committee. She feels that
it is important to make our history available to the masses. Her
early days as a GLBT activist were spent with groups as Gay Urban Truth
Squad (GUTS) and Action Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP
Houston). In 1988 she served as Volunteer Coordinator for the
first NAMES Project Houston Display and went on to co-found and
co-chair the Names Project Houston Chapter. Judy has been a
long-time member of the Houston Gay and Lesbian Political Caucus and in
1993 co-chaired the Houston Chapter for the March on Austin. She
as also had participation and membership in the Imperial Court of
Houston (ICOH) Space City Empire and the Krewe of Olympus –
Texas. Judy has received the honorary title Ms. Pegasus
Productions 2004 from Pegasus Productions and has received the Lexy
Bowen Hero’s Heart and Soul Award 2004 from ICOH and Named their
Outstanding Female Line Member of the Year in 2005.
Barbara Walker has a passion for fundraising for causes as HIV/AIDS and
Breast Cancer and has been at it for almost 20 years. She has
helped to raise $700,000 starting with the Lake Livingston Follies and
continuing with ERSICSS and many other groups. She joined the
Empire of the Royal Sovereign and Imperial Court of the Single Star of
Houston (ERSICSS) in 1995 and became the first “real” female to ever
hold the position of Empress (co-president) in 2001. This is a
position elected by the community. She has spent most of her
professional life working for Philadelphia American Life Insurance
Company where she completed continuous service. In 1996 she began
working at the Montrose Clinic (now Legacy Community Health
Services). She has been Office Manager, Lesbian Health Outreach
Worker, HIV Counselor and currently is the Health Educator for the Next
Step Program, teaching individuals how to live with HIV.
(2) Male Grand Marshal Nominees:
Christopher Garrett has raised significant funds for Legacy Community
Health Services and is a former Emperor of Empire of the Royal
Sovereign Imperial Court of the Single Star (ERSICSS) and worked
tirelessly raising funds for the GLBT community. He has won the
ERSICSS “The Ruby Stone Award” for raising over $10,000 in is first
year and again in 2007. He started Drag Queen Bingo which still continues today and became Mr. Gay Pride 2003.
Jack Valinski has been responsible for Houston’s GLBT Pride Parade
rolling down Westheimer for more than 25 years. One of the
original founders of Pride Houston, he has acted as ringmaster, mother
hen, PR man, liaison to City Hall, volunteer wrangler, mediator, street
sweeper, chief pooh-bah and all points in between since 1982. His
contributions also include working with Wilde ‘n’ Stein, a gay radio
show that aired on KPFT 90.1. That show morphed into Queer Voices
which jack still executive produces and co-hosts every Monday
evening. Also managing the massive mailing lists for Houston’s
GLBT Political Caucus, GLBT and gay-friendly candidates have a place in
our city’s government and beyond. Today, Jack continues his quest
for equality for all people as Directory of Operations for Houston
Equal Rights Alliance (HERA).
Fred Walters has established himself in the Houston GLBT community
through his community service and his non-profit organization. In
the mid-90’s Fred realized there was a lack of access to affordable
nutritional supplements for the HIV community. Networking with
local activist he established the Houston Buyer’s Club in 1996 where
from a highly-visible storefront provides an important source of low
cost supplements as well as free nutritional advice to those living
with HIV and other chronic diseases. Fred has also expanded into
community outreach programs. He set up a lecture program initially to
educate those affected by HIV but has expanded to a series to address
women’s health problems and other health issues affecting the GLBT
community. As a compassionate businessman, a visionary in GLBT
health issues and an impassion activist, Fred has shown himself to be a
true role model for the Houston community.
(3) Organizational Grand Marshal Nominees:
The Houston Black Tie Dinner, Inc. is a 100% volunteer organization
which united the men and women of the Greater Houston Gay, Lesbian,
Bisexual and Transgender community. Houston Black Tie Dinner’s
mission is dedicated to raising funds in support of a diverse group of
organizations committed to enriching the Greater Houston GLBT
community. In 2006, Houston Black Tie Dinner Distributed $80,000
to nine different community organizations. As a consolidated
group and the community’s largest Houston-based fundraiser, they are
fighting HIV and AIDS, prejudice, discrimination and taking a firm
stand on men’s and women’s health issues here in our own
backyard. Since 1988, Houston Black Tie Dinner’s Gala annual
event has seen a steady increase in attendance and support within the
Houston Community, with total contributions to local charities and
organizations totaling over $1.8 million dollars.
Imperial Court of Houston (ICOH) – Space City Empire
is celebrating its
5th anniversary this year. ICOH has accomplished so much for the
Houston Community and beyond. To date, the organization has
raised over $250,000 for local and national charities. The members
focus their efforts on raising funds for
those in need, educating its members about the community as a whole and
training future leaders of Houston utilizing “camp” and
entertainment. ICOH is unique in the fact that it is an
all-volunteer fundraising charity organization that administers a
direct emergency assistance fund. The Lexy Bowen Community Fund was
created to address the need for people within the community who are not
HIV-Positive, but assists individuals dealing with debilitating
diseases, death and depression. The organization has also raised money
for groups including AIDS Foundation Houston, Montrose Clinic and the
Assistance
Fund (now Legacy Community Health Services), Camp for All, Colt 45’s,
GLBT Community Center, Bering Omega Community Center as well as many
others.
Lesbians Over Age Fifty (LOAF) was founded and developed by Arden
Eversmeyer. It provides friendship and activities for women who
are age 50 and older in a safe environment. LOAF is somewhat of a
quite group because many of the women have suffered from many years of
discrimination and fear, having come out in earlier days when it was
not safe to do so. Many of the members are active seniors who
give many volunteer hours to an assortment of community
organizations. They cheer on the Comets, are AssitHers
volunteers, support the Lesbian Health Initiative and the Seniors
Preparing for their Rainbow Years (SPRY) – a program of the Montrose
Counseling Center.
(4) Honorary Grand Marshal Nominees:
Garnet Coleman has served the people of District 147 in the Texas
House of Representatives continuously since 1991. Throughout his
years of services, Representative Coleman has earned a reputation as a
diligent leader in the areas of health care, economic development,
education, and civil rights. He has been recognized by the
Houston Black Tie Dinner for his work against Proposition 2, a measure
that banned the City of Houston from extending domestic partner
benefits to GLBT employees. Garnet is tireless in his efforts to
help and protect the Houston GLBT community. He fights for the
civil rights of everyone and is a role model to all. With
tenacity of a bull dog and the fairness of a Benedictine Priest, Garnet
strives to be the leader that everyone appreciates.
For more information on Pride Houston or to find out how to participate in Pride activities, visit www.pridehouston.org.
About Pride Houston
Pride Houston, a volunteer organization, produces Houston’s Annual GLBT
Pride Parade and Festival. Our 29th anniversary festivities,
celebrating Houston’s gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and transgender community
are scheduled for Saturday, June 23, 2007. This year’s theme
reflects our “Lone Star Pride.” The Festival kicks off at 11:00
AM near Westheimer and Commonwealth and concludes at 8:00 PM. The
fabulous and unique Night-time Parade draws over 100,000
spectators! The Parade begins promptly at 8:45 PM at the corner of Westheimer and Woodhead, and finishes around
midnight at Westheimer at Whitney. To buy Festival tickets, join
the fun, and learn more about Pride Houston, please visit our website
at www.pridehouston.org or contact us at (713) 529-6979. Pride
Houston is a 501 (c) (3) organization.
About Our Sponsors
Pride Houston deeply appreciates this year’s sponsors and hope that our community continues to support them when possible.
© This Week In Texas
Comments
Christopher Garrett
04 May 2008, 16:18
grand marshall
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