PFLAG Winston-Salem receives national press; now planning 2nd annual ‘Kaleidoscope’ Banquet
PFLAG Winston-Salem, a group led by many of the folk who mentored me all through high school (and, in fact, who still mentor me to this day), received national press coverage for its Alternative Prom for LGBT and straight ally teens back on April 28th (see past post). Bob Moser, a writer for OUT Magazine wrote a five page article/column on the event in June’s issue of the magazine.
You can read some of the article online at OUT’s website, but you will have to actually pick up the June issue in print to read the whole thing.
I remember the help and support I got from PFLAG folks, as well as the folk from the old GLSEN chapter. If it weren’t for PFLAG’s YouthFLAG support group when I was 14, 15 and 16 years old, I don’t know where I’d be today. I remember back in 2002, when we were planning the first Alternative Prom. I think we had no more than 30 to 40 people there, but at that time it was awesome to even see that many people out. This year’s prom attracted almost 200!
In other PFLAG W-S news, the group is now in the midst of planning for the second annual Kaleidoscope Awards Banquet, to be held on September 9, 2006 (although a location has yet to be announced). The first was held last September at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Winston-Salem. The key-note speaker this year is the Reverend Jimmy Creech, Executive Director of Faith in America.
Nominations are now being accepted for the Kaleidoscope Awards. Four awards will be given: One to a business, a school, a faith group or institution and an individual. Nomination forms and more information is available at www.pflagwinstonsalem.org/Banquet06.htm
You can also buy tickets, ranging in price from $50 to $85, at www.pflagwinstonsalem.org/Shopping.htm
I wish PFLAG Winston-Salem luck in the planning for the Banquet. You can bet I’ll be there. I’m glad to see they got such good press coverage, too. The group has really grown a lot since I first got involved in the local community 6 years ago. I couldn’t be more proud of my friends, my mentors and my colleagues.
Matt, 22, is an LGBT journalist, activist and youth advocate currently living and working in Charlotte, N.C., where he serves as the Editor of Q-Notes, the Carolinas' LGBT news source. A native of Winston-Salem, N.C., Matt attended the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and is still continuing to pursue his bachelors degree. He is the Owner & Editor of InterstateQ.com and has been active in LGBT advocacy work since the age of 14.
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