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GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE PRIDE GUIDE 1997

Dayton will 'speak with one voice' at Pride dinner

by Dawn Leach

Dayton-"We're a diverse community. Gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered; male and female; African, Asian, Hispanic, Native and White Americans; HIV-positive and HIV-negative, young and old; disabled and abled, and with various economic, social and religious experiences," says the Dayton Lesbian and Gay Center. "Yet, when we gather on Saturday, June 14 at the Dayton Convention Center to celebrate our pride of selfworth, our community, with all its diversity, will be 'Speaking With One Voice'."

The Dayton center is holding its 11th Annual Dayton Pride Dinner this year with

the theme of "Speaking With One Voice." Among the many voices joining into one will be San Francisco civil rights attorney Molly McKay and stand-up comedian Frank DeCaro, author of A Boy Named Phyllis.

There will also be entertainment by San Francisco's Karlyn Lotney (also known as "Fairy Butch") and Jackie Strano, lead singer of the San Francisco dyke band The Hail Marys. Yolonda Brown and Bob Butts will be the emcees for the evening.

Before eating, diners can enjoy music by the Lisa Travis Band while perusing information about gay and lesbian and supportive businesses and organizations at Expo '97. The Expo begins at 5:00 pm, and also

features appetizers and a cash bar.

Once again this year, the dinner will be held at the Dayton Convention Center at 22 E. Main Street at the corner of 5th. Lesbian and gay moms and dads will be glad to know that child care will be available at the event. Tickets are $28 and must be purchased by Monday, June 9. Requests for vegetarian meals must be received in advance.

Tickets can be purchased via mail by sending a self-addressed stamped envelope and a check to Pride '97, P.O. Box 4134, Dayton, OH 45401-4134. No tickets will be sold at the door, but mail orders postmarked after June 9 will be held at the

door. Tickets can also be purchased at the Dayton Lesbian-Gay Center at 819 Salem Avenue, 937-274-4297.

Other ticket outlets include: Books & Co. at 350 E. Stroop Rd., 937-298-6540; EarthSong Herbal at 512 E. Siebenthaler Ave., 937-278-4270; Q! Giftshop at 1966 N. Main St., 937-274-4400; the Dayton Metropolitan Community Church at 1630 E. 5th, 937-228-4031; Samuel Johnson Coffee House at 139 N. Main St., 937228-1948; and Stage Door at 44 N. Jefferson, 937-223-7418.

For more information, call the center at 937-274-4297 or the hotline at 937274-1776.

Gays and Lesbians United grows into a political force

by Doreen Cudnik

Toledo It was at the 1993 Creating Change Conference, sponsored annually by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, that Marie Sienkowski listened to a discussion about the anti-gay ballot initiatives then sweeping the country. Sienkowski returned to Toledo determined

to get the gay and lesbian community organized.

"I heard that there could potentially be

an anti-gay ballot initiative introduced in Ohio, so we just started to randomly organize to try to fight it should that happen,"

Sienkowski said.

Organizing of the group, initially called

ans United, and reintroduced themselves to the Toledo community as a "political action and educational organization of gays and lesbians of Toledo and Northwestern Ohio."

Last fall, the group headed up a voter registration campaign, and recently got over 600 people to sign a petition in opposition to H.B. 160, an anti-same-sex marriage bill

"I want to see us educating our constituency about candidates in our city elections and on our issues. I want to see us be able to influence some of the policymaking of the Toledo city council."

Friends and Families United for Justice, in late 1993. The first meeting was held in January of 1994.

Sienkowski said there were "a lot of naysayers" during the organization's beginning. "People said it would never work, that there were not enough people interested in politics in Toledo."

The evolution of the organization soon proved the naysayers wrong. Last year, the group changed its name to Gays and Lesbi-

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introduced in the Ohio House by Rep. Jay Hottinger, RNewark.

"I think that what happened is that once the immediate political threat was gone, people who would stay involved with an organization like ours are people who enjoy political activity anyway," said Stuart. Tart, GLU's 1997-98 cochair. One of the most important things the organization has done in the last few years, Tart said, is to build an infrastruc-

ture.

"Since we approved the new articles of incorporation and bylaws," Tart said, "we've been setting up procedures for how we do things, so that future boards don't have to deal so much with administration. We can deal with our mission."

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GLU board members Tim Romp, Stuart Tart, Karen Redrup, Jan McQuillin-Leason, and Chuck Jeko.

They have since compiled a database of over 250 names, introduced a web page, and are currently in the process of planning for their gge fundraiser of the year: the Decked Out II dinner and dance aboard the Willis B. Boyer, a Pride event to be held Saturday, June 14.

The Boyer event was launched last year as a way to bring the community together.

"Sometimes it seems like in Toledo we have several groups of people working on completely different things, and we very rarely get together," Tart said. "So this was a way to bring those different groups together. Also this event is our annual fundraiser, and it's going to be part of us building an infrastructure so that we can be more effective politically."

Tart said the event raised $2,500 for GLU last year which paid for necessities like the group's voice mail, and copying and mailing of literature.

Tom Fairbairn, editor of the GLU section of the TAGALA newsletter, (Toledo Area Gay and Lesbian Affiliation), said, "I really don't think we would have a Pride if it wasn't for GLU."

"GLU has always tried to get things going in Toledo," Fairbairn said. “People that are involved in GLU are also involved with other Pride-related activities. For a short time we thought we wouldn't have a march at all, but it's gathering some momentum." Gay council candidate

One of reasons for GLU's resurgence, Fairbairn said, is Toledo city council candidate Louis Escobar. As a gay man who helped form the original group, Escobar now says he would welcome GLU's support of his campaign.

"I think any group that supports me would be an asset, whether it's a gay group, or a Hispanic group, or a senior citizen group, because they all represent Toledo," Escobar said.

"Several people on the GLU board are personally supportive of Escobar, because of his history in the community, because of the fact that he's running as an openly gay man, and because those who know him have a huge respect for him as a person," Tart said. "I am going to encourage us as an organization to volunteer for his campaign and do what we can to help him.”

GLU

Escobar, who addressed the GLU membership at their May 27 meeting, has the Democratic Party's backing. He will be one of the featured speakers at the Pride rally on June 14.

Another project that GLU is involved with is a "buycott” effort, in which area businesses are asked to enact a written non-discrimination policy for their gay employees in return for a listing in an upcoming consumer guide.

"The buycott is our most important work," Sienkowski said. "I think that paves the way, creates a feeling of goodwill in the community, and encourages people to take the next step in coming out to the businesses that they support."

So far 22 businesses have agreed in writing not to discriminate against their gay, lesbian and bisexual employees.

Tart's vision for GLU is to see it become an effective political force in Toledo.

"I want to see us active in supporting gay-supportive candidates. I want to see us volunteering in campaigns. I want to see us educating our constituency about candidates in our city elections and on our issues. I want to see us be able to influence some of the policymaking of the Toledo city council."

Sienkowski said she sees a lot of good things on the horizon for gay and lesbian Toledo.

"In the last four years there's been a lot of growth in this community," she said. "I've seen a lot of individuals come to the point where they can come out. I see people more willing to start groups. I think all the organizations are stronger now than they were in 1993."

She added that she would like to once and for all dispel the myth that Toledo is a bad place for gays and lesbians to live.

"A lot of people think that Toledo is conservative and closeted, but I really see it differently," Sienkowski said. “I think this is a young community, it's an underdeveloped community-but one that is growing. I like living in Toledo."

To see what GLU will be up to next, check out their web page: http:// www.fripro.com/toledoglu.htm. Gays and Lesbians United can also be reached at 419-292-1524.