LGBT pride festivities kick off with Third Annual Pierce County Pride Awards

Photos courtesy of Pride Foundation

WINNERS. The Pierce County Pride Awards started in 2007 with these award-winners (left to right) Kim Burkes, Mardee Ropella for Tacoma Lesbian Concern, Berdie Williams for Tyler Smith, State Representative Jeannie Darneille and Terry Rhines.

Tacoma’s gay pride celebrations kick off July 10 when Pierce County Pride holds its third annual LGBTQA Community Awards, honoring individuals and organizations whose efforts have had a positive effect on the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning and allied communities of Pierce County. The ceremony, free and open to the public, takes place at 6 p.m. in the Rainier Room at Freighthouse Square.

Presented by the Pride Foundation, which encompasses five Northwest states and 13 regions within them, the awards are organized by the foundation’s Pierce County volunteers with support from the Rainbow Center and Oasis Youth Center in Tacoma.

While the names of those being awarded are kept under wraps until the night of the event, Dean Jackson of Tacoma, regional organizer and Racial Equity Initiative director for the Pride Foundation, characterized the recipients as “folks who are humble about the work they do. These are people who just do the work because it needs to be done. They have a passion for the communities they serve.” He said most of the winners “were stunned” when they got the call from the selection committee.

“We want to honor them in a public way for many reasons...for their dedication and to recognize that their work is building stronger communities.”

The awards are named after precious gems to reflect the high esteem in which the awardees are held. Nominations are made by individuals in the community, and a selection team of past award recipients chooses the winners.

• Sapphire Award – Given to a youth organizer 14-23 years old for service to the LGBTQA youth community of Pierce County.

•     Pearl Award – Given to an individual for service to the LGBTQA community of Pierce County, particularly service rendered in the past year.

•     Emerald Award – Given to an organization for service to the LGBTQA community of Pierce County, particularly service rendered in the past year.

•     Ruby Award – Given to an individual who is not part of the LGBTQA population, or an organization whose focus is not primarily LGBTQA but whose actions have directly benefited this community in the past year or over a period of time.

•     Diamond Hall of Fame Award – Given to an individual for consistent and exemplary service to the LGBT community of Pierce County. This award is given for service rendered over a considerable length of time.

This year for the first time a sixth award has been specially created “for an organization we wanted to give special recognition to,” Jackson said.

“These are positive role models for the LGBT and broader communities,” Jackson said, noting that this is especially important for gay youth who often lack visible role models. Past award recipients have included some of the South Sound’s most effective leaders, such as State Representative Jeannie Darneille, who has done much for our area’s LGBT youth. One of the oldest living gay people in Pierce County according to Jackson, John McCluskey, received last year’s Diamond Hall of Fame Award for his several decades of service to the South Sound’s LGBT population, including helping to found the Rainbow Center.

Jackson described the awards ceremony as “a loving event, not competitive.” He said that in these times in particular as much celebrating as the affected communities can do in support of each other is critical to maintaining vibrancy and health in these communities, noting that this is particularly important for LGBTQ youth, who often lack such examples.

Look for Pride Foundation’s booth in Wright Park on July 11 at this year’s Out in The Park, Tacoma’s fun and family-friendly pride event. Visit http://www.PrideFoundation.org to learn more.

Commenting rules