Articles tagged with: Anchorage LGBTQA Town Hall Meeting
Anchorage Town Hall 2 to be held Monday
The first Anchorage LGBTQA Town Hall in August was a resounding success. Now it’s time for a second one! Anchorage LGBTQA Town Hall 2 will be held Monday, October 3 at the A Street Event Hall.
Our purpose is community building & information sharing in the LGBTQA* community of Anchorage. Unlike our first meeting, we have no restrictions re: blogs/newsies writing about this meeting before, during, after.
The convenors for Town Hall 2 are Mel Green, Mary Elizabeth Rider, Maureen McGlone, Michael Mason, Doug Frank, Sara Gavit, Heather Aronno, John Aronno, and Marcia Barnes. Sara Gavit will facilitate the meeting.
On the agenda:
- An open forum.
- Introducing more of the groups and activities in our community, including: West High GSA, The Family at UAA, Grrlzlist, Bent Alaska, and a preview of Alaska Pride Conference 2011 to be held in mid-October.
- An update on the One Anchorage campaign from Trevor Storrs.
- Should we have more Town Halls? How often? What about? What would you want to discuss?
- Plus, an opportunity to connect & talk with each other.
We look forward to seeing you there!
(*LGBTQA = lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer/questioning, and non-LGBTQ allies).
- Date/time: Monday, October 3, 2011
- Location: A Street Event Hall, 637 A Street, Anchorage, AK (see map)
- RSVPs: We appreciate RSVPs but they’re not required. Spur of the moment decisions to attend are welcome!
- Further info: see Facebook event page or EventBrite event page. We can be reached by email at lgbtqapartnership@gmail.com, or see our Facebook group.
Thank you to Doug of the Kodiak Bar & Grill for allowing us to use this hall! Do you have an event you’d like to rent the A Street Event Hall for? Contact Doug at 727-1094.
Equality Works announces changes
Last Wednesday, August 17, saw the first meeting of the Anchorage LGBTQA Town Hall to discuss “the best means and methods for advancing LGBTQ equality in Anchorage.” Equality Works, which led the campaign for the passage of Anchorage equal rights ordinance AO-64 in 2009 (later vetoed by Mayor Dan Sullivan) presents the following open letter to the community about how it is restructuring itself in preparation for a new positive campaign toward LGBTQ equality in the Anchorage municipality.
Dear LGBTQA Community,
After the recent Town Hall meeting, Equality Works felt the community gave strong support for a positive campaign for LGBTQ equality in Anchorage (either through a ballot initiative or municipal ordinance). Equality Works met the following Sunday and discussed how to move forward, be more accountable to and work more closely with the LGBTQA community.
Equality Works is a coalition of organizations working to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender residents of Anchorage from discrimination and unfair treatment, focusing on five key areas:
- Housing
- Employment
- Public Accommodation
- Finance
- Education
To achieve a higher level of accountability and transparency, Equality Works implemented a more formal structure. This structure will allow us to act more strategically and ensure accurate community representation, while at the same time supporting robust community dialogue, including easy avenues for input and guidance. This new structure includes two components: (1) Community Advisory Council, and (2) Campaign Leadership Team.
The Community Advisory Council will be made up of LBGTQA organizational and individual stakeholders. Our goal is to have as broad and deep representation as possible. Membership in the Community Advisory Council is based on a commitment to:
- Support the mission of Equality Works
- Send representatives to attend meetings
- Volunteer time
- Assist in fundraising efforts
- Assist in spreading the message of Equality Works
To become a member, contact Johnathan Jones at jjones@akclu.org or (907) 263-2006. In addition, we will be actively recruiting stakeholders to join the Community Advisory Council. All members will be listed on the Equality Works’ website.
The second component is the Campaign Leadership Team. This team will work in conjunction with a professional Campaign Manager to ensure the campaign is run in the best interest of the LGBTQA community and will succeed by April 2012.
Trevor Storrs will be chairing the Campaign Leadership Team, the Community Advisory Council will select its’ chair and Johnathan Jones will continue to volunteer as support staff to both.
Equality Works will be hosting a community outreach forum very soon to share greater detail on the new structure and the campaign plan. If you have any comments, concerns or ideas please contact us. We truly desire open and honest communications with our stakeholders and community. You can contact Johnathan Jones at: jjones@akclu.org or (907) 263-2006.
Johnathan Jones
Equality Project Manager
Equality Works
907.263.2006
Equality in Anchorage: What’s it mean? Who gets to decide?
What does “equality” for LGBTQ people in Anchorage mean? Who are the “stakeholders” and “allies” in the process of trying to gain it? These are some of the questions guest blogger Maxine Doogan is asking about the Anchorage LGBTQA Town Hall meeting to be held Wednesday evening in Anchorage.
Anchorage LGBTQA Town Hall meeting to be held Wednesday evening
What are the best means and methods for advancing LGBTQ equality in Anchorage? A ballot initiative or ordinance effort? Boots on the ground organizing? Working with the faith community, businesses, etc.? A combination of strategies? These are some of the topics to be discussed at an LGBTQA town hall meeting Wednesday evening in Anchorage.
The meeting has been publicized widely within the LGBTQA community on Facebook and in email, including in Bent Alaska’s Facebook profile. One of the meeting’s organizers is Bent Alaska coadministrator Mel Green — which account for her relative silence on our blog recently.
This meeting is ONLY for people — LGBTQ and allies — who have a commitment to advancing equality for lesbian/gay/bisexual/trans/queer/questioning people in the Municipality of Anchorage.
If you are a stakeholder in this process, whether you are an LGBTQ individual, a representative of an organization, an elected official, a non-LGBTQ ally with friends, family, coworkers you care about — we invite you to attend and participate in collaborative decisionmaking about how to advance our common cause.
This is a private event. We ask that people who are members of the media — bloggers as well as as regular press — attend only if you can attend as an individual stakeholder, not in your job capacity.
The meeting will be facilitated by Deacon Sara Gavit of St. Mary’s Episcopal Church.
- Time/date: Wednesday, August 17. Doors open 6:00 PM; meeting begins 6:30 PM.
- Location: A Street Event Hall, 637 A Street (see map)
- Further info: Anchorage LGBTQA Town Hall group on Facebook, or contact Mel or Carolyn at lgbtqapartnership @ gmail.com. (Remove spaces in email address.)
