ULTIMATE LGBT
ROLE MODEL
Joel Burns
City Councilman,
Fort Worth District 9
City Hall,
1000 Throckmorton St.
817-392-8809
If there was one award we could have predicted the winner of last fall, it was this one. Joel Burns made history in 2007 when residents of Fort Worth’s District 9 elected him to represent them on the City Council, in the process becoming the city’s first-ever openly gay council member. But it was in 2010, after Burns made headlines around the country with a 12-minute heartfelt appeal to LGBT youth contemplating suicide, that his star really sparkled. Recounting his own teenage experience with bullies, Burns spoke of the successes in his life since then and the love he found with his husband, J.D. Angle. And Burns promised: “It gets better.” And it did, for millions of Americans, after hearing Burns. That’s more than a role model; that’s a hero.
— Tammye Nash
BEST LOCAL LGBT ORGANIZATION
Resource Center Dallas
2701 Reagan St.
214-528-0144
RCDallas.org
BEST NATIONAL LGBT ORGANIZATION
Human Rights Campaign
1640 Rhode Island Ave., N. W., Washington, D.C.
800-777-4723
HRC.org
A TEAM YOU WANNA BE A MEMBER OF Pegasus member club TKO took home the top trophy at the Gay World Series last summer.
BEST LGBT SOCIAL OR SPORTS ORGANIZATION • TIE
Pegasus Slowpitch Softball League
Dallas Independent Volleyball Association
There may be no “I” in team, but there’s definitely an “A” in gay. And Dallas is home to two of the most A-list gay sports clubs anywhere. Voice readers agreed, voting both into the top spot as their favorite social/sports organization. Pegasus Slow-pitch Softball is a league with more than two dozen teams, with names as colorful as the players: Imagine getting up to bat against a pitcher for the Donkey Punchers. Or the Itchy Kitties. Or Sons of Pitches. Pretty intimidating, right? Well, not really. PSSA is celebrated for its camaraderie, sportsmanship and sense of fun. The spring season just started, so it’s not too late to catch them in action or put on a jersey and join a team. If you prefer hitting balls with your hands instead of a bat, DIVA, the Dallas Independent Volleyball Association, is the perfect organization for showing off that killer serve or power spike you perfected when nobody was looking in middle school P.E. There are five divisions of teams (recreational, intermediate, competitive, advanced and power), so no matter your skill level, there’s a team (with or without a net) waiting with open arms. Just not so open that they miss the ball.
— Steven Lindsey
BEST LOCAL
LGBT FUNDRAISER
The Black Tie Dinner
4015 Lemmon Ave, Suite 4001,Suite 321
Next Black Tie Dinner: Saturday, Nov. 12
972-733-9200
BlackTieDinner.org
BEST PLACE OF WORSHIP
Cathedral of Hope
5910 Cedar Springs Road
Services at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. Sundays
214-351-1901
CathedralofHope.com
ULTIMATE
PEOPLE-WATCHING SPOT
The balcony at JR.’s Bar & Grill
3923 Cedar Springs Road
Caven.com
BEST GAY BLOG
Gay List Daily
BEST SMARTPHONE
SOCIAL APP
Grindr
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This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition March 18, 2011.
