Cece Cox, right, with her wife, Shelly Skeen
It was a cold December night in 1988, and the LGBTQ community in Dallas was still raging over Judge Jack Hampton’s proud, defiant admission that he had given a relatively light sentence to the teenager who had, in May of that year, murdered two gay men in cold blood simply because the victims were gay.
But the community was also locked in a much broader battle — fighting the HIV/AIDS epidemic that was still killing gay men weekly, if not daily. And that night, the Dallas Gay Alliance was gathering the community in the Dallas City Hall plaza to protest official inaction on the epidemic, and to hold a candlelight vigil in memory of those lost to the epidemic.
It was also Cece Cox’s first step out into the world of LGBTQ activism.
As Cece told The Dallas Way in 2018, she had moved to Dallas in 1984 with her journalism degree from Northwestern University. She was working as a commercial photographer then, and was out as a lesbian only to a small group of close friends. But on that cold December night, she took her camera to that protest, and as she walked among the protesters waving signs and holding candles, stepping over and around the chalk outlines on the concrete representing those lost to AIDS, Cece’s life began to change.
From then on, Cece began putting her many talents to good use in the LGBTQ civil rights movement, blazing a trail from that cold December night all the way into a new millennium and beyond. Along the way she co-authored, with Lisa Means and Lisa Pope, a book of photos from the 1993 LGBTQ march on Washington, D.C., participated in protests and rallies and other events too numerous to mention, and she went back to school and earned a law degree, which allowed her to provide pro bono legal services to individuals with HIV.
Cece joined the organization today known as Resource Center as assistant executive director in 2007, and in 2010, she became center’s CEO, an office she still holds today.
In the 35 years since that December night in 1988, Cece Cox has been instrumental in the passage of the city of Dallas’ sexual orientation nondiscrimination policy, in the implementation of the Dallas Independent School District’s first anti-harassment policy and its subsequent anti-bullying policy. She has been a member of SMU’s Simmons School of Education and Human Development executive committee, board co-chair of the national organization CenterLink, and a board member of the Dallas Women’s Foundation.
Cece was recognized as a distinguished alumna of SMU’s Dedman School of Law in 2016, the same year she was named the LGBTQ Texan of the Year by us here at the
Dallas Voice, in recognition of her work in leading Resource Center through its successful efforts to expand and to build a new community Center. In 2017, she was selected as a winner of the Dallas Business Journal’s Women in Business Awards.
In December 2021, as our community still struggled with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and with the aftermath of a Texas legislative session that targeted LGBTQ people — especially trans men and women — Cece wrote an open letter to the community as CEO of Resource Center, ending with, “You are the light at the end of the dark tunnel.”
After 35 years in the thick of the fight against HIV/AIDS and for LGBTQ equality, it’s safe to say that Cece Cox has herself been both the light and the guardian of the light, and she shows no signs of stopping anytime soon.
That’s why Cece Cox is our 2024 Readers Voice Awards winner for Best Local Community Role Model.
— Tammye Nash
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Cody Hutchison
EDITOR’S CHOICE: Up-And-Coming Local Community Leader
The North Texas LGBTQ community has been fortunate beyond compare to have, through the years, dedicated community leaders like Cece Cox, our Best Local Community Leader for 2024, to move our community forward in so many ways.
But we are also extremely lucky to have new young leaders stepping to lead us into the future. That’s where Cody Hutchison comes in.
When it comes to working for a living, Cody keeps it in the community. In January 2020, he joined the staff of HELP Center for LGBT Health and Wellness as director of marketing, bringing with him 10 years of experience in developing and executing marketing and branding strategies, media relations, social media and design as well as extensive experience with non-profits in fundraising and building awareness. And his work has really helped put HELP Center “on the map,” so to speak, in terms of community awareness.
Then two years ago, he added “Pride” organizer to his resumé, stepping in at a moment’s notice to turn what was initially intended to be an open house at HELP’s new Arlington location into a full-on Pride festival — Arlington’s first. The next year, in June 2023, Cody helped turn that unexpectedly successful first Pride grew exponentially, drawing more than 5,000 people to Arlington’s Levitt Pavilion for a day-long celebration that included vendors, performers and more.
So what’s in store for Arlington Pride 2024? We don’t know for sure yet, but with Cody at the helm of the organizing, we know it’s gonna be good! That’s why Cody Hutchison is our Editor’s Pick for the 2024 RVA Up-And-Coming Local Community Leader.
(Also, if you want to check out Cody’s design skills, look no further than our 2024 RVA plaques, RVA cover and inside cover!)
— Tammye Nash
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Best Party for a Cause
BearDance
BearDance.org
Best Local Nonprofit
Dallas Bears
DallasBears.org
Best Local Community Role Model
Cece Cox
CEO, Resource Center
5750 Cedar Springs Road, Dallas214-521-5124 • MyResourceCenter.org
Best Local Influencers
@2_Dallas_Dads
Jason Hanna and Joe Riggs
Instagram.com/2_Dallas_Dads
Facebook.com/2DallasDads
TikTok.com/@official_2_Dallas_Dads
Best Local Community Ally
Denise Lee
Founder and executive producer ofThe DLO Cabaret Series and The Dallas Cabaret Festival
DeniseLeeOnstage.com
Best Art Gallery
Daniel Padilla Gallery
2629 N. Stemmons Freeway, # 104, Dallas
713-392-7014 • DanielPadillaGallery.com
Best Local Museum
Dallas Museum of Art
1717 N. Harwood St., Dallas
214-922-1200 • DMA.org
Best Local LGBTQ Sports Organization
Lost Souls Rugby
LostSoulsRugby.org
Best Hidden Gem
The Hidden Door
5025 Bowser Ave., Dallas,
214-526-0620
HiddenDoor.bar
Best Local Artist
Robb Conover
artistrobb@yahoo.com
Facebook.com/RobbConoverArtist
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Editor’s Choice: Best in Sweetness
Chocolate maker extraordinaire Sarahbeth Yeli Marshall works her chocolatey magic into her sweet creations as the chief cook at Yelibelly Chocolates. Where did the name for her business come from, you ask. Well, “Yeli” is right there in her own name, and “belly” comes from the fact that she is just as talented as a belly dancer as she is as a chocolatier.
Sarahbeth’s been celebrating same-sex marriage with our community since before marriage was a thing in Texas. And since it became a thing, she’s catered many a same-sex wedding. She was a featured participant at Dallas Voice’s Wedding Party and Expo at the Anatole and Renaissance hotels, held right after marriage equality became a thing. And while anybody can — and lots of people do — try to get our community’s loyalty by claiming “My friends are LGBTQ,” when it comes to Sarahbeth and Yelibelly, it’s the actual truth.
Her latest sensation is Liquid Nitrogen Ice Cream, and it is sensational indeed, as anyone who has had the chance to partake — such as those attending the 2024 Readers Voice Awards Winners Announcement Party on March 21 — can attest,
“Our ice cream bar is the best interactive dessert for your guests,” Sarahbeth says. “Using liquid nitrogen to prepare ice cream results in a lighter, creamier dessert than you have ever tried. Plus, watching the preparation is a unique spectacle to behold.”
For all the years of chocolate deliciousness she’s delivered to Dallas Voice and our readers over the years, we name Sarahbeth Yeli Marshall as Editor’s Choice for Best in Sweetness … Sweetest of the Best?… Best Chocolatier!
Contact Sarahbeth for all your chocolate catering and gift basket needs at Yelibelly.com.
— David Taffet
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Mindy May, left, and Erika Sanders
Editor’s Choice: Best Lesbian Community CheerleadeRES
This year, 2024, is “The Year of the Lesbian.” It has been thus proclaimed by Mindy May at Sue Ellen’s, and so it must be true! And who else would you turn to if you wanted to make it “The Year of the Lesbian?” Why, who else but Erica Sanders, founder of Lez Be Friends?
Sue Ellen’s and Lez Be Friends have already joined forces for two special events celebrating and highlighting the lesbians of North Texas: The Mardi Gras Adult Prom on Feb. 10 at Sue Ellen’s and the Pack A Meal effort earlier this month to help the McQueen Foundation to Fight Hunger in its efforts.
Is there more to come from this powerhouse partnership? Oh yeah, you betcha! Stay tuned to info from Lez Be Friends and from Sue Ellen’s, Texas’ oldest lesbian bar, to see what else these fine folks have up their sleeves.
It is sure to be an experience you don’t want to miss, and that’s why Lez Be Friends and Sue Ellen’s are our Editor’s Choice for Best Lesbian Community Cheerleaders.
— Tammye Nash
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DFW Sisters
Editor’s Choice: Best Local Nonprofit and Givers of Blessings
It all started on Easter Weekend, 1979, when three San Francisco men, bored with their city’s prevalent “Castro Clone” culture, decided to make a splash. They donned full, traditional nun’s habits and wandered the streets of the Golden Gate City, ending up on the nude beach Thus were born the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, “a leading-edge order of queer and trans nuns” who believe “all people have a right to express their unique joy and beauty.”
The Sisters came to North Texas in 2010 when the Abbey of The Lone Star was founded as an Aspiring House to the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. Today, the DFW Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that includes more than 20 active nuns “devoted to raising money for community service, ministry to those in need, and promoting human rights, diversity and spiritual enlightenment.”
Whether they are roaming the gayborhood on a weekend night spreading love and acceptance, canonizing Betty White or a local community leader or gathering to memorialize one of our lost children, the DFW Sisters are always there, “fighting for what we believe in — together..
That’s the DFW Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence are our 2020 Editor’s Choice for Best Local Nonprofit and Givers of Blessings.
— Tammye Nash
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Harvey at Hidden Door
Best Hidden Gem: Hidden Door
Seriously, if you’re a gay man in Dallas, and you don’t know where the Hidden Door is …. Well, that’s on you. But for those visitors — in town for TBRU and beyond — who are looking for an out-of-the-way gay bar that relies on old-fashioned, straightforward service, then the Hidden Door is truly the hidden gem you are looking for.
Founded more than 40 years ago, the Hidden Door has stayed true to its identity over the years. The bells and whistles other places might rely on aren’t needed here, but that doesn’t mean the Hidden Door isn’t keeping up with the times. They recently expanded the back patio, making it a haven every weekend for Sunday Funday — when the weather’s nice, ya know.
And to make it even that much better, the Hidden Door is owned and operated by the Anthony Bobrow Trust. Proceeds from the bar, managed by Harvey Meissner go into the trust which has, since Tony Bobrow’s death in February 2018, distributed well over $2 million to local nonprofit organizations serving the LGBTQ community of North Texas.
That’s why, while it’s not so hidden a gem for locals, the Hidden Door will always be a gem for everybody.
— Rich Lopez
