DallasPride1-260Six people have been nominated for grand marshal of Dallas Pride, and you can vote for your two favorites at DallasPride.org.
All of them deserve to win.
In alphabetical order, the nominees are Oliver Blumer, Carter Brown, Wayne Davis, Patti Fink, Jeffrey Payne and Evilu “Pridge” Pridgeon.
Blumer is chair of the Transgender Education Network of Texas. He has been Dallas/Fort Worth co-chair of diversity and inclusion for the Human Rights Campaign and served on the Dallas/Fort Worth HRC Steering Committee.
Brown is founder and president of Black Transmen, which offers a radical, holistic approach to empowering communities through outreach that provides resources, support and social advocacy. In just a few years, the Dallas-based organization has grown into a national presence.
Fink is the longest-serving president of Dallas Gay and Lesbian Alliance and is known as The Late Patti Fink to listeners of Lambda Weekly on 89.3 KNON-FM. She has served on the HRC Board of Governors and co-chaired HRC’s National Coming Out Project.
Davis is known as coordinator for Texas Bear Round-Up and is Emperor 32 on the United Court of the Lone Star Empire. He is treasurer of International LeatherSIR and board exchequer/treasurer of the Leather Knights and is Saint B. Tim Harder in DFW Sisters.
Pridge was one of the founders of AIDS/HIV healthcare in Dallas where she was director of the counseling program at Oaklawn Community Services. She is a founding board member and president of The Dallas Way.
Payne is known nationally in the leather community and founded and is a spokesman for the Sharon St. Cyr Foundation for Hearing Impaired. He is co-owner of the Dallas Eagle, CEO & president at InternationalSIR, Leatherboy & Community Bootblack.
Because of the work of Nell Gaither, president of Trans Pride Initiative, you may vote for any two nominees this year, regardless of gender. But you may submit only one ballot. Multiple votes from the same person will not be counted.
Voting continues through June 29. Vote here.