by Chellie Bowman
Focus Awards 2017 was a magical night of activism and recognition in our community. On Thursday, August 24th hundreds of enthusiastic guests showed up at the Clark Opera Center in Memphis to celebrate leaders in the LGBTQ Mid-South. After lots of mingling and imbibing during our cocktail hour, everyone settled in for the main program. Our brassy Mistress of Ceremonies Allysun Wunderland and fearless leader(publisher) Ray Rico lead the festivities on stage. They began the awards by announcing that Focus Mid-South was incorporating three more organizations into our core partnerships: Planned Parenthood of Greater Memphis Region (PPGMR), Latino Memphis, and Choices. These non-profits are doing outstanding work in the LGBTQ community in the vital areas of reproductive and sexual health, as well as safety and advocacy for some of its most vulnerable members. A representative from each of the organizations came on stage to speak (Aimee Lewis from PPGMR, Katy Leopard of Choices, and Mauricio Calvo of Latino Memphis) in order to detail their commitment and continued efforts to the LGBTQ population in their particular sectors.
Leaders from our original core partners came up to speak next. Torrey Harris and John Michael Alderson of Friends for Life spoke first about the important of de-stigmatizing HIV. Next, Ginger Leonard of Tennessee Equality Project gave once again a lively and rousing speech about the importance of inclusion within our own community. Finally, Elokin CaPece of OUTMemphis left us with a very inspirational message about the importance of acknowledging and uprooting white privilege in the gay community and our practices of social activism.
Apart from hearing from our partners were the actual AWARDS!!! We had an amazing group of nominees again this year and some exceptional people won. The Allie Award, presented by last year’s winner Kathy Fish, went to amazing local activist Carol Livingston who gave a touching speech on stage about her son’s experience with coming out. The Trailblazer Award, presented by last year’s recipient Stephanie Reyes, went to Emerson Kirkpatrick, the powerhouse behind MAGY. The Visionary Award this year went to none other than Floridia Jackson, a spiritual leader in our community. Finally, the much anticipated People’s Choice Award was announced last and went to Diane Thornton, a familiar–and delightful–face to all.
There were also a few surprises this year as well! Rico introduced two additional awards–the Legacy Award and the Publisher’s Award. The Legacy Award was given to a very tearful Vincent Astor who was honored for his monumental and consistent efforts in building, sharing, and organizing an archive of LGBTQ history in the Mid-South. Sarah Rutledge Fisher–a crucial and engaged writer for Focus Magazine–won the Publisher’s Award for her insightful and significant contribution to the publication. In addition, all funds raised from the event went straight back to the community. After each of our core partners took the stage to give their speeches they were awarded with a $1000 dollar donation.
Thanks so much to all of our nominees and winners, those who came out and supported us, and our very generous sponsors. We hope to see everyone again next year!
Don’t forget to check out the event pics here: https://focusmidsouth.com/community-focus/
