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ABOUT THE SAME PROBLEMS?
we continue the hard work we’ve done this past
year, then we’ll eventually have equal rights.”
J
oe Dressman works in public relations for
Multnomah County as his day job, so it was a
natural fit to have him take on the media rela
tions position on the Pride hoard, in addition to
his duties as treasurer and chief organizer of the
Family Fun Tent.
He says he got involved to “do my fair share
of the work— and there’s a whole lot of it.
I wanted to reach out to new audiences, includ
ing the growing number of G LB T Q families in
the Portland area, and encourage more political
and economic awareness.”
Queers have many
reasons to celebrate this
year,
and
Dressman
encourages everyone to
participate.
“Because of everything
that’s happened over the
past year and all the atten
tion the G LB TQ commu
nity has received in the
media and the courts,
there will be a heightened
sense of excitement and
pride,” he says. “We need
to take the time to celebrate our victories, rally
around our supporters and plan for the future.
We’ve made incredible leaps forward since the
Stonewall rebellion of 1969, but we need to stay
politically and economically aware and active or
we’ll lose the ground we’ve gained.”
Dressman notes other major highlights of
this year’s event: having the Lofton-Croteau
family as grand marshal of the parade, honoring
the folks at Basic Rights Oregon with a Spirit of
Pride Award and recognizing the four Multno
mah County commissioners “who made the
dream of marriage for same-sex couples a reality”
with a special Champions of Pride Award.
Alliance of the Deaf, and it was through her
work as an American Sign Language instructor
that she met former Pride president Jack Kee
gan, who encouraged her to join the board. She
jumped at the opportunity.
“1 really want the deaf community to feel
welcome being involved with volunteering,
committees, as speakers and so on,” she says.
“1 would like to show the larger community that
deaf people can do it.”
Her key job is to make sure the festival runs
smoothly, and she insists this year’s event will
includy “a wonderful variety of speakers and
booths.. .and so much diversity.” One of the more
personally important to
Duckworth is the fact that
Portland Pride 2004 will
feature its first-ever deaf
keynote speaker, Drago.
Deaf & Hearing O U T
Reach also will deliver a
comedy performance.
The
idea
behind
Pride, Duckworth says, is
for everyone to feel wel
come
and
involved.
“1 think it is crucial for all
— Jeska Duckworth of us to come out and be
proud of who we are. This
is an important form of community educa
tion...letting everyone know queer people are
in every walk of life.”
"I think it is crucial for all of us
to come out and be proud of
who we are. This is an
important form of community
education... letting everyone
know queer people are in
every walk of life."
D
ave Whitney came out only five years ago,
but he has quickly immersed himself in
queer community activities ranging from his
work with the Oregon Bears to his duties as
entertainment chairman with Pride Northwest.
“Being so active has given me exposure to
many different groups within the G LB T com
munity," he says. “ Being on the Pride board is
allowing me to interact with even more of the
groups and broaden my knowledge while giving
back to the community that has helped me grow
as a gay man.”
Whitney says his favorite part of Pride is that
many facets of the sexual minorities community
are able to come together, celebrating and “show
ing the rest of the city the pride they have.”
Because he is relatively new as an openly gay man,
he passionately hopes others who have never
taken the time to attend Pride will do so this year.
“Come see how much diversity there is in
the G LB T community,” he says. “There are
many groups and
activities to be dis
covered, lots of
things to leam or be
educated about, and
it will really help to
open your mind to
the whole commu
nity, not just a small
piece of it.”
I eska Duckworth
j brings yet anoth
er side of the sexual
minorities commu
nity to the Pride
board. She has long
been involved with
Northwest Rainbow
N
icole Browning keeps a hectic schedule.
As the sponsorship and volunteer coordi
nator, she is responsible for recruiting sponsors
and donations to support Pride Northwest as
well as coordinating the huge group of volun
teers that it takes to put on the annual event.
She balances those many duties with her life as
a full-time returning student at Portland State
University, where she is completing her under
graduate studies in community health education
and sociology and plans to pursue a master’s
degree in social work.
Browning joined the board “to lend my ener
gy and voice to increase the visibility of queers of
color in the Portland queer landscape.” She notes
that because of the many victories in the queer
community during the past year, Portland Pride
2004 will become even more important as “the
world will be watching.”
“ Pride 2004 presents an unprecedented
opportunity to display the size of our communi
ty and supporters and reinforce our commitment
to the fight for equality,” she says. “It is impera
tive that we show our strength and refuse to be
ignored.” JP1
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