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Greater Than the Sum of Its Parts
Portland Area
Business Association
PFLAG Oregon takes stock of its chapters statewide
Business People Serious About Successl
by Malka Geffen
arents, Families and Friends of Gays and
Lesbians got its start in 1972 when one
mother marched with her gay son in New
York’s Pride parade. The nonprofit
organization for people who know and
love members of the sexual and gender minorities
community now has more than 200,000 members
and more than 500 affiliates in the United States.
Oregon has the oldest and most viable PFLAG
council structure in the nation.
The state council is made up of representatives
from Oregon’s 12 PFLAG chapters. At its annual
meeting in May in Corvallis, the council elected
Teri Noble of Forest Grove PFLAG as president,
Vickie Read of Pendleton PFLAG as secretary and
Jan Belcher of Corvallis PFLAG as treasurer. After
two terms as president, Patricia Keeney retired and
remains a consultant and ambassador.
equality is—not only to our Pendleton children but
folks all over the state—they have become much
more open to the equality position,” she said. “The
first time we lobbied Sen. Nelson, you could sense
his uncomfortableness with the issue. That was SB
1000, and he was the only Republican to walk
during the actual vote. We saw that as encouraging.
[Nelson’s] ‘yes’ votes on SB 2 and HB 2007 were
welcomed with extreme pleasure. We are very
proud of Sen. Nelson and Rep. Jensen.”
According to Noble, PFLAG love is in action
all around the state. “One of my greatest joys is to
share information about someplace like Bend,
Pendleton or Coos Bay and see people be encour
aged and uplifted by the fact that, way out there,
loving people care deeply about equality for all and
are putting their love into public action,” she said.
Despite the best efforts of these supportive
Pendleton PFLAG recently established a body I
of queer-related library materials. “The idea was I
brought to us .by one of our members who had I
gone to our local city library and could not find I
any resources,” said Read. So far, 75 books have I
been purchased and placed in the Pendleton City I
Library, Blue Mountain Community College I
Library, Pendleton High School, Sunridge Middle I
School Library, Garrett Lee Smith Memorial I
Library and the small, rural high school in Milton- I
Freewater.
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“Each book has our PFLAG Pendleton sticker I
on the inside cover with our P.O. box number and I
our phone number,” said Read. “We feel really good I
about this accomplishment and check back with I
the libraries to make sure the books are either still I
there to check out, or if they have walked off, we I
immediately replace them.”
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In Portland and Salem, PFLAG chapters are I
focusing attention on Gay Straight Alliances at I
the middle school level. Salem PFLAG recently I
received a grant from Pride Foundation to edu- I
cate staffs of the 11 middle schools in the Salem- I
Keizer area about queer youth. According to I
Salem PFLAG president Diane Wolter, the hour- I
long presentations include personal stories and I
information on anti-gay bullying and how to start I
aGSA.
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Statewide, PFLAG is growing and making I
important connections and alliances on the way. In I
May 2006, Pendleton Mayor Phil Houk met with I
the local PFLAG chapter. In November 2006, I
Mayor Tom Potter (a PFLAG dad) met with I
Portland PFLAG, and in May 2007, Mayor Charlie I
Tomlinson of Corvallis visited the PFLAG chapter I
there.
I
“Mayor Tomlinson, who has had education in I
counseling, told us about purchasing a bed and I
breakfast 20-some years ago. The phone number I
there had served as the local PFLAG support I
hotline,” Noble said. “For years afterward, he I
continued to get and offer support to folks calling I
that number! That experience was reflected in the I
warmth with which he addressed our gathering; hav- I
ing heard the stories, he well knows what PFLAG I
work is all about and was eager to share efforts in I
support of diversity by his city government."
I
Noble said the state council intends to contin- I
ue this outreach effort by reaching out to mayors in I
every city where PFLAG meets. “In some cases it I
will be a visit with an old friend," she said. “In I
others it wilt be an introduction for them to I
PFLAG, its mission and their constituents who are I
Portland PFLAG has been invited to present
a workshop at the Beaverton Schixil District’s
Diversity Summit in August. But according to
chapter president Dawn Holt, starting GSAs in
metro-area middle sch<x>ls will take a lot of work:
“Without administrative buy-in, it won’t happen at
all.”
Members of the PFLAG Oregon State Council and others attended the May meeting in Corvallis.
Council members celebrated the passage of
Senate Bill 2 and House Bill 2007 and noted their
relative influence in the matter. “In those districts
where a Republican voted in support of LGBTQ
rights, it is no coincidence that there is an active
PFLAG presence," Noble said. Republicans who
voted in favor of the measures include state Reps.
Vicki Berger of Salem, Chuck Burley of Bend and
Bob Jensen of Pendleton as well as Sens. Frank
Morse of Albany and David Nelson of Pendleton.
“Central Oregon PFLAG was very instrumental
in the passing of SB 2 and HB 2007,” said PFLAG
Central Oregon president Becky Groves. “We had
several members who wrote letters, called our
senators and representatives and lobbied at the
Capitol. We are very proud of Chuck Burley and
the stance he took on this. He credits a parent of
a gay child for educating him and changing his
• mind on this issue.”
Read said PFLAG Pendleton members also
wrote letters, made calls and went to lobby in
Salem. “I am convinced that because of our con
tacts and constant reminders of how important
people, many in Oregon’s queer community have
never heard of PFLAG. “There is a need to make
the PFLAG name more familiar,” Noble said.
In Bend, Central Oregon PFLAG ran an ani
mated ad that ran through the holiday season in
two of the city’s movie theaters. According to
Groves, the ad asked: “Do you know someone who
is gay? We do!”
Groves explained: “We received a grant from
the Pride Foundation to do this.... We hope that
it planted seeds in people’s minds that we are
active in Central Oregon to provide support, edu
cate and advocate on behalf of our friends and
loved ones.”
According to Groves, PFLAG has been a wel
come presence in Central Oregon for a lot of
people. She described a young heterosexual fami
ly that stopped by the PFLAG booth at Bend
Pride.
“The father had a baby in his arms, and he said
to him, ‘You are too young to know your sexual
orientation, but whatever it is, it’s fine with us!’
This makes our work all worthwhile!” she said.
The LGBT Chamber of Commerce
for Oregon and Southwest Washington
Everyone is Welcome to Join Us For...
Monthly Luncheon
Wednesday August 8th
Kendall Clawson,
Executive Director
of Q Center
11:30AM-1:00PM
Reservations at www.paba.com
Questions? E-mail:
jodi @jodiblackwood. com
JOIN US FOR HETWORKING
Network with our successful
BizBuilders group on
Wednesdays and Thursdays.
See our web site for times and location.^.
We now have meetings in
Portland & Vancouver!
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A PFLAG Oregon State (Council Web site is slated
for later this year.
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