OREGON S GAY/LESBIAN/BI/TRANS NEWSMAGAZINE
MAY I 2009
NORTHWEST BRIEFS
Same-Sex Couple
Chosen as Couple of
the Year. Again
On Saturday, April 18, the North Lincoln
Lions Club honored Lincoln City’s Scott
Summerfield and Eric Simpson for their ser
vice to the coastal community, naming them
Couple of the Year.
This is the second time a same-sex couple
has been given the award, as part of Lincoln
City’s Community Days. The first same-sex
duo to be recognized was Rick Brisette and
his partner, Daniel Beck, in 2002. Brisette
and Beck were given the award by The News
Guard, a Lincoln City newspaper.
In a recent phone conversation, Brisette
extended his congratulations to the 2009 win
ners, stating, “It’s wonderful because it proves
that Dan and I are not an anomaly.”
Brisette also expressed his thanks to the
Lions Club “for putting any biases they may
have had aside and honoring another gay
couple.” After winning the title, he admitted
“small resistance in the community,” which
resulted in The News Guard dropping its spon
sorship of the award.
There’s nothing controversial, however,
about Summerfield and Simpson’s contribu
tions to Lincoln City’s hungrier residents.
The couple earned this year’s accolade for
their efforts to found the St. James Meal
Program, which provides dinners on Monday
¿7- .
and Thursday evenings. Since its inception in
2000, the program has grown to include four
churches and counting.
Simpson said winning the award, pre
sented at the Chinook Winds casino, came
as a pleasant surprise. “We are involved in
the community just like everyone else,” he
deferred, but “it really was sort of out of the
blue.”
Simpson, who works as a local music
teacher, downplayed the pair’s uniqueness,
describing themselves as “just a plain, old,
boring couple.” He said that, unlike that expe
rienced by Brisette and Beck, there had been
“no negative feedback” from the community.
In fact, they received a number of cards from
people wishing to congratulate them.
Summerfield and Simpson’s next project is
to expand the meal program to include Satur
day morning breakfast.
For information about Lincoln County
food pantries, call Lincoln County Food
Share at 541-265-8578 or 800-939-3663.
— A. Daniels
16th Annual Oregonians
Against Discrimination
Business Leaders
Luncheon
Over 500 area business owners, elected offi-
cialsandcommunity leaders wentbacktoschool
Area business owners and community leaders attended April 23's Oregonians Against
Discrimination Business Leaders Luncheon
April 23, when the Oregon Convention Cen
ter’s Portland Ballroom hosted the 16th Annual
Oregonians Against Discrimination Business
Leaders Luncheon.
During her introduction, Basic Rights
Oregon Executive Director Jeana Frazzini re
minded attendees that “there is no substitute
for marriage,” referring to the OHSU story
about a Northeast Portland man unable to
visit his gravely ill, registered domestic part
ner in intensive care. The incident, the subject
of an editorial in the prior day’s Oregonian,
SHOPPING ALWAYS HAS
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made national news.
Taking a cue from its “Community Con
versation” theme, this year’s event bridged
“the Classroom to the Boardroom” with a
panel discussion of issues affecting Oregon
students. Jonah Edelman, co-founder and
CEO of Stand for Children, joined Gabriele
Ross, homeless education coordinator and
substance abuse counselor for Evergreen
Public Schools; Isaac Dixon, regional direc
tor of the Office of Diversity Initiatives for
Providence Health and Services; and Portland
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