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www.GLSENGreensboro.org
PO Box 41199
Greensboro, NC 27404-1199
336-271-8428
Contact@GLSENGreensboro.org
• Encourage parents to learn about gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender issues.
• Speak out whenever you hear anti-gay comments or put-downs.
• Write letters to the editor or op-ed articles for the newspaper that support students who are perceived to be or are gay, lesbian, bisex-ual or transgender.
• Become a GLSEN member.
• Attend GLSEN events.
• Encourage people with gay relatives or friends to attend PFLAG. Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays is a confidential support group. The voices of straight friends and relatives of gays is very powerful. Use it!
• Let students know about GLASS, the Gay and Lesbian Adolescent Support System (ages 15-21).
• Let GLBT students know you are proud of them. Many students live with parents who are not proud of them.
• Don’t assume everyone is straight! The 2000 census showed there were 902 same-sex couples in Guilford County! Many people are still afraid to self identify as gay so the number is actually much high-er. There are 421,000 people in Guilford County. Using a very con-servative estimate of 5% of the population as gay means there are at least 21,000 gay people in Guilford County. Most of them are afraid to be visible.
• Encourage teachers and educators to get involved in GLSEN.
• Have GLSEN presenters speak at your organization’s meeting.
First Annual
GLSEN Greensboro
Celebration!
May 12, 2003
7:00 PM
Temple Emanuel
Greensboro, NC  Gay students in American schools face a huge challenge. Anti-gay harassment and insults are an everyday experience for many stu-dents. Most GLBT students attending our middle and high schools live in fear that others will find out they are gay. The result is often isolation and mistreatment.
 Many of them will have to leave home because of the conflict over their sexual orientation.
 Many of them skip school on a regular basis due to the constant harassment.
 Many of them drop out of school because the environment is so threatening.
 Some of them commit suicide rather than face a society that may reject them.
 But we are here to celebrate the courageous work of gay & straight students and adults who want to change the way gays and lesbi-ans are treated in school. Students, through gay-straight alliances, diversity clubs or just as individuals are active in creating a wel-coming environment for all, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Adults support students and work to teach educa-tors the need to take care of all their students, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity/expression.
 For some gay students this may be the first time they have ever received applause for being who they are. We want students to know there are parents, teachers, religious leaders and adults from many walks of life that are proud of them.
 Tonight, we see performances from gay students, straight stu-dents, gay adults and straight adults. All of these performances are in recognition of the value and respect we believe each person deserves.
 We celebrate because we are proud of these students and adults.
Guilford Green Foundation
The Guilford Green Foundation, started in 1998, has been a major sup-porter of GLSEN Greensboro. They have granted a total of $xx,00-00 to GLSEN Greensboro over the years for our projects and programs. This group of gay and straight allies has made a major impact on the abilities of organizations to serve the GLBT community.
It is the mission of the Guilford Green Foundation to promote diversity and inclusiveness throughout the gay and lesbian community and the greater Guilford County community by raising and distributing funds for (qualified) gay and lesbian organizations and programs and growing an endowment to sustain funding for these purposes.
Bob Page, Replacements, Ltd.
Bob was our first major financial support-er. He and and his partner, Dale Freder-iksen were founding members and have made much of GLSEN Greensboro’s work possible. Their consistent support is very much appreciated.
www.GuilfordGreenFoundation.org
Call: 852-8489 E-Mail: lastroupe@aol.com E-Mail: eddymac3@aol.com
Offering a safe, supportive, confidential place to discuss the gay experience. We welcome people of all faith communities -- Jewish, Christian, Buddhist, Muslim, etc. We are not a religious organization. We welcome people of all races and ethnic groups.
A support group for youth ages 15-21.
Call: 272-6053
Meets each Tuesday night.
Greensboro Temple Emanuel
Thank you to Temple Emanuel for your support of GLSEN Greens-boro’s work and for the use of your facility for our 2003 GLSEN Greens-boro Celebration.
Karen Dresser
Karen Dresser is currently the Direc-tor of Education at Temple Emanuel and the Founder, Artistic Director and Playwright in Residence of L'Chaim Productions Jewish Theatre Company. at Temple Emanuel. She has served on the GLSEN Greens-boro for the past year. GLSEN Greensboro will miss her as she leaves to attend seminary at Wake Forest Divinity School.
Mr. Michael Harrison
GSA Advisor, Northwest High School
Mr. Harrison is a school counselor at Northwest High School. He has been the advisor of the GSA since its crea-tion. This is the GSA’s second year of operation.
Ms. Barbara Hands
GSA Advisor, Grimsley High School
Ms. Hands is an English Teacher at Grimsley High School. She agreed to be the advisor for the GSA. This is Grimsley’s first year to have a GSA.
Mr. Zachary Jeanette
GSA President, Northwest High School
Zach started the GSA at Northwest last year when he was a sophomore. He now says he isn’t sure if he was brave or just naïve when he started it.
Ms. Lucy Danford
GSA President, Grimsley High School
Lucy is a straight ally who accepted the challenge to start a GSA at Grimsley. Lots of work and many challenges faced her. Their first GSA meeting had 214 stu-dents in attendance, which is probably a national record.
GLSEN is the leading national organization
fighting to end anti-gay bias in K-12 schools
What is GLSEN's mission statement?
The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network strives to as-sure that each member of every school community is valued and respected regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity/expression. We believe that such an atmosphere engenders a positive sense of self, which is the basis of educational achieve-ment and personal growth. Since homophobia and heterosexism undermine a healthy school climate, we work to educate teach-ers, students and the public at large about the damaging effects these forces have on youth and adults alike. We recognize that forces such as racism and sexism have similarly adverse impacts on communities and we support schools in seeking to redress all such inequities. GLSEN seeks to develop school climates where difference is valued for the positive contribution it makes in creat-ing a more vibrant and diverse community. We welcome as members any and all individuals, regardless of sexual orienta-tion, gender identity/expression or occupation, who are commit-ted to seeing this philosophy realized in K-12 schools.
What does GLSEN do?
GLSEN combats the harassment and discrimination leveled against students and school personnel. GLSEN creates learning environments that affirm the inherent dignity of all students, and, in so doing, teaches them to respect and accept all of their class-mates—regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity/expression. GLSEN believes that the key to ending anti-gay prej-udice and hate-motivated violence is education. And it’s for this reason that GLSEN brings together students, educators, families and other community members--of any sexual orientation or gen-der identity/expression--to reform America’s educational system.
and exercise settings for LGBT youth. She is a frequent presenter at GLSEN national’s Teaching Respect For All Conference.
Annette Green
Annette is a former teacher from New Garden Friends School and has worked in social justice issues for her entire life. Annette serves as a counselor with NCCJ’s Anytown, teaches workshops to future teacher classes and is a major force in assisting gay-straight alliances in Guil-ford County.
Rev. D. Houston Hall
Houston Hall is the Minister of Christian Education at the Congregation-al UCC - Greensboro. As an openly gay minister he provides the ability to address many people’s religious concerns. He is a frequent lecturer and also serves as a teacher and advisor for Anytown.
Gary Palmer
Gary is the GLSEN Greensboro Co-Chair and works as the Assistant Vice-President of Community Affairs at Replacements, Ltd. He became involved with GLSEN after working with the GLASS teen support youth group for several years. Recognizing the need for an advocacy group for education, he organized the GLSEN Greensboro chapter in 1997.
Tony Philpott
Tony Philpott is a special education teacher at Southeast Middle School. Tony has been a GLSEN presenter at state level conferences and instrumental in GLSEN Greensboro’s GLSEN forum for schools.
Chris Voorhees
Chris Voorhees is a retired Speech-Language Pathologist with the Guil-ford County Schools. Chris became involved in GLSEN after speaking at a County Commissioners’ meeting in support of the gay community (summer of 1997) which was being maligned by speakers from the Reli-gious Right in reaction to the play, “Les Cages Aux Folles”. She is a member of the Unitarian Universalist and is active in several social jus-tice issues. GLSEN Greensboro Board of Directors 2002-2003
Ours is a working board. GLSEN Greensboro is an all-volunteer organ-ization with no paid staff. Consequently, people on our board are near-ly always involved with our day to day programs.
Sean Cowart
Sean Cowart is a team leader for High Point Crisis Emergency Ser-vices. He is the secretary for GLSEN Greensboro and works closely with the GLSEN Greensboro GSA Support Committee. He is also a major player with the National Gay Volleyball League and competes on a national level.
Dr. Tom Clarke
Dr. Tom Clarke is an openly gay math professor at N.C. A&T University. He has been the treasurer of GLSEN Greensboro since its beginning in 1997 and is a founding member of GLSEN Greensboro.
Karen Dresser
Karen is the Director of Education at Temple Emanual and the Founder, Artistic Director and Playwright in Residence of L'Chaim Productions Jewish Theatre Company. She will soon be leaving these positions as she attends the Wake Forest School of Divinity. She became involved with GLSEN when she was asked to speak at a meeting about Reform Judaism's stance on same-sex marriage in 1999.
Tamara Mason
Tamara is the Program Specialist with The National Conference for Community and Justice in Greensboro. She became involved with GLSEN through working with NCCJ volunteers and peers. She joined the GLSEN board this year.
Dr. Diane Gill
Diane L. Gill, Ph.D., is a university professor in the Department of Exer-cise and Sport Science at the University of North Carolina at Greensbo-ro. She was a member of national GLSEN before joining the Greens-boro chapter. In her university role she began working with Ron Mor-row, a GLSEN member from Raleigh, who was interested in helping public school teachers create safe, inclusive space in physical educa-tion programs. Ron's commitment inspired her to continue working with students and professionals. She has conducted sessions with public school teachers, with student teachers, and with exercise science stu-dents, as well as collecting survey information about the climate in sport
PERFORMANCES
Following is a list of some of tonight's performers.
Triad Pride Men’s Chorus Octet
This is a special performing group from the larger gay group, The Triad Pride Men’s Chorus.
Zachary Jeanette
Singing…
Isabel Caldwell-Flute, Xxxxx Piano
Jonah Worley
Dance
Tal Fish
Singing…
Amanda Orndorff
First and foremost in my life, I am a writer. I
have been published in various anthologies and
have received various awards. But there is
much more to me than that, though all some
people will ever know of my life and my heart
will be through those writings. I am an artist, a
Deist, an intellectual…I am a bisexual.
I didn’t realize, or maybe I just didn’t accept, this
last aspect of myself until a couple years ago. I
thought of every bad thing I had ever heard
spoken of homosexuals and bisexuals whenev-er
I first become aware of it. And those things
are what I most desire to fight.
This is my second year involved with the GSA
club at my high school. I first began attending
the meetings to support our coordinator and
president, a gay student who happens to be one
of my closest friends. At that time I wasn’t “out” about my sexual orientation, though some
of my closest friends knew. I was just too afraid of the torment I was sure would follow.
Since that time I have realized that my strength, as both a person and a leader, is greatly
needed for the GBLT issues surrounding school life and political innuendos. I just want to
scream that we are people! America is the land of free for all, not only heterosexuals. Our
government has defended those who were persecuted for religion and race, and now it is
time to defend those persecuted for sexual orientation.
This year I was honored with the position of secretary/treasurer for GSA at Northwest. Our
school organized a day in which we discussed in groups the issues that we felt needed to be
discussed. I participated in the one on homosexuality, where I openly defended GBLT rights
and finally “came out.” I knew it was needed in order to fight for our cause. You can’t win if
you hide.
To my great disappointment, I could not participate in the discussion board about “gays in
school” – I had prior obligations. But I did help get word out around school as well as public
places that I frequent. I gave my friends who were brave enough to speak out my full sup-port
and love.
A few times this year I have enjoyed striking up discussions on the “gay issue” in my clas-ses.
I am glad to have learned that I made an impact on the way some of my fellow stu-dents
felt about homosexuals.
I plan later to make the most of my talents as a writer in order to face these issues publicly –
either in the form of stories, poetry, or articles – and honor those who have given so much of
themselves to further our cause. It can’t be done without the strength to speak out.
GLSEN Greensboro 2003 Third Annual Scholarship Winner
The GLSEN Greensboro $1,000 scholarship is awarded to an “out” gay, lesbian, bisexual
or transgender graduating senior in Guilford County who has worked to end anti-gay bias
in schools. Here is Amanda’s Essay.
Eugene D. Holmes
I am eighteen years old and I am gay. I knew when I was
six that I was gay, but was not comfortable in “coming out”
until I was sixteen. Since that time, I have been involved
in several organizations that promote diversity.
My most recent involvement has been with NCCJ
(National Conference for Community and Justice). I am
serving on the Youth Board for my second term and at-tend
meetings regularly. Last year, I went to a camp
called “Anytown”, which is a week-long camp, where we
discussed racism, bias, bigotry, sexuality, and religions.
This school year, I participated as a counselor for
“UniTown”, for a three-day training workshop.
The activity of which I am most proud would be my in-volvement
with the Walk as One walk-a-thon. Currently I
am serving as coordinator at two schools, Western Guil-ford
High School and Weaver Academy for NCCJ’s walk-a-thon to raise awareness about
cultural diversity. I spent my own money to buy supplies to make fliers and posters to pub-licize
the walk-a-thon, and have worked with the school principals to promote this effort by
getting the support of the faculty and students. The superintendent, Dr. Grier, appointed
me to this position. I have also enlisted the members of my FCCLA (Family, Career &
Community Leaders of America) Chapter at Weaver help promote the walk-a-thon.
I plan after high school to come back to the high schools in the area and help young peo-ple,
both straight and gay, to be more comfortable with each other’s sexuality. I would like
to create discussion groups after school to teach students how to respect each other for
who they are as individuals…to encourage them to get to know one another as a person…
and not based on their sexuality. I want to continue to serve on the NCCJ board as long as
possible and then to continue to volunteer to help as needed.
In ten years, I hope to still be advocating for gay rights. I hope to own my own restaurant,
after earning a degree in Culinary Arts at Guilford Technical Community College.
I will also continue to work with NCCJ. One of my passions is figure skating. I hope to still
be skating, performing, competing and teaching figure skating ten years from now!
Who am I? I am a gay teen. I am a fun, energetic, easy-going person. I am very caring of
others and their feelings. Being gay, I understand a lot more things about people and how
they feel.
I value my family. I was abused by my biological parents, and was adopted when I was
four and a half. My adopted mother is a loving caring parent. She was willing to adopt me,
even with a learning disability, and my adopted brother, who is mentally retarded. She has
given us a terrific, loving home and life.
I value my friends and my teachers. My teachers have helped me work through the hard
times and have always been there when I needed them. I very much enjoy being with my
friends who have supported me for who I am, and standing my choice to be gay.
I value who I am as a person.
GLSEN Greensboro 2003 Third Annual Scholarship Winner
The GLSEN Greensboro $1,000 scholarship is awarded to an “out” gay, lesbian, bisexual
or transgender graduating senior in Guilford County who has worked to end anti-gay bias
in schools. Here is Gene’s Essay.

Page/Item Description

Title	First annual GLSEN Greensboro celebration
Date	2003-05-12
Time period (decade)	2000-2009
Creator (individual)	Palmer, Gary
Creator (group/organization)	GLSEN
Subject headings	Gay men -- Social conditions Lesbians -- Social conditions
Topics	LGBTQ Civic Groups
Place	Greensboro (N.C.)
Type	text
Original format	programs
Original publisher	Greensboro, N.C. : GLSEN
Language	en
Contributing institution	Personal Collection
Source collection	MSS497 Gary Palmer Collection
Collection description	On loan from contributor. UNCG does not hold a physical copy of this item.
Folder	glsencelebration2003
Rights statement	http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Additional rights information	IN COPYRIGHT. This item is subject to copyright. Contact the contributing institution for permission to reuse.
Object ID	MSS497.025.001
Digital access format	Application/pdf
Digital publisher	The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, University Libraries, PO Box 26170, Greensboro NC 27402-6170, 336.334.5305 -- http://library.uncg.edu/
Full text	www.GLSENGreensboro.org PO Box 41199 Greensboro, NC 27404-1199 336-271-8428 Contact@GLSENGreensboro.org • Encourage parents to learn about gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender issues. • Speak out whenever you hear anti-gay comments or put-downs. • Write letters to the editor or op-ed articles for the newspaper that support students who are perceived to be or are gay, lesbian, bisex-ual or transgender. • Become a GLSEN member. • Attend GLSEN events. • Encourage people with gay relatives or friends to attend PFLAG. Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays is a confidential support group. The voices of straight friends and relatives of gays is very powerful. Use it! • Let students know about GLASS, the Gay and Lesbian Adolescent Support System (ages 15-21). • Let GLBT students know you are proud of them. Many students live with parents who are not proud of them. • Don’t assume everyone is straight! The 2000 census showed there were 902 same-sex couples in Guilford County! Many people are still afraid to self identify as gay so the number is actually much high-er. There are 421,000 people in Guilford County. Using a very con-servative estimate of 5% of the population as gay means there are at least 21,000 gay people in Guilford County. Most of them are afraid to be visible. • Encourage teachers and educators to get involved in GLSEN. • Have GLSEN presenters speak at your organization’s meeting. First Annual GLSEN Greensboro Celebration! May 12, 2003 7:00 PM Temple Emanuel Greensboro, NC  Gay students in American schools face a huge challenge. Anti-gay harassment and insults are an everyday experience for many stu-dents. Most GLBT students attending our middle and high schools live in fear that others will find out they are gay. The result is often isolation and mistreatment.  Many of them will have to leave home because of the conflict over their sexual orientation.  Many of them skip school on a regular basis due to the constant harassment.  Many of them drop out of school because the environment is so threatening.  Some of them commit suicide rather than face a society that may reject them.  But we are here to celebrate the courageous work of gay & straight students and adults who want to change the way gays and lesbi-ans are treated in school. Students, through gay-straight alliances, diversity clubs or just as individuals are active in creating a wel-coming environment for all, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Adults support students and work to teach educa-tors the need to take care of all their students, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity/expression.  For some gay students this may be the first time they have ever received applause for being who they are. We want students to know there are parents, teachers, religious leaders and adults from many walks of life that are proud of them.  Tonight, we see performances from gay students, straight stu-dents, gay adults and straight adults. All of these performances are in recognition of the value and respect we believe each person deserves.  We celebrate because we are proud of these students and adults. Guilford Green Foundation The Guilford Green Foundation, started in 1998, has been a major sup-porter of GLSEN Greensboro. They have granted a total of $xx,00-00 to GLSEN Greensboro over the years for our projects and programs. This group of gay and straight allies has made a major impact on the abilities of organizations to serve the GLBT community. It is the mission of the Guilford Green Foundation to promote diversity and inclusiveness throughout the gay and lesbian community and the greater Guilford County community by raising and distributing funds for (qualified) gay and lesbian organizations and programs and growing an endowment to sustain funding for these purposes. Bob Page, Replacements, Ltd. Bob was our first major financial support-er. He and and his partner, Dale Freder-iksen were founding members and have made much of GLSEN Greensboro’s work possible. Their consistent support is very much appreciated. www.GuilfordGreenFoundation.org Call: 852-8489 E-Mail: lastroupe@aol.com E-Mail: eddymac3@aol.com Offering a safe, supportive, confidential place to discuss the gay experience. We welcome people of all faith communities -- Jewish, Christian, Buddhist, Muslim, etc. We are not a religious organization. We welcome people of all races and ethnic groups. A support group for youth ages 15-21. Call: 272-6053 Meets each Tuesday night. Greensboro Temple Emanuel Thank you to Temple Emanuel for your support of GLSEN Greens-boro’s work and for the use of your facility for our 2003 GLSEN Greens-boro Celebration. Karen Dresser Karen Dresser is currently the Direc-tor of Education at Temple Emanuel and the Founder, Artistic Director and Playwright in Residence of L'Chaim Productions Jewish Theatre Company. at Temple Emanuel. She has served on the GLSEN Greens-boro for the past year. GLSEN Greensboro will miss her as she leaves to attend seminary at Wake Forest Divinity School. Mr. Michael Harrison GSA Advisor, Northwest High School Mr. Harrison is a school counselor at Northwest High School. He has been the advisor of the GSA since its crea-tion. This is the GSA’s second year of operation. Ms. Barbara Hands GSA Advisor, Grimsley High School Ms. Hands is an English Teacher at Grimsley High School. She agreed to be the advisor for the GSA. This is Grimsley’s first year to have a GSA. Mr. Zachary Jeanette GSA President, Northwest High School Zach started the GSA at Northwest last year when he was a sophomore. He now says he isn’t sure if he was brave or just naïve when he started it. Ms. Lucy Danford GSA President, Grimsley High School Lucy is a straight ally who accepted the challenge to start a GSA at Grimsley. Lots of work and many challenges faced her. Their first GSA meeting had 214 stu-dents in attendance, which is probably a national record. GLSEN is the leading national organization fighting to end anti-gay bias in K-12 schools What is GLSEN's mission statement? The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network strives to as-sure that each member of every school community is valued and respected regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity/expression. We believe that such an atmosphere engenders a positive sense of self, which is the basis of educational achieve-ment and personal growth. Since homophobia and heterosexism undermine a healthy school climate, we work to educate teach-ers, students and the public at large about the damaging effects these forces have on youth and adults alike. We recognize that forces such as racism and sexism have similarly adverse impacts on communities and we support schools in seeking to redress all such inequities. GLSEN seeks to develop school climates where difference is valued for the positive contribution it makes in creat-ing a more vibrant and diverse community. We welcome as members any and all individuals, regardless of sexual orienta-tion, gender identity/expression or occupation, who are commit-ted to seeing this philosophy realized in K-12 schools. What does GLSEN do? GLSEN combats the harassment and discrimination leveled against students and school personnel. GLSEN creates learning environments that affirm the inherent dignity of all students, and, in so doing, teaches them to respect and accept all of their class-mates—regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity/expression. GLSEN believes that the key to ending anti-gay prej-udice and hate-motivated violence is education. And it’s for this reason that GLSEN brings together students, educators, families and other community members--of any sexual orientation or gen-der identity/expression--to reform America’s educational system. and exercise settings for LGBT youth. She is a frequent presenter at GLSEN national’s Teaching Respect For All Conference. Annette Green Annette is a former teacher from New Garden Friends School and has worked in social justice issues for her entire life. Annette serves as a counselor with NCCJ’s Anytown, teaches workshops to future teacher classes and is a major force in assisting gay-straight alliances in Guil-ford County. Rev. D. Houston Hall Houston Hall is the Minister of Christian Education at the Congregation-al UCC - Greensboro. As an openly gay minister he provides the ability to address many people’s religious concerns. He is a frequent lecturer and also serves as a teacher and advisor for Anytown. Gary Palmer Gary is the GLSEN Greensboro Co-Chair and works as the Assistant Vice-President of Community Affairs at Replacements, Ltd. He became involved with GLSEN after working with the GLASS teen support youth group for several years. Recognizing the need for an advocacy group for education, he organized the GLSEN Greensboro chapter in 1997. Tony Philpott Tony Philpott is a special education teacher at Southeast Middle School. Tony has been a GLSEN presenter at state level conferences and instrumental in GLSEN Greensboro’s GLSEN forum for schools. Chris Voorhees Chris Voorhees is a retired Speech-Language Pathologist with the Guil-ford County Schools. Chris became involved in GLSEN after speaking at a County Commissioners’ meeting in support of the gay community (summer of 1997) which was being maligned by speakers from the Reli-gious Right in reaction to the play, “Les Cages Aux Folles”. She is a member of the Unitarian Universalist and is active in several social jus-tice issues. GLSEN Greensboro Board of Directors 2002-2003 Ours is a working board. GLSEN Greensboro is an all-volunteer organ-ization with no paid staff. Consequently, people on our board are near-ly always involved with our day to day programs. Sean Cowart Sean Cowart is a team leader for High Point Crisis Emergency Ser-vices. He is the secretary for GLSEN Greensboro and works closely with the GLSEN Greensboro GSA Support Committee. He is also a major player with the National Gay Volleyball League and competes on a national level. Dr. Tom Clarke Dr. Tom Clarke is an openly gay math professor at N.C. A&T University. He has been the treasurer of GLSEN Greensboro since its beginning in 1997 and is a founding member of GLSEN Greensboro. Karen Dresser Karen is the Director of Education at Temple Emanual and the Founder, Artistic Director and Playwright in Residence of L'Chaim Productions Jewish Theatre Company. She will soon be leaving these positions as she attends the Wake Forest School of Divinity. She became involved with GLSEN when she was asked to speak at a meeting about Reform Judaism's stance on same-sex marriage in 1999. Tamara Mason Tamara is the Program Specialist with The National Conference for Community and Justice in Greensboro. She became involved with GLSEN through working with NCCJ volunteers and peers. She joined the GLSEN board this year. Dr. Diane Gill Diane L. Gill, Ph.D., is a university professor in the Department of Exer-cise and Sport Science at the University of North Carolina at Greensbo-ro. She was a member of national GLSEN before joining the Greens-boro chapter. In her university role she began working with Ron Mor-row, a GLSEN member from Raleigh, who was interested in helping public school teachers create safe, inclusive space in physical educa-tion programs. Ron's commitment inspired her to continue working with students and professionals. She has conducted sessions with public school teachers, with student teachers, and with exercise science stu-dents, as well as collecting survey information about the climate in sport PERFORMANCES Following is a list of some of tonight's performers. Triad Pride Men’s Chorus Octet This is a special performing group from the larger gay group, The Triad Pride Men’s Chorus. Zachary Jeanette Singing… Isabel Caldwell-Flute, Xxxxx Piano Jonah Worley Dance Tal Fish Singing… Amanda Orndorff First and foremost in my life, I am a writer. I have been published in various anthologies and have received various awards. But there is much more to me than that, though all some people will ever know of my life and my heart will be through those writings. I am an artist, a Deist, an intellectual…I am a bisexual. I didn’t realize, or maybe I just didn’t accept, this last aspect of myself until a couple years ago. I thought of every bad thing I had ever heard spoken of homosexuals and bisexuals whenev-er I first become aware of it. And those things are what I most desire to fight. This is my second year involved with the GSA club at my high school. I first began attending the meetings to support our coordinator and president, a gay student who happens to be one of my closest friends. At that time I wasn’t “out” about my sexual orientation, though some of my closest friends knew. I was just too afraid of the torment I was sure would follow. Since that time I have realized that my strength, as both a person and a leader, is greatly needed for the GBLT issues surrounding school life and political innuendos. I just want to scream that we are people! America is the land of free for all, not only heterosexuals. Our government has defended those who were persecuted for religion and race, and now it is time to defend those persecuted for sexual orientation. This year I was honored with the position of secretary/treasurer for GSA at Northwest. Our school organized a day in which we discussed in groups the issues that we felt needed to be discussed. I participated in the one on homosexuality, where I openly defended GBLT rights and finally “came out.” I knew it was needed in order to fight for our cause. You can’t win if you hide. To my great disappointment, I could not participate in the discussion board about “gays in school” – I had prior obligations. But I did help get word out around school as well as public places that I frequent. I gave my friends who were brave enough to speak out my full sup-port and love. A few times this year I have enjoyed striking up discussions on the “gay issue” in my clas-ses. I am glad to have learned that I made an impact on the way some of my fellow stu-dents felt about homosexuals. I plan later to make the most of my talents as a writer in order to face these issues publicly – either in the form of stories, poetry, or articles – and honor those who have given so much of themselves to further our cause. It can’t be done without the strength to speak out. GLSEN Greensboro 2003 Third Annual Scholarship Winner The GLSEN Greensboro $1,000 scholarship is awarded to an “out” gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender graduating senior in Guilford County who has worked to end anti-gay bias in schools. Here is Amanda’s Essay. Eugene D. Holmes I am eighteen years old and I am gay. I knew when I was six that I was gay, but was not comfortable in “coming out” until I was sixteen. Since that time, I have been involved in several organizations that promote diversity. My most recent involvement has been with NCCJ (National Conference for Community and Justice). I am serving on the Youth Board for my second term and at-tend meetings regularly. Last year, I went to a camp called “Anytown”, which is a week-long camp, where we discussed racism, bias, bigotry, sexuality, and religions. This school year, I participated as a counselor for “UniTown”, for a three-day training workshop. The activity of which I am most proud would be my in-volvement with the Walk as One walk-a-thon. Currently I am serving as coordinator at two schools, Western Guil-ford High School and Weaver Academy for NCCJ’s walk-a-thon to raise awareness about cultural diversity. I spent my own money to buy supplies to make fliers and posters to pub-licize the walk-a-thon, and have worked with the school principals to promote this effort by getting the support of the faculty and students. The superintendent, Dr. Grier, appointed me to this position. I have also enlisted the members of my FCCLA (Family, Career & Community Leaders of America) Chapter at Weaver help promote the walk-a-thon. I plan after high school to come back to the high schools in the area and help young peo-ple, both straight and gay, to be more comfortable with each other’s sexuality. I would like to create discussion groups after school to teach students how to respect each other for who they are as individuals…to encourage them to get to know one another as a person… and not based on their sexuality. I want to continue to serve on the NCCJ board as long as possible and then to continue to volunteer to help as needed. In ten years, I hope to still be advocating for gay rights. I hope to own my own restaurant, after earning a degree in Culinary Arts at Guilford Technical Community College. I will also continue to work with NCCJ. One of my passions is figure skating. I hope to still be skating, performing, competing and teaching figure skating ten years from now! Who am I? I am a gay teen. I am a fun, energetic, easy-going person. I am very caring of others and their feelings. Being gay, I understand a lot more things about people and how they feel. I value my family. I was abused by my biological parents, and was adopted when I was four and a half. My adopted mother is a loving caring parent. She was willing to adopt me, even with a learning disability, and my adopted brother, who is mentally retarded. She has given us a terrific, loving home and life. I value my friends and my teachers. My teachers have helped me work through the hard times and have always been there when I needed them. I very much enjoy being with my friends who have supported me for who I am, and standing my choice to be gay. I value who I am as a person. GLSEN Greensboro 2003 Third Annual Scholarship Winner The GLSEN Greensboro $1,000 scholarship is awarded to an “out” gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender graduating senior in Guilford County who has worked to end anti-gay bias in schools. Here is Gene’s Essay.

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