The Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance of Washington, DC is pleased to announce its 2003 Distinguished Service Award recipients. GLAA presents awards to local community members and organizations committed to protecting the civil rights of lesbians and gay men in the national capital area.

The 2003 Distinguished Service Award recipients are Councilmember Kathy Patterson, the Gay and Lesbian Liaison Unit of the Metropolitan Police Department, Karen Armagost, the Gay Men's Chorus of Washington, DC, and former GLAA President Bob Summersgill.

The awards will be presented at GLAA's 32nd Anniversary Reception at the Radisson Barcelo Hotel at 2121 P Street NW at 6:30 pm on Tuesday, April 15.

Since her election in 1994, Councilmember Kathy Patterson has been a reliable ally of gay citizens and a leading force for government reform and accountability. As chair of the Government Operations Committee from 1997 to 2001, she wrote and secured passage of the law that established the Office of Human Rights as a separate, independent agency, and won more than $500,000 in increased funding for the Office of Human Rights to eliminate its longstanding case backlog and strengthen enforcement of the DC Human Rights Law. As chair of the Judiciary Committee for the past two years, she has supported strengthening diversity and sensitivity training in the police and fire departments and establishing an effective Office of Citizen Complaint Review. She introduced the "Elimination of Outdated Crimes Amendment Act of 2002," for which her constituent Frank Kameny testified on behalf of GLAA. She also supports GLAA's concerns on HIV/AIDS policy and equal rights for gay couples and their families.

The Gay and Lesbian Liaison Unit of the Metropolitan Police Department has been a welcome addition to DC. Chief Charles Ramsey's creation of the GLLU has resulted in a dramatic improvement in community-police relations; an increase in the mutual respect of gay people and the police; and a focus on previously ignored problems in the community. Led by Sgt. Brett Parson, GLLU visits every group and business, recruits at pride days, and makes appearances at countless other events. The unit has conducted or participated in the investigations of homicides, of hate crimes, and of police misconduct. GLLU has worked to train not only other MPD officers but other law enforcement groups and the community as well. Now with plans to expand the unit, even greater things are expected.

Karen Armagost has been an activist in Washington D.C. for over fifteen years. As a professional canvasser, GLBT activist, and past President of the Gertrude Stein Democrats, Karen has exemplified the dedication and hard work that makes grassroots organizing a powerful political force. Karen has worked for an inclusive Democratic party, and has worked for the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" through the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network.

Now in its twenty-second season, the Gay Men's Chorus of Washington, DC has performed as cultural ambassador for our community across the nation and around the world. The Chorus has performed at inaugurals of a mayor and a president, and most recently performed in tribute to Elizabeth Taylor at the Kennedy Center Honors Gala before President and Mrs. Bush. The Chorus has been honored with the Mayor's Arts Award for Excellence in an Artistic Discipline in 1989, the Washington Area Music Association Award in 1995 and 2002, and grants from the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Bob Summersgill is the immediate past President of GLAA. In that capacity he led a number of efforts including securing legal protections against harassment in our schools and workplaces; working to open the DC HIV/AIDS Administration to public accountability; ensuring the full rights of transgender and intersex people under the DC Human Rights Act; and opposing the DC government's illegal support of discriminatory groups such as the Boy Scouts. He has been a gay rights advocate in Maryland and New Mexico and publisher of a gay newspaper in Albuquerque. His early work with GLAA on reforming the DC sodomy law has resulted in the documentation of historic and on-going efforts to repeal sodomy laws on his website www.sodomylaws.org and extensive historical research into the creation and repeal of DC's sodomy law.

A list of previous award winners can be found on the GLAA website at www.glaa.org/resources/awardshistory.shtml.

Founded in 1971, the Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance of Washington (GLAA) is an all-volunteer, non-partisan, non-profit political organization that defends the civil rights of lesbians and gay men in the Nation's Capital by lobbying the D.C. Council, monitoring government agencies, educating and rating local candidates, and working in coalitions to defend the safety, health, and equal rights of gay families. GLAA remains the nation's oldest continuously active gay and lesbian civil rights organization.