P.O. Box 75265
Washington, D.C. 20013
For Immediate Release
Monday, February 23, 2004
Contact: Kevin Davis
202-667-5139
GLAA Announces 2004 Distinguished Service Awards
The Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance of Washington, DC is pleased to announce its 2004 Distinguished Service Award recipients. GLAA presents awards to local individuals and organizations that have served the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender community in the national capital area. The awards will be presented at GLAA's 33rd Anniversary Reception at the Radisson Barcelo Hotel at 2121 P Street NW at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 20.
The 2004 Distinguished Service Award recipients are Reel Affirmations festival director Sarah Kellogg, businessman and activist Deacon Maccubbin, the Mautner Project for Lesbians with Cancer, activist and videographer Cheryl Spector, and former interim director of the DC Office of Human Rights Nadine Wilburn.
Sarah Kellogg has been the public face and the leading force behind DC's Reel Affirmations film festival for the past several years. Since she joined One In Ten as a volunteer in 1998, Sarah's commitment to bringing original GLBT programming to DC has enhanced many One In Ten programs, from publications and media relations to the film festival itself. As a member of One In Ten's board of directors since 1998, Sarah has led in such areas as program development, board governance, women's outreach, and volunteer appreciation. Although Sarah is stepping down as Reel Affirmations director, she will continue on the board. She is currently working on a project to create the first GLBT film archives in the Mid-Atlantic States.
Deacon Maccubbin became a gay rights activist 35 years ago in 1969. From his early days of sit-ins with the Gay Activists Alliance protesting police entrapment to his ownership of the Lambda Rising chain of bookstores, he has never stopped serving the community. His protests and civil disobedience continued during the 1980s in response to federal inaction on AIDS research and funding with an arrest at the White House, and in the 1990s in response to Clinton's signing the Defense of Marriage Act. Deacon played important roles in the reform of DC's sodomy law, insurance for domestic partners of small business employees, and a host of other issues. Through Lambda Rising, Deacon created the first annual DC Gay Pride celebration in June 1975; the first gay youth support group in DC; and the gay switchboard. Lambda Rising has functioned as a de facto community center and a must-visit site for gay tourists and people just coming out. The first gay TV ad to run on local stations was for Lambda Rising. Deacon has been a model business leader and community activist.
The Mautner Project, founded in 1990, was the brainchild of Mary-Helen Mautner, a lesbian mother who died of cancer at the age of 44. Before her death, Mary-Helen spoke with her partner, Susan Hester, about the need for an organization that could help other lesbians face the challenges of life-threatening illness. Today the Mautner Project is a most dynamic organization -- delivering services and support to lesbians with cancer, their families and caregivers; educating lesbians about important health issues; educating healthcare providers about the needs and concerns of their lesbian clients; and promoting lesbian health through research, advocacy and activism. The Mautner Project continues expanding its efforts to create sustainable change in health care through direct services and support, education, research, advocacy, and activism.
Cheryl Spector has been a fixture of Washington's activist and social life for over two decades, documenting the history of gay and lesbian life in Washington in all its aspects through still and video photography. In addition, she has been a major force in groups such as OUT! and the Lesbian Avengers, and has helped bring the drag king culture to Washington, where it continues to grow. Cheryl is vice chair of the Rainbow History Project and a member of the Arlington Gay and Lesbian Alliance.
Nadine Chandler Wilburn was working at the Office of Corporation Counsel in June 2002 when she got a phone call informing her she had been appointed interim director of the Office of Human Rights, effective immediately. Exactly one year later, she returned to the Corporation Counsel's office. But during that one year as head of OHR, Ms. Wilburn had a tremendous positive impact on enforcement of the District's landmark Human Rights Act of 1977. She took numerous effective steps to reduce OHR's case backlog and welcomed GLAA's input across a broad range of issues. She also aggressively implemented Mayor Williams' August 2000 Mayoral Order by ensuring that D.C. government agencies included all protected categories, including sexual orientation, in all official documents declaring the District's anti-discrimination policies. We only wish that all District government officials we've had to deal with were equally committed and supportive.
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. GLAA lobbies the DC Council, monitors government agencies, educates and rates local candidates, and works 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.