From the Board Chair/August 2024
Dear Community Members,
As we head into the home stretch to the end of summer, I have been reflecting on a few things since my last letter in May. Many of us are still basking in the aftermath of an incredible Pride month and a very busy July, with many amazing events. Even though August starts to slow a bit, we still have the Nevada County Fair where we will have a table for 5 days, 12 hours a day, our monthly support groups, a DJ Dance Party before Gay Day at the Yuba, a LGBTQ+ youth panel podcast recording at Nevada County Media, and our August pool party and potluck followed by a poolside Dance Party with Lorraine Gervais – a fundraiser for NC Pride. Yes – another busy month! Additional details on all these events, and more, are in our calendar and this newsletter.
My recent reflection has been on our Mission: Nevada County Pride celebrates, supports, and advocates for the LGBTQ+ community in Western Nevada County by promoting Community, Diversity, and Respect through Events, Education, and Resources.
Specifically, I have been thinking about the “Education” part – mainly because we already do a good job on events and resources – but we certainly can improve there too. Webster’s defines this term as “the knowledge and development resulting from the process of being educated”. Simple. Understandable. But in my view, it is often hard to do. I think that’s the reason why this objective in our mission is the one that has received the least focus in the past few years as we re-invented Nevada County Pride from a monthly potluck club to what we have grown to today post pandemic.
So, I will be asking my Board to make Education a priority as we embark on our strategic planning this fall. We made a great deal of progress on this in the spring before we hit “pause” to focus 100% of our efforts on Pride month. But before we hit pause, we approved these 2024 Goals:
· Collaborations with organizations – Do at least six events - AAUW, Placer Pride, Onyx Theatre, Juneteenth, BriarPatch, The Fern, NC Senior Center, GV Museum, NC Library
· Community Education - 1-2 training events – LGBTQ+ Cultural Awareness with San Joaquin Pride Center
· Community Support Groups - 10 monthly meetings of the 2 groups, add virtual group
· Fundraising Plan & Goals - Create sponsor levels, host fundraising event
· Board Education - Gay Center Visit (learning from established orgs, networks) - Visit one area LGBTQ+ Center in Fall 2024
· Fill open board positions - 3 new members
· Cultivate Intergenerational Outreach Opportunities – NC Queer Events, Panels
So what’s next in the Education goal? In the past we have had a somewhat ad hoc approach to finding community speakers and panelists for events, school classes, non-profits, businesses, faith groups, and more. We often call on those who have been reliable volunteers in the past. We frequently turn down requests because we can’t find anyone. To be better prepared for future speaking opportunities – that do so much to raise awareness and visibility for our community – we want to form a Speakers Bureau to have a ready pool of volunteers we can quickly call on to help us. We need to assemble a diverse group of volunteers, representing all that we are in the LGBTQ+ Rainbow, to be able to ensure representation: from youth to elders, gay parents, allies, and more. Speakers are mostly needed to share your personal story, answer questions from your own life experience, be an advocate for our community and how we can continue to gain acceptance and support. We can help you get comfortable with doing this if you need it. Can you help us out? Want to learn more or have questions? Please email me at rick@nevadacountypride.org.
I hope to see you at our August events.
Rick Partridge
Board Chair, Nevada County Pride