Portland Steering Committee Receives Five Awards

HRC members from around the country converged on Washington, D.C., in early March 2008 for the semi-annual Lobby Day and the 2008 Spring Equality Convention. The long weekend kicked off on March 6, 2008, with Lobby Day. The Oregon delegation was comprised of 12 HRC members from Portland and Salem. We met with staff from all five U.S. Representatives from Oregon and our two U.S. Senators. We were honored to meet personally with Representative Blumenauer and Senator Wyden. The message that ENDA without the transgender protections does not provide full equality was given loud and clear and we know we have support from the majority of the Oregon Congressional delegation in our efforts to secure full equality for all in the GLBT community.

The 2008 Spring Equality Convention was held at the D.C. Convention Center and kicked off on Friday, March 7, 2008. HRC voulnteers from communities all over the country gathered to participate in training and educational programs with the goal of bringing the knowledge gained back to our communities and to put things in action during the "Year to Win". On Saturday, we were joined at lunch by Rep. James E. Clyburn (D-SC) who is the current Majority Whip. Rep. Clyburn gave a powerful speech about the struggle for equality. Following Rep. Clyburn's speech, Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) gave a rousing and motivating speech to the packed house. The speeches can be found online at hrc.org.

The convention wrapped up on Saturday evening with the annual Parade of Communities and awards ceremony. This year's theme was "Year to Win" and the Portland contingent presented "Spawn for Equality" which highlighted our successful efforts to enact a non-discrimination statue and recognize domestic partnerships in the state. Our "salmon" was quite a hit.

During the awards ceremony, we were honored with five awards from HRC. These awards are:

• Highest Lobby Day Participation for a Small Community
• Pound the Pavement and Raise the Roof for outstanding field work
• Get Your Pride On for surpassing our net member goal by the highest percentage
• Outstanding Achievement for Diversity and Inclusion
• Special Achievement Award for excelling in overall leadership, membership and community events and Federal Club and Federal Club Council

Everyone who went had a great time and came back enthused and ready to carry on the work for equality.