July 9, 2003
Review of June Pride
GLOBE is extremely pleased with the way the June Pride event turned out. Attendance was excellent; the speakers were perfect; and the representation by leadership of the Bureau of Reclamation, one of the sponsoring bureaus, was notable.
GLOBE would like to get an article into People, Land, and Water as soon as possible. Jim Gasser has written an article that Jerry needs to review along with some quotes from Congressman Frank. Bob Veltkamp will ensure the article and photographs get up on the GLOBE website, as well.
GLOBE would like to thank Shenee Turner and Charlene Freeman, the two bureau OEO coordinators who worked so tirelessly to bring this event off so successfully. Much of the success of the event is due to the efforts of these two ladies. GLOBE is also planning to send a formal thank you to Mike Trujillo, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Human Resources and Workforce Diversity, to express our appreciation for being able to hold this event and for the support of both his office and the sponsoring bureaus in helping to host the event. Leadership support for June Pride is particularly noteworthy, when Justice has had so much difficulty in this arena.
GLOBE is glad that it gave the New Millennium Award to Congressman Frank, rather than let the award lapse this year. Recognizing Congressman Frank’s many years of leadership, counsel, and support for gay and lesbian rights in the Federal community sent a very positive message.
The AIDS walk is scheduled for October 4. GLOBE discussed sponsoring a team this year, but most of the leadership is out of town or otherwise committed for that date, so it was decided instead to post a notice on the website to inform the membership and allow members to make their own decisions regarding participation.
Mike Trujillo expressed an interest to Jerry in having a follow-up meeting from the meeting we had earlier this year. GLOBE is delighted that Mike remains interested in sexual orientation issues and seems supportive of maintaining the progress the Department made on sexual orientation rights and discrimination prior to this Administration taking office. GLOBE discussed what topics it would like to discuss with Mike and how to organize the meeting. Some of the topics proposed for discussion included:
GLOBE reviewed the list of issues from the previous meeting and felt that any of those topics could be revisited, if there are no new topics. GLOBE also decided to canvass the membership to see if there were issues the membership would like to see discussed with Mike. Another way to develop ideas would be to review the services that are provided to other minority communities to see if there are services that may be beneficial to the gay and lesbian DOI community. GLOBE decided to move forward with this discussion under the overarching banner of “What Can We Do to Create an Environment Where GLBT Employees Feel Comfortable Being Out?”
GLOBE decided to consult with Mike’s office chiefs to help develop a strategy for the discussion. Both Mark Oliver and Melodee Stith have been very helpful in the past. GLOBE thought it might be helpful to meet with Mark and Melodee during September and October prior to trying to meet with Mike sometime in the first 2 weeks of November.
Revised:
10/22/03
Robert_J_Veltkamp@nbc.gov