Subject: PFLAG Board Sets New Leadership, Moves Forward on Vital Issues
From: Heather Wright <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 28 Sep 1999 10:24:00 -0400

For Immediate Release: September 27, 1999			
Contact: Eric Ferrero, 202-638-4200 x212

PFLAG Board Sets Leadership for New Millennium,
Moves Forward on Issues Vital to Families Nationwide

	The National Board of Directors of Parents, Families and Friends of
Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) met in Chicago Sept. 25 and 26 to set its
1999-2000 leadership, and to take action on several issues of importance to
families with gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered loved ones.
	
	Two new members - Walter Schubert and Dody Goldstein - were elected
to PFLAG's National Board of Directors.  Schubert, who is founder and
chairman of gfn.com, The Gay Financial Network, was the youngest-ever and
first openly-gay member of the New York Stock Exchange.  Goldtsein, who was
among the first women in history to attend Harvard Medical School, is the
proud mother of a gay son.  She is a longtime PFLAG leader and progressive
activist in Palo Alto, California.  

	Robert Goodwin, President and CEO of the Points of Light Institute,
was reelected to the Board, as was Waltrene Swanston, Executive Director of
Unity: Journalists of Color.  Kelly Kirby, a certified public accountant and
activist in Tulsa, Oklahoma, also was reelected to the Board.  

	"PFLAG's Board is truly unique.  There are 21 of us - from 16
states, truly representing the grassroots diversity of PFLAG," said Board
President Rev. Paul Beeman.  "And first and foremost, we are a working
Board, dedicated to seeing that all Americans - including our wonderful gay,
lesbian, bisexual and transgendered loved ones - are treated with respect
and dignity."

	Two new members were elected to PFLAG's Regional Directors' Council,
a 14-member group that starts, nurtures and represents PFLAG chapters
nationwide.  PFLAG members in Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota and South
Dakota elected John Lindgren Northern Plains Regional Director.  Lindgren
served as mayor of Fargo, North Dakota, from 1978 to 1994.  Rev. Ken Prunty
was elected Mountain West Regional Director by PFLAG members in Arizona,
Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming.  Prunty, an ordained minister in the
Church of God, has three children, including a gay son.

	Three Regional Directors were reelected to another two-year term.
PFLAG members in Southern California and Hawaii reelected John Cooley
Southern Pacific Regional Director.  Cooley, who has a gay son, is a
sergeant with the Los Angeles Police Department.  Carole Benowitz was
reelected Gulf Regional Director by PFLAG members in Alabama, Florida,
Georgia, Mississippi and Puerto Rico.  Benowitz, who is active in the
Women's League for Conservative Judaism and several other groups, has a
daughter and a gay son.  PFLAG members in New Jersey, New York and
Pennsylvania reelected Melina Waldo Pocono Regional Director.  Waldo is a
former high school teacher who has worked in recent years as a social worker
with at-risk students.

	The Board elected Gary Watts to serve as its Secretary.  Watts, who
has six children and three grandchildren, works within the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormon) to make that religion more welcoming
and accepting.  In 1993, their gay son was excommunicated from the Mormon
Church because he was open and honest about his sexual orientation. 

	In addition to setting what Beeman termed "extraordinary"
leadership, PFLAG's National Board acted on several items, including:

	* Solidified plans to file an amicus (friend-of-the-court) brief, if
Boy Scouts of America (BSA) appeals the New Jersey Supreme Court's ruling
that BSA's policies discriminate based on sexual orientation.  (PFLAG has
already secured top-notch legal counsel to prepare the brief, which would be
filed with the U.S. Supreme Court.  PFLAG filed an amicus brief when the
case was before the New Jersey court.)

	* Selected Salt Lake City, Utah, as the site of its Annual
Membership Meeting in October 2001.

	* Reaffirmed its position prioritizing education of lawmakers and
the public about the need for language that includes gender-variant people
in the Employment Nondiscrimination Act (ENDA), but supporting the current
bill if it comes before the House or Senate for a vote.

	* Discussed and solidified plans for "PFLAG: Family Voices for
Equality," PFLAG's National Conference, which will take place April 28-30,
2000, in Washington, DC.  Workshops, high-profile speakers, networking
opportunities, a Lobby Day on Capitol Hill, a youth and education gathering
and other unique, PFLAG-specific events are planned for the conference, for
which several hundred families from throughout America have already
registered.

	* Passed several organizational policy statements, including one
calling on faith/spiritual communities to be welcoming and accepting, and
another encouraging people to participate in National Coming Out Day (Oct.
11).

	* Heard reports from PFLAG's Regional Directors' Council, which
outlined the innovative and critical support, education and advocacy work of
PFLAG's 430 local chapters.  The Council also reported that new chapters are
forming in many regions nationwide.

The next meeting of PFLAG's National Board of Directors is set for Jan. 14
and 15 in Washington, DC.  

(FYI, separate press releases for each of the three reelected Board members,
the two new Board members and the two new Regional Directors were sent to
local media in their communities.  Please e-mail [email-masked] if you
would like any of those releases.)

Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) promotes the
health and well-being of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered persons,
their families & friends through support, education, and advocacy. Serving
nearly 77,000 members & supporters, PFLAG affiliates are located in 430
communities in the U.S.                 

1101 14th St. NW, Suite 1030, Washington, DC 20005 .
 phone: 202-638-4200  fax: 202-638-0243
 Email [email-masked]  Web http://www.pflag.org

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 To unsubscribe from PFLAG's Email Alert, send an
 email, subject line "unsubscribe" to [email-masked]
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~