On Saturday, November 10, 2012 the Kentucky Fairness Alliance held their 8th Annual Out & About Statewide Fairness Gala at the distinguished Kentucky Center for African American Heritage. It was a grand celebration for the work we have done for “Fairness” in Kentucky.
The evening consisted of a wonderful Silent Auction full of items and packages from various businesses across the state, a exquisite meal provided by Cafe Fraiche, special guests both in statewide politics and entertainment, and presentation of special awards and scholarships.
KFA presents three scholarships every year at the Gala. This year the “Erika’s Hope” Memorial Scholarship was awarded to Alicia Bingham, an undergraduate student at Eastern Kentucky University. The Mark England Scholarship went to Jason Howard, a graduate student pursuing an MFA in Creative Writing at Vermont College of Fine Arts. The Jason Johnson Scholarship was presented to Samuel Taylor Howard, a senior undergraduate student at the University of Kentucky.
We also present a couple of special awards to deserving individuals or groups who have been a spearhead for Fairness in Kentucky. This year we presented three Catalysts for Fairness Awards to the Executive Committee of Louisville Metro Democratic Party, Brad Hampton (Louisville’s AIDS Walk director), and Murray State University. The 2012 Community Service Award went to Craig Scherman from Louisville. The 2012 “Amper&and” Award for Inclusiveness was awarded to the Louisville Veterans Administration Medical Center due to their announcing new policies for LGBT veterans representing major advances in terms of Fairness, equality and inclusiveness.
The event was sponsored by: Brown-Forman, General Electric, the Lexington G.L.S.O., Horseshoe Casino & Hotel, Central Presbyterian Church in Louisville, the Fairness Campaign and Pandora Productions.
As we look back over the past year and prepare for the year to come, we are thankful for the statewide support you have shown in 2012. With your help, we have worked with the Fayette County Public School Board to add “sexual Orientation” and “Gender Identity” to the District’s Non-Discrimination Policy; developed and implemented a popular LGBT Speakers Series in which members of our Board speak about important LGBT topics; participated in the GLSEN Greater Cincinnati Youth Summit; participated in the first Kentucky Fairness Coalition E-Summit; continued our “education through film” with the 2nd Annual Louisville LGBT Film Festival; and we have wrapped up development of our Kentucky LGBT Resource Guide. All of this is due to your continued support of the Kentucky Fairness Alliance.
With your continued support in 2013 we can insure that Kentucky continues to move forward in Frankfort before our legislation to ensure that their is Fairness and Equality for ALL of Kentucky. For more information on supporting KFA in all our efforts please visit www.kentuckyfairness.org.