 Hello, welcome to CTN Member Highlight. Today I'm here with Michelle Patrick and Mark Chadbourne from Pride Portland, the co-chairs of Pride Portland. Welcome. Well, you've just come out of an amazing, just a big week, and probably more so this year than past years because of some of the awful things that have been happening around the country. But there was a lot of support here in Portland for some wonderful things you're doing. There was a lot of support. Yeah, how did you feel about how the events went that week? The events went really well. We were in our third year, so each year we're growing a little bit more. And we had about 20 events over the course of 10 days. They were all really well attended, and I think the community was really grateful for the opportunity to gather, given the events, the masquerades that were going on that week. Yeah. That's terrific. I think over the three years, I think we've gotten better. Everyone's gotten a little better at what they do. And it's a culmination of that, and the weather, and of course the events that happened leading up to Pride just brought a lot of people out. And again, like we all acknowledge, the community support was awesome. Yeah. So now Pride Portland, that's the major event of the year. It is. But you do other things as well. Do you want to just give a brief background about Pride Portland, and then we'll talk about some other things that are coming up? Yeah. So we're an LGBT organization and nonprofit, and the mission to kind of abbreviate it is really about honoring our history and bringing community together. And it does culminate in the Pride festival and parade the third weekend of June every year, and commemorates the Civil Rights Movement that was sparked back in 69 in New York City. And we, yeah, this, in the third year, we're doing a little bit more each year, and throughout the year we're committed to doing more events throughout the year that are really community building, and also bringing local businesses together with us, and kind of connecting everyone in various ways. As well as other nonprofits. The 10 days leading up to Pride, we like to partner with some other area nonprofits that maybe want to do some programs. Pride Portland doesn't have to, isn't necessarily running every evening event. Sometimes it's a partnership, which is nice. It's important to point out that we did 20-some-odd events, but the greater community there were, in our guide, there were probably easily 20 other events going on that week. Amazing that we're tied in with all of this. Well, it was amazing to see the number of businesses and nonprofits that took place in the parade that day. It was just one after another, and it just went on, and I think it was the longest parade I've ever been to in my life. It was wonderful. And of course it's just full of color and excitement. But now you have something else coming up soon. It's an election. We do. So we have regular community meetings because we are 100% volunteer driven and community driven. So we're constantly trying to keep the community involved and get ideas from the community. So we'll be having not only the community meeting on July 27th at 6 p.m. at the New Equality Center, but following that, our steering meeting. It's time for the board to turn over. Different positions turn over each year or every two years, so we'll be doing an election that evening as well. Now, do you have a slate of people who are up for election, who want to run? Yes. Well, so their board consists of 14 seats, and I believe 10 of them are going to be open at this time. Yes. But there may be chairs that are interested in holding that position again, but there's also four at large chair persons that we're looking for, as well as some other positions that committee chairs have termed out of, like the festival, I believe, and the parade. So there's a lot of opportunity for community involvement, for those people that maybe want to get involved, maybe have a voice in making pride, giving pride a direction, or helping out making pride happen again next year. So this is a good opportunity for someone who might want to get involved to get in there and maybe get elected to the board. Absolutely. It's literally helping steer Pride Portland, and the direction will go. Again, we're only in our third year, so it's not like we're doing the same old thing every year. We're still learning and growing and taking input from all directions. And anyone who might want to get involved would have a big support group behind them with people who've already done this there. It's not like the whole group is turning over and new people coming in without any idea. That's correct. And there's always an opportunity for people who aren't necessarily ready to chair a committee just to come and learn about what committees are working committees and join the committee and just work on the committee. It's kind of the tier, if you will, so there's the steering committee, and there might be the chair for the parade, for instance. We'll have a co-chair and then create a team, and then more volunteers on top of that. So there are so many ways to be involved without taking a leadership position, but we absolutely need the leaders. But it's also a great evening to come out for the 6 o'clock meeting to find out about how else you can be involved. If you have the time to be on a steering committee, you can find out what all the different teams are and what it entails. Whether you volunteer for an hour or many hours, there are opportunities throughout the year. And lots of room for creative thought in this whole venture. Absolutely. That's how we've gotten here. Now you meet the third Wednesday of every month, or is that something I've read and it's not quite... We've been meeting the last Wednesday of the month for the steering committee meetings, yes. The community meetings have been a little bit all over the place because we try to allow for different schedules. And if people want to find out more, who can they contact? One of the best ways to keep the most up to date is on our Facebook page. You can just go to Facebook and put in Brian Portland and it comes right up. Thank you both and it's exciting and we're looking forward to next year's big events over that week, pride week next year. Maybe it'll be pride month, all month in Portland. Thank you. Oh, you're very welcome. Thanks for having us. Appreciate it.