OUR DINNER COCHAIRS

Dear Friends:

Hello and welcome to the 2023 Greater Cincinnati HRC Dinner. We are excited to be gathered with many outstanding LGBTQ+ advocates and allies within the Greater Cincinnati/NKY region. Although there are many faces in this space, it is incredibly heartwarming that we are all united together with the one focus of further achieving the goal of fundamental equality for all LGBTQ+ people. Our community is comprised of so many beautiful and vibrant facets. We’re all in this fight together and face unique and complex challenges to exist and thrive. The Human Rights Campaign works tirelessly to fight those political and legal battles on every front and in every great state in the country.

As we gather together tonight, we celebrate the incredible and vital successes since our last dinner. We proudly and enthusiastically laud the passage of the Respect for Marriage Act in Congress, the temporary defeat of the heinous anti-Trans HB 151 bill, and the update to a more inclusive non-discrimination policy from the city of Cincinnati, which was co-sponsored by tonight’s honoree, Council-member Reggie Harris.

We have a lot to celebrate, but we have a lot of work. We uplift our transgender/non-binary youth to live lives that lovingly respect their identities by creating programs and services that affirm their right to exist as they are. We look forward to the day when we can be confident that the right to marry for all people is the law of the land without contest. We actively champion the right for women to have autonomy over their bodies. We look toward meaningful gun reform in hopes of significantly reducing violence against our underserved communities, especially communities of color. We stand together to demand actionable change to our policing system to stop the disproportionate harm and deaths of people of color across the country.

Tonight is a night for us to be excited, for us to celebrate, for us to refresh, and for us to continue the work to achieve a world free of systemic bias and instead one full of opportunities for all people regardless of “sexual orientation, gender identity, or expression, age, color, religion, disability status, military status, familial status, marital status, or ethnic national or Appalachian regional origin.”.

We thank you for your continued proactive support of LGBTQ+ equality. We thank our Greater Cincinnati Steering Committee members, Board of Governors, Board of Directors, and local volunteers for your work throughout the past year. We want to thank our Corporate Sponsors, donors, dinner chairs, volunteers, and you all for helping to make tonight’s event one of the most successful dinners we’ve ever had. We thank all our local, state, and national elected officials who attend and continue to support us daily in their respective roles. Whether you’re joining us from Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, or beyond, thank you for celebrating with us tonight.

We sincerely hope you enjoy the program we have thoughtfully put together and hope this is a fresh reminder that we see, hear, and love you as you are. We are Many Faces with One Focus.