SEEN: Celebration at the Mahaffey

from Embrace Magazine — The Arts Issue 2022

The Master of Ceremonies

Celebration at the Mahaffey

2022 Equality Florida St Pete Gala shatters records and tackles turbulent topics.

BY TODD M. RICHARDSON, PINELLAS DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR, EQUALITY FLORIDA

The 2022 Equality Florida St Pete Gala 25th anniversary celebration was a smashing success, breaking a 25-year fundraising, and attendance record! 675 supporters helped raise over $711,861! The evening started with a VIP party that allowed our guests to reconnect after a two-year hiatus.

David Fischer and his amazing team from ZaZoo'd, Cocktail, The Saint, and Wetspot, turned the beautiful Mahaffey Theater into a festive and fun space for our guests to celebrate.

He hung “GAY AF” over rainbow fabric and our guests laughed, took photographs, and posted them on social media. It was a creative way to tell our oppressors that we will not be silenced.

Catering by the family catered our Gala back in 2019, and they knocked it out of the park again this year with their delicious appetizers and dinner. Our guests continue to rave about their catering.

Our program in the main theater was powerful and empowering. The lovely and talented Sunde performed as our guests took their seats. Spectrum Bay News 9’s Chuck Diaz-Henson did a fantastic job as our Emcee, moving our presentation along so that our guests could have more time to dance! PNC Bank’s Stephanie Frye took to the stage to state how proud her organization was to be the Presenting sponsor of all Equality Florida Galas. St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch took to the stage with thunderous applause, and he stated in his speech that “St. Petersburg is one city, one community, and one voice for equality.” Equality Florida’s Todd Richardson presented Jennie O’Leary with her “Voice for Equality Award,” and former Mayor Rick Kriseman presented the second Voice for Equality Award to Brian Longstreth. These two volunteers brought the crowd to their feet for their outstanding contributions to the LGBTQ community.

Our program in the main theater was powerful and empowering. The lovely and talented Sunde performed as our guests took their seats. Spectrum Bay News 9’s Chuck Diaz-Henson did "State of the State address.” She ignited the crowd with her passionate and empowering speech about the work of Equality Florida over 25 years, and asked our community to do everything they could during these turbulent times to get people out to vote in the upcoming elections. We will be posting her entire speech soon.

Once the program was over, our guests returned to the main lobby for a wonderful dinner and dance. We will continue this Gala format moving forward. DJ L Mo (Luis) kept everyone on the dance floor with his fun upbeat music. It was wonderful to see our friends together again, having a fun time for a great cause.

Thank you to our donors, volunteers, steering and host committees, Equality Florida Staff and board, and guests who came together for our very special evening!