ST. PETERSBURG – For the fourth year in a row, the organizers of St. Pete Pride are asking members of the community to help select this year’s grand marshals.
The 2015 nominees were revealed on March 8 and the Tampa Bay community has until March 27 to make their selections.
Nominees are selected by the board of St. Pete Pride for their contributions toward LGBT rights in Tampa Bay and Florida.
The Rainbow Recovery Club, Stonewall Democrats of Pinellas County and the West Coast AIDS Foundation have been nominated this year as Community Grand Marshal.
Individual grand marshal nominees were previously divided by gender. But this year, individual grand marshals are unidentified by gender. The community can select any three.
The nominees for individual grand marshal for 2015 are Larry Biddle, Nick Janovsky, Ashley Brundage, Rev. Dr. Candace Shultis, Frank Hay, Nancy Greenlees, Kevin Johnson and Frank Clemente.
Biddle is chair of Equality Florida’s 2015 Equality Florida Greater St. Petersburg Gala and director of Metro Wellness and Community Center’s new LGBT Welcome Center. He is also a past executive director of the Tampa International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival.
Nick Janovsky, public relations director for Smith & Associates, is a veteran of politics and has worked for 10 years on various election campaigns. He is a mentor to political science students and is the author of the book Gay: A New Path Forward.
Ashley Brundage is a highly regarded personal and business relationship banker for PNC Bank in Tampa. She was hired after transitioning and has become a spokeswoman for transgender issues. She has been married to her wife, Whitney, for 12 years and they have two sons, Bryce and Blake. Brundage is also the president of the Tampa Bay Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce.
The Rev. Dr. Candace R. Shultis is the senior pastor at King of Peace MCC in St. Petersburg. She holds a degree from the University of Massachusetts and a doctorate from Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C. She has been a pastor at King of Peace MCC since December 2007.
Frank Hay is best known as the founder and director of the Righteously Outrageous Twirling Corps, or ROTC. The color guard and bugle corps is a staple at pride events and fundraisers. Twelve years after founding the group, ROTC now performs across the state and nation.
Nancy Greenlees is a long-time member of the Hillsborough County LGBTQA Democratic Caucus. She has been in Tampa Bay since 1975 and involved behind the scenes in a variety of social, economic and environmental causes.
Kevin Johnson is a St. Petersburg native, bartender and active fundraiser for the AIDS Service Association of Pinellas.
Frank Clemente is a part owner of ConceptBait and has volunteered for or helped almost every LGBT organization in Tampa Bay. His designs have been used by Equality Florida and Metro Wellness.
Cast your vote at www.stpetepride.com until 11:45 p.m. on Friday, Mar. 27.
