Part 3 of 4, by Bob Kecskemety
The Dolphin Democrats will be holding its annual Dolphin Democrat’s Award Reception on Sunday, October 23 at the IGFA Fishing Hall of Fame and Museum, 300 Gulf Stream Way in Dania Beach near Griffin Road and I-95. The evening will include a VIP Reception and/or cocktail reception in the main lobby from 6 p.m. to 7:15 p.m., dining and awards presentation from 7:15 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. There will also be a silent auction starting at 6 p.m. and ending at 7:45 p.m. The Dolphin Democratic Club is Florida’s oldest and largest LGBT political organization.
The annual Dolphin Democrats’ Awards Reception is the premier event that recognizes outstanding leaders who have demonstrated their strength to lead and a vision to improve the lives of the LGBT community and all deserving citizens.
Honoring these special members of the community celebrates the accomplishments and strengths and hope for the future.
This week we will look at some of the organizations and businesses that will be honored at the awards presentation.
According to Ron Mills, president of the Dolphin Democratic Club, the Broward Leadership Award will be presented to Women in Network (WIN). WIN is a social and business networking association for women based in South Florida and is perhaps the oldest lesbian organization in the State of Florida. The focus has been half on education and half on networking and connecting the lesbian community. WIN is entering its 25th year.
“We were very honored to find out that the Dolphins have chosen us for this award,” said Denise Spivak, President of WIN. “They [the Dolphins] are an organization of an equally impressive tenure and we know that they do not choose their award recipients lightly. We are very honored and we also are honored by the company of which we are now becoming a part of – including the other recipients of this particular award and also the other award recipients that were chosen this year. We look forward to continuing the work we’ve been doing.”
This year’s Dolphin Democrats Awards Reception media award goes to Hotspots! Magazine. According to Michael Albetta, former president of the Dolphin Democrats, the media award goes to the individual or business that has gone out of their way to promote the Dolphins and their programs.
Albetta said that Hotspots! Magazine has “never said no to the Dolphins’ ‘Get Out the Vote’ effort in regards to notifying the public and didn’t want anything in return. Time and time again over the past two years, whether it’s a local race or a national race, they’ve always allowed us to use their magazine to inform the public of the events that were happening.”
“I’ve always had such respect for the Democratic Party and what they’ve done,” said Peter Clark, publisher of Hotspots! Magazine. “They really understand our community and understand our priorities and the fact that there is so much work to be done. I think they’ve done a good job in prioritizing what they need to do; getting Congress to move forward on issues that impact our community. Since Barack Obama’s inauguration, we’ve made incredible strides forward but there’s still a lot to be done. I’m thrilled that ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ was repealed. Now I’m anxious to see them shift their focus to DOMA and recognition of the validity of same-sex couples. When I got the phone call that I was going to be recognized by the Dolphins for what we do is simply a matter of supporting their initiative and giving our voice to the community to them so they could be heard on a wider scale.”
This year, the Dolphins will be awarding a second Political Alliance Award This second award is being given to U.S. Representative Ted Deutch. Deutch served in the Florida Senate from 2007 until April 13, 2010 when he won a special election to the U.S. House of Representative replacing Congressman Robert Wexler. Wexler had left Congress to lead the Center for Middle East Peace and Economic Cooperation.
Albetta said that within days of taking his seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, Deutch signed on as a sponsor of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA).
The final award for the evening is the Community Service Award which is being presented to Broward House. For many years, Broward House has been in the forefront of helping people with HIV/AIDS and recently announced that they were going to start an LGBT teenage suicide prevention program including a telephone hotline.
Tickets for the Dolphin Democrats’ Awards Reception can be purchased online at their website, www.DolphinDems.org. Individual tickets are $75, which includes the reception, dinner, awards presentation and silent. VIP tickets of $150 per person also include the VIP reception.
For additional information, either visit their website or call 866-478-8262. Sponsorship opportunities are also still available.
In next week’s Florida Agenda, we will have the latest information on the 2012 Dolphin Democrats’ ‘Equality for All’ Awards Reception and Silent Auction.