FORT LAUDERDALE – Pride One of Broward County, Inc., which operates as Pride South Florida and produces Greater Fort Lauderdale’s annual spring Pridefest, announced the election of its 2012/2013 Executive Board, and Members at Large. Among the officers elected to replace the outgoing board—which this year produced the organization’s 35th anniversary show—are longtime LGBT activist and Pridefest co-organizer Marc Hansen, who will serve as co-chair and president

Board Members at Large include pioneering LGBT business leader Roger Handevidt, activists Sonia Mitchell, Shawn Manning, Megan Wright, Richard Cimoch, and Tiffany Smith, and LGBT publishing executives Scott Holland and John Fugate. Rounding out the board are co-chair and vice president Marc Sharphorn, secretary Rocky Bowell, treasurer Tim Towey, and board member emeritus Miss Vickie Keller.

In addition to its incoming board, the organization announced the recipients for its 2012 grants, which are given to local charitable and service organizations that serve the needs of South Florida’s LGBT community. Said Pride South Florida’s Hansen, “Each year, we try and give out as much as possible, while holding enough back to organize and operate the following year’s event. This year we had many interested in our grants, but just $12,000 to hand out.”

Hansen notes that although not every organization that applied for a grant was a beneficiary, most applicants walked away happy. “In that process, there were some that received a full grant of $1,500 and others that we had to split the grant in order to make sure those we felt were worth got something, instead of being left behind with nothing,” he added. This year’s Pride South Florida grant presentation ceremony will be held on Saturday, June 23 at 12 p.m., at the South Florida Gilda’s Club office, located at 119 Rose Drive, Fort Lauderdale.

The organizations that will receive this year’s Pride One of Broward County Grants—totaling $12,000— are: the Brian Neal Fitness and Health Foundation; the Fort Lauderdale Gay Men’s Chorus; Red Hispana; the Pride Wind Ensemble; the Names Project of South Florida; SAGE of South Florida; KP Productions; ARROW [Area Resource and Referral Organization for Women], the Lambda Men’s Brotherhood, And H.O.M.E.S., Inc.