Executive Summary

Representatives from OUTstanding attended the Amarillo Independent School Board meeting this week. We took advantage of the 3 minute public comment portion of the agenda.

Tony shared some details about his personal story that ultimately resulted in him leaving the public school system and obtaining his education through home schooling. I shared 3 minutes worth of local and national statistics.

There is no option for feedback or dialog about the public comments, so we really don't know how it went. But we know we have some supporters on the school board and maybe inspired some thought among them all.

I've got to be honest, I really had myself worked up and nervous about this, but Tony helped me by not letting his anxiety show. It really turned out to be nothing and I'm so glad that we followed through with it.

One of our questions for Debra McCartt when she was running for mayor was:

"7) Are LGBT residents and businesses welcome in Amarillo? What evidence to we have of that?
Absolutely! I am not sure where some of these questions originate from, but I get a sense that you are not that happy with the way things are being handled. As far as statistics about proof of being welcome in the residential community or business community, I don't guess I have that. It is important to me to understand what you're thinking. I will be here for you and every other citizen of this community. I feel it is important that every person be treated as an individual with all rights, respect and attention given to them. Thank you for your being interested in who I am. I look forward to working with you in the future and hope you know I will have an open door for you!"
May/June 2005 OUTspoken

I took advantage of the 'open door' she promised us. We met on the morning of Febrary 6th. She lent a compassionate ear to my concerns and frustrations regarding the health fair 'uninvitation'. The majority of our discussion was not how to undo this decision, but about things that we can do as an organization to enhance the image of the glbt population. Community projects and partnerships where we could engage our volunteers to demonstrate that we are neighborly and mutually concerned citizens.

She told me about the North Amarillo Task Force. This is a group of concerned citizens intent on cleaning up some areas of town in hopes of a better quality of life for its residents. We both thought this would be a good place to employ our volunteer team, a place where we could demonstrate our neighborliness and help others achieve their goals.

As soon as I got back to the office from visiting with Mayor McCartt I called Francetta Crow, the contact person that Mayor McCartt recommended for the North Amarillo Task Force. She was very excited about our offer to assist in their mission. She was to get back with me in the next few days with the dates and details.