OutFront Kalamazoo Announces Honorees for 2021 #AlwaysOutFront Awards
Five individuals will be honored on Friday, June 11, 2021,
for their contributions and commitment to the LGBTQ+ community.
KALAMAZOO, MI May 21, 2021 – Today, OutFront Kalamazoo is announcing the recipients of its 2021 #AlwaysOutFront Awards. The awards are given annually to those who have contributed significantly to the work of LGBTQ+ equality, social justice and the advancement of OutFront’s mission.
“The #AlwaysOutFront Awards reflect our name and our understanding that to be ‘out front’ means to be visible. To lead,” said Amy Hunter, Executive Director of OutFront Kalamazoo. “These five individuals have been nominated by the LGBTQ+ community for exemplifying what it means to be ‘out front.’ It is our privilege to recognize their efforts to keep the march toward equity and social justice moving forward; especially during the pandemic.”
The 2021 award recipients are:
Chris Boger – Founder of Branch County Pride, transgender female & activist
Kaleb Burpee – Community organizer, political activist
Megan Maddock – Trustee, Kalamazoo Public Schools Board of Education and LGBTQ+ equity and inclusion activist
CoCo Marie – Kalamazoo Pride committee volunteer, group leader
Cheri Stolzner – OutFront Kalamazoo volunteer, group leader
This year marks the twelfth year that OutFront Kalamazoo has given awards, but the first year that the awards ceremony will not have an in-person audience. The organization announced earlier this year that even though the COVID-19 pandemic was easing, large-scale, in-person events would not occur during Pride Month in June.
The awards, sponsored by PNC Bank, will be presented at a private event at the Judy K. Jolliffe Theatre and broadcast to a virtual audience via OutFront Kalamazoo’s webpage on Friday, June 11, 2021, at 8:00 pm. Kalamazoo Mayor David Anderson will be on hand to congratulate the honorees and also recognize the two recipients of OutFront’s Terry Kuseske LGBTQ+ Youth Scholarship. Virtual event tickets are available for a $10 contribution at outfrontkzoo.org/awards.
OutFront Kalamazoo is a non-profit, charitable organization whose mission is to create a just, inclusive, equitable, and supportive environment in Southwest Michigan for people of all sexual orientations and gender identities and expressions.
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