Join Us!
We invite community members to join us for our next Town Hall meeting on Saturday, February 20th beginning at 10:00 am at the One Voice Community Center, located at 725 W Indian School Rd. Phoenix, AZ 85013. In addition to taking questions, we will be sharing an update about the progress of the organization.
Over the past thirty days, the board and members of Equality Arizona, Arizona's statewide organization working to secure, protect and defend the rights of LGBT people have made significant steps forward in addressing the financial issues and advancing the very important work facing the organization. Below, please find a detailed summary of our efforts.
Financials:
A buyer was secured for the building at 1426 N. 2nd St and the purchase price was $320K. With the sale, the organization paid off the loan on the building and was only asked for the principal of the existing loan. Without having to pay 15 months of back interest owed, Equality Arizona was able to net about $18K from the sale.
With the building sale and a refund from ASU for its Public Allies program, we have paid off all outstanding bills. The line of credit of approximately $43K remains an outstanding liability and we continue to make monthly payments to continue reducing this balance.
Board & Leadership:
We held executive committee and board meetings of both the Equality Arizona Advocacy Fund and Education Institute in January and will be meeting monthly throughout the year. We discussed a number of issues to move the organization forward, which included our continued interest in and progress toward reducing monthly expenses. We will also meet again with a consultant from the Equality Federation on February 27th to move our strategic planning forward. One of the agenda items for that meeting will be to review and approve a formalized process for nominating and selecting new board members.
Political:
Through the Equality Arizona Advocacy Fund, we are working in tandem with the Human Rights Campaign, Stonewall Democrats and Log Cabin Republicans to advance our legislative priorities. For more information about our joint political strategy in partnership with these groups, please visit www.azlgbtpolitics.org.
In addition to producing the annual Voter Guide, Equality Arizona will be focusing on the Governor?s race as well as a couple of key House and Senate State races, which will be determined as the candidate pool becomes clearer in the coming months.
The LGBT Lobby Day is scheduled for March 9th, 2010. More details will be emailed to our membership shortly but please visit our website to register.
Fundraising/ Dinner:
The theme for our 2010 Equality Arizona dinner is, Our Future...Our Choice. Led by Maureen Harrop, the dinner planning committee is off to a great start! Ryan O'Meara and his mother and business partner, Sue, with Palavela Home are serving as this year's honorary co-chairs and political activist, David Mixner, will give our keynote address. The dinner will be held on June 5th at the Fairmont Scottsdale and early bird tickets for $150 can be purchased at the Equality Arizona website. We invite you to join us for our Table Captain party on March 25 where you will be able to choose your table. Details will be forthcoming. For further information, please feel free to email julie@equalityarizona.org.
Again, We Invite You to Mark Your Calendar for these Upcoming Dates:
Saturday, February 20, 2010: Town Hall meeting 10:00 am at the One Voice Community Center 725 W Indian School Rd. Phoenix, AZ 85013
Tuesday, March 9, 2010: LGBT Lobby Day at the State Capitol, 10am to 2pm
Thursday, March 25, 2010: Table Captain Party Details forthcoming
Saturday, June 5, 2010: Equality Arizona Gala Dinner, 5 pm to 10 pm at the Fairmont Scottsdale.
We thank you for your continued involvement with Equality Arizona and look forward to seeing you at the town hall on February 20th.
Mike Remedi and Anne Groth
Equality Arizona Co-Chairs
Board@EqualityArizona.org