PRESS STATEMENT
April 13, 2011

2011 San Francisco Pride Grand Marshals Chosen

300% Increase in Voting Turnout This Year

San Francisco, CA – 13 April 2011 – With a more than 300% increase in voting turnout this year, the San Francisco Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Pride Committee is pleased to present their 2011 Grand Marshals. Debuting their new online voting system back on March 26th, SF Pride saw an early and dramatic increase in total votes cast. Over the next fifteen days, 2,736 people made their choices known, surpassing a previous high count by more than 500 ballots cast.

The combined votes of the General Membership, Board of Directors, SF Pride Electoral College, and the community at large have elected the following:

Community Grand Marshals: Dr. Aaron Belkin (SFSU professor and key advocate for the repeal of DADT), Victoria Kolakowski (first openly elected transgender Superior Court judge), Christiana Remington (community activist and event producer), Terry Stewart (defense attorney, challenger of Prop. 8), Rev. Roland Stringfellow (builder of relationships between the LGBT and religious communities), and Graylin K. Thornton (Leather Community activist and past-board member for New Leaf Services).

Honorary Grand Marshals: Susie Bright (editor of first women’s magazine: On Our Backs, sexologist, activist), and Ron Wong (API activist, past-board member for SF Pride).

In a vote so close that there was just a 6-point lead, the vote for Local Organizational Grand Marshal goes to the GLBT Historical Society and History Museum.

In addition to the above, Bishop Yvette Flunder has been selected as the Lifetime Achievement Grand Marshal. When learning the news, Bishop Flunder commented, “As a native San Franciscan and an out leader in the faith community, I am honored and humbled to be recognized as the Lifetime Achievement Grand Marshal by my own community.“

The Trevor Project has been named as the National Organizational Grand Marshal. A contingent of folks from The Trevor Project, the It Gets Better Project, and various other anti-bullying and anti-suicide organizations have been invited to lead off the 2011 Parade, behind the Dykes on Bikes contingent. This honor is given to a faction or vital issue of the community each year.

Celebrity Grand Marshals confirmed to date are Chaz Bono, Olympia Dukakis, and Yigit Pura.

Finally, the Pink Brick Award Recipient — the one person who has done the most damage to the LGBT community and/or movement — is Lou Engle.

For full biographies of the grand marshals, and for more information about San Francisco LGBT Pride, please visit sfpride.org