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South Carolina ‘So Gay’ Pride Releases Annual Report

■ The South Carolina 2008 Pride Parade in downtown Columbia, the state capital. photo: UK Gay News

COLUMBIA, February 21, 2009 (QNotes) —  The board of the South Carolina Pride Movement says 2008 was “the year that was so gay.”  The group released its 2008 annual report on Feb. 13, detailing the year’s events, successes and the financial health of the organisation.

“After looking back on an entire year, we were overwhelmed with how many things we were able to accomplish as a Board and as an organization,” SC Pride President Ryan Wilson said in a press release.  “The amazing thing to me is that everything we worked on, even the negative was resolved with positive results!”

The report gets its name from the state’s “South Carolina is So Gay” advertising incident, which launched SC Pride into the international media spotlight and even generated a Pride sponsorship from AMRO Worldwide, the London-based travel company responsible for the “So Gay” ads.

The report is organised by the four tenets of the organization: Support, Celebrate, Educate, and Advocate. Some of the highlights in the report include sections on the successful recycling campaign entitled “My PRIDE colour is GREEN,” the outreach at regional Pride events and the collaboration with the other progressive organisations in the state.

The report also makes public the financial well-being of the organization.

According to the report, the South Carolina Pride Movement’s total income totalled $85,000.  Total expenses added up to $83,000 including $6,300 in Harriet Hancock Community Center expenses, $5,300 in utilities and $10,000 for publicity budgets. The largest outgoing expense was $56,000 for the production of the 2008 SC Pride Festival and Parade.

The organisation was the recipient of $10,000 from the Hospitality Tax Grant fund and was also awarded $15,000 from the Community Promotions Grant fund for the Harriet Hancock Center.

SC Pride Vice President Santi Thompson said the report “gives our volunteers a chance to look back and celebrate our successes.”

Thompson added, “It also gives us a tangible record of how we used the resources that our community has entrusted to us.” 

To read full report, click HERE

© 2009, QNotes

SEE ALSO

“So Gay” Picture Special — South Carolina Pride.  Four pages of photos from South Carolina Pride in Columbia.  (UK Gay News, September 20, 2008)

South Carolina Gears Up To Be ‘So Gay’ for Pride.  South Carolina will be ‘so gay’ later this month with the intentional help of celebrity drag diva and recording artist RuPaul – and the unintentional help of state officials. (UK Gay News, September 11, 2008)

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