As it will appear in Diversity.
Greetings from the Imperial Sovereign Gem Court of Idaho and the 32nd Reign. We wish to convey our sincere appreciation to our members who so unselfishly give of their time and effort to represent our organization in such an outstanding manner. It is important that we pause and extend words of encouragement and our appreciation to those who are so willing to step up to the plate and deliver devoted work; and in many cases receive nothing more than the satisfaction of having been there for all of us. This is not sufficient reward for all they do, but they do not complain.
Too often we fail to recognize the positive side of what is being done for our organization and community by those such as our very capable Privy Council, our Jerry Swett and Jimmy Moore Administrators and all those who give of their time to promote our events that raise much needed funds for people in this community. From the bottom of our hearts we wish to extend our very sincere thanks.
We salute every member of the ISGCI and members of other organizations who give of themselves to help support and move our community forward. The ISGCI has a fine organization to build upon. Let us build and work together and always make sure that our remarks and actions are a reflection of respect to our members, organization and community. We feel strongly that respect and courtesy pays dividends and if we follow that rule we can all expect a great “paycheck” at the end of the day.
Nationally the Imperial Court System has been working hard to raise funds for the Matthew Shepard Foundation, which recently celebrated a great success with the passage of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act. This measure expands the 1969 United States federal hate-crime law to include crimes motivated by a victim's actual or perceived gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability.
The bill also:
· removes the prerequisite that the victim be engaging in a federally-protected activity, like voting or going to school;
· gives federal authorities greater ability to engage in hate crimes investigations that local authorities choose not to pursue;
· provides $5 million per year in funding for fiscal years 2010 through 2012 to help state and local agencies pay for investigating and prosecuting hate crimes;
· requires the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to track statistics on hate crimes against transgender people (statistics for the other groups are already tracked).
Here in Idaho we have been busy over the last few months. In October entourages from the ISGCI and the Emperor and Empress traveled to Spokane and to Portland for their annual coronations. Our thanks to the many members of this organization who represented Idaho so well during our travels – we are truly proud of you.
As we write this we prepare for “Red Ribbon Bash” a show to raise money for the Jerry Swett Fund which helps support Idahoans living with HIV and AIDS. We also get ready to celebrate with our friends at Allies Linked for the Prevention of HIV and AIDS (a.l.p.h.a.) at Forever RED. We wish to congratulate this fine organization on their many good works and are proud to have been a sponsor at the event. We also prepare to celebrate with our friends of the Imperial Sovereign Rainbow Court of Northern Utah at their annual Coronation in Ogden, Utah.
Our annual Christmas show is coming up on Dec. 4th which is titled “I’ll Be Warm for Christmas” and will be held at 8pmn at the Balcony Club. The cover is $5 but if you bring a warm winter coat to donate to a veteran in need your cover will be waived. This is our small way to salute the fine men and women of America’s armed forces and those who have served and sacrificed for their country. We will also have a show on Friday, December 18th at 8:30 pm at the Neurolux titled “8 Crazy Nights” which will be filled with plenty of comedy routines. Also don’t forget to buy raffle tickets to win a 32” flat screen TV donated by Tom Woodward to help us raise money for our scholarship fund. As always for more information keep checking our recently re-designed website at www.idahogemcourt.org.
We would like to thank the fine establishments in Boise that allow us to raise so many needed funds for our community: The Visual Arts Collective; the Lucky Dog Tavern; the Balcony Club; the Neurolux; Firefly Lounge; Pitchers and Pints and so many other groups and businesses that continue to help us succeed.
In parting we wish you a fun-filled and safe holiday season.
HMISM JD Morgan, Emperor 32 of all Idaho
HMISM Selena Blaque, Empress 32 of all Idaho
HMISH Andrea Morgan, Crown Princess 32 of all Idaho
No comments:
Post a Comment