The Tampa Bay Business Guild took the opportunity at its annual Awards Banquet Nov. 9 to honor Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio for her dedication to the LGBT community since taking office in 2003.
The board of the guild voted on this year’s recipient, and TBBG President Cory Jeffries said Iorio was the obvious choice as “Citizen of the Year.”
“We want to honor her for her continued support of the LGBT community and all that she does for the City of Tampa,” Jeffries said.
Iorio will leave office in March after two highly-successful terms in office, especially in areas of economics, business and LGBT equality.
“We hope the next incoming mayor will pick up where she left off,” Jeffries said.
Hillsborough County Commissioner Kevin Beckner presented Iorio with the award at the banquet, which was at the Center Club on Westshore Boulevard in Tampa. This was Beckner’s second time as a guest presenter at the annual event. He presented the same award to Mark Bias and Carrie West in 2009.
While Iorio was definitely the highest-profile recipient of an award this year, she was by no means the only one. The TBBG honored several other area residents as well.
The TBBG board of directors voted Linda Garrabrant as the 2010 Outstanding Volunteer. Garrabrant has assisted in numerous fundraising efforts for LGBT and other charities on both sides of Tampa Bay.
Francis House received the award for Outstanding LGBT Organization. The Tampa-based organization provides HIV/AIDS services to Tampa Bay residents.
And the 2010 TBBG Volunteer award went to Joe Soska of Olympus Printing.
The awards ceremony also honored allies of the LGBT community and this year the board recognized Sue Cooperstreet of the St. Pete Chamber of Commerce as Outstanding LGBT Ally of the Year.
The Guild meets monthly on alternating sides of Tampa Bay
