Orlando photographer, artist and ambassador of beards Lee Vandergrift announces that his Beard Envy project will be coming to an end. As of April 1 (please say it’s an April Fool’s joke) Vandergrift had brushed out and photographed his last beard for the project. Beard Envy started out in 2014 as a fun way to capture pictures of great beards in the Central Florida area but gained a following that spawned into a Facebook fan page, a men with fabulous beards calendar and hopefully a soon to be released book.
After nine months of rolling, patting and marking with a D, Watermark’s digital director Jamie Hyman and her husband Matt Huertas welcomed a beautiful bouncing baby boy, Dexter, April 10. Since his birth Dexter has successfully maintained his supremacy of all of Watermark’s most adorable moments (sorry Billy).
Third times the charmer. Liquid Tampa celebrated their third anniversary with a blowout party featuring a performance by out and proud ex-NSYNCer Lance Bass April 11. Bass has strong ties to Florida since his days with the popular boyband and jumped at the chance to perform at the hopping club where he also participated in a meet and greet and photo opportunity. Bass continued his love of all things Florida by joining forces with Visit Orlando to promote Central Florida as an LGBT tourist destination in May.
Diane Sawyer sits down with Olympic champion Bruce Jenner for a one-on-one interview on ABC’s 20/20 April 24 where he announced “for all intents and purposes, I am a woman.” The two-hour interview where Jenner talked about his transition, his family and his fame was watched by 17.1 million people and expanded the spotlight on transgender issues in America. Jenner would later announce that she goes by the name of Caitlyn on the cover of Vanity Fair.
Oh, it’s sooo good. John Michael Catering celebrated 20 years in business April 19, not only as a catering company but as a charitable juggernaut. With donations to more than 50 events, mostly fundraisers and non-profits, John Michael Catering was named the 14th most philanthropic company by the Orlando Business Journal being named alongside massive corporations like Dardin Restaurants, Orlando Magic and Panera Bread, and if you have not tasted those bacon wrapped meatballs then you are first not attending enough charity events and second missing out on a piece of heaven.
They do it for the kids. The Orlando Youth Alliance celebrated 25 years as a safe space for LGBT youth in April. Since their inception more than 1,300 young people have been a part of the program (including Watermark publisher Rick Claggett). OYA celebrated the milestone with a reception for alumni, donors and the youth. OYA looks to include a scholarship process and get involved with schools without a Gay/Straight Alliance in the coming year.
Flush it down, at least as a part of the 2015 legislative year. The notorious “bathroom bill” was killed in committee as the Florida House adjourned three days early due to a budget impasse with the Senate over Medicaid expansion April 28. Throughout the entire legislative year, State Rep. Frank Atiles of Miami, who introduced the bill, maintained the bill was not an attack on the transgender community. The bill looked to force people using a public restroom to use the one that aligned with their gender at birth and not the gender a person identified with.
