St. Petersburg – St. Pete Pride announced the 2016 grand marshals for the 14th annual St. Pete Pride Parade at a kick-off event at Enigma Bar & Lounge April 19.
After holding an open selection process during the month of March in which the community voted for their grand marshals, three individuals and one organization were selected.
The individual grand marshals are Anastasia “Annie” Hiotis, Lucas Aiden Wehle and Miguel Fuller.
Hiotis is the chief operating officer of the law firm of Carlton Fields and has been involved with Equality Florida since 2009. Along with Connie Lancaster, her partner of 24 years, Hoitis has supported the Tampa Bay International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, sponsoring its annual launch party since 2011.
Wehle is the trans and youth Coordinator for Metro Wellness & Community Centers. Since his own transition, Wehle has helped to raise awareness to trans issues, developed and led workshops and mentored other trans students in the Tampa Bay area.
Fuller is the host of “The Miguel Show,” a weekday morning radio broadcast on Cox Media Group’s HOT 101.5 FM, making him the first openly gay, African American radio host in Tampa Bay. Fuller began the show with co-host Holly O’Connor a year ago and since has won several readers’ choice awards for Best Radio Personality, including Watermark’s 2016 WAVE Award. Fuller has worked with AIDS Walk Tampa Bay and recorded PSA’s on HIV testing for AIDS Services Association of Pinellas (ASAP).
Friends of the Festival Inc. (FOF) was the organization selected as a community grand marshal. FOF produces the Tampa Bay International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival which began in 1990. Since its inception, the festival have showcased thousands of features, documentaries and short films made by and for the LGBTQ+ community.
“The 2016 Grand Marshal class is our most diverse yet and truly showcases the best of our community,” St Pete Pride Board President Scion Provenzano said in a press release. “They represent everything we are and can be, and are true role models for future generations.”
Along with the community grand marshals, St. Pete Pride chooses an honorary grand marshal each year. This year they have selected U.S. Representative Kathy Castor who is the voice of Florida’s 14th District.
Castor has represented the district since 2006 and is the first woman to represent Hillsborough and Pinellas counties in the U.S. Congress. Castor was the lone supporter in recognizing Pride celebrations in Hillsborough County in 2005 when she was a County Commissioner.
St. Pete Pride will be celebrated the last weekend of June, with a nighttime parade June 25 and the Pride festival June 26.
With an estimated 250,000 combined attendance over Pride weekend, St. Pete Pride is the largest diversity event in the state of Florida each year. The parade averages over 4,000 walkers and more than 150 groups annually.
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