(Photo by Samantha Ponzillo)
GULFPORT, Fla. | OUT Arts & Culture held the organization’s inaugural OUTies Awards Gayla May 31 at the Gulfport Casino, celebrating their rebrand with local organizations that have supported their mission.
Festivities began with music from DJ Lucy Blu and a welcome from OUT Arts and Culture President Paul Raker. He thanked sponsors for their contributions as and desserts were laid out for attendees to enjoy throughout the night.
The gala continued with a performance from emcee Brianna Summers. The evening’s awards were handed out after that; honorees included the Gulfport Public Library as the City of Gulfport Ally; Pinellas Community Foundation as the Foundation Ally; Raymond James Pride Inclusion Network as the Corporate Ally; Florida Humanities as the Nonprofit Ally; Stetson College of Law as the Education Ally; Gulfperk Coffee Bar as the Small Business Ally and Watermark, which was honored as this year’s Media Ally.
A special Founders Award was also presented to the 2019 LGBTQ Resource Center board and others who established the LGBTQ Resource Center. The honorees included Patty Callaghan, Molly Ellowis, Susan Gore, Daniel Hodge, Gerald Notaro, Phyllis Plotnick, Alison Solomon, Greg Stemm and Bill Ward.
“This has been my privilege and my passion,” Gore told the crowd. “We have been just blessed, and I don’t use that word lightly. We have been blessed by your support and my hope is that support will continue for the next five years.”
Watermark was honored to be recognized at this year’s event. View our photos below.
Photos by Samantha Ponzillo.
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