|
In the Fall of each year, Dignity/Los Angeles celebrates the anniversary of
its founding in 1969, as the very first chapter of Dignity. In 2012, the Anniversary
Dinner for this 43rd anniversary was held in the Oak Room at the Sportsmen's Lodge Events
Center, in Studio City, California, on Saturday, October 13, 2012.
At the event this year, the featured guest speaker was Pax Nidorf, the founder
of Dignity; and at the bottom of this page, there is a link to the text of his remarks at
the event. As an active priest at the time, he founded Dignity in 1969 by hosting
meetings of concerned GLBT Catholics. At the event, he was awarded a commemorative
plaque to mark his role in the founding of Dignity and this anniversary of it; and below there
are photos of him delivering his remarks and of the plaque.
At the Anniversary Dinner each year, the chapter honors at least one individual with
its Archangel Award, for his or her long-standing service to the chapter and the GLBTQ community.
This year, the Archangel Award was given to Fr. Jim Maier, who is shown accepting the award in one
of the photos below.
At the Anniversary Dinner each year, the chapter also gives a cash grant to help support
some worthy GLBTQ community cause. The grant this year was given to ONE National Gay & Lesbian
Archives; and one of its representatives is shown in a photo below accepting the grant. The
archives already has a substantial collection of archived items regarding the history of Dignity,
especially of the chapter.
The chapter is in the process of gathering still more materials on its history. At the
Anniversary Dinner this year, there was a presentation (under the supervision of Frank Miller)
focused on a video (recently restored) of some early events in the history of Dignity. Footage
featuring now-deceased Jesuit priest and chapter member James Fleck on early chapter dealings
with the archdiocese was among the footage shown at the event.
Chapter president Liz Larsen made the arrangements for this year's event; and she also served
as the emcee at the event.
Throughout the course of the evening, guests were invited to take part in a traditional
Silent Auction. It featured four tables of assorted treasures, gift items, and art works.
Below are some candid photos taken at the event:
|
