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Anniversary Dinner
Year Fifty (2019)
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In the Fall of each year, Dignity/Los Angeles celebrates the anniversary of
its founding in 1969, as the very first chapter of what became the nationwide Dignity movement. Thus in 2019,
the Anniversary Dinner marked the 50th anniversary since the founding of Dignity. It was held at the Pasadena Hilton
in Pasadena, California, on October 12, 2019.
At each annual Anniversary Dinner, the chapter customarily makes an award donation to one or more
worthy causes that are in the community and related to the chapter's mission. This year two such donations were made,
one to Project Angel Food, Los Angeles, and the other to ONE Archives at the USC Libraries. Jason Frazier and Ben Martin
(shown in one of the photos below) accepted the award donation on behalf of Project Angel Food; and Joseph R. Hawkins (shown in one
of the photos below) accepted the award donation on behalf of ONE Archives at the USC Libraries.
The chapter Vice-President, Tim Roberts, took a leading role in organizing this Anniversary Dinner event; and
Isai Reyes (partner of long-time chapter member Jason Tveit) served as the event emcee. Tim and Isai can be seen in
some of the photos below.
Additional candid photos taken at the event also appear below (but also seethe note at the bottom of this page
as to why still more are not shown in the photos):
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GUEST SPEAKER
At the celebration, the Special Guest Speaker was Mary E. Hunt, Ph.D., a feminist theologian who
is a co-founder and co-director of the Women's Alliance for Theology, Ethics, & Ritual (the acronym:
WATER). She also authored a moving tribute to Dignity from WATER, which appeared in the Program
booklet for the event. Click
here
to read that tribute; and to read the text of her speech at the event, click
here.
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At the celebration, Isai Reyes was the spirited Master of Ceremonies for the program of the evening.
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At the celebration, chapter President Michael Rademacher (right) is shown
with guest and former member Greg McFarland.
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At the celebration, chapter Treasurer Liz Larsen was in attendance and presented the chapter's Award Donation to Project Angel Food, Los Angeles.
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During the celebration, former chapter President Kevin Steen shared some
reflections on the history of the chapter.
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At the celebration, former chapter President Fr. Jim Maier (right) is shown with his partner John Turk (left).
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At the celebration, chapter member Patrick O'Brien (left) is visiting with former
chapter President Gabino Cabanilla (standing) and chapter Social Committee
Chairperson Aldo Falcinella (seated to the right).
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At the celebration, the Guest Speaker, Mary E. Hunt, is shown with Fr. Adrian
Ravarour of the Church of the Beloved Disciple.
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Shown at the celebration is Jason Tveit, who is the chapter Liturgy Committee
chairperson and a former chapter President.
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At the celebration, are shown chapter members Patrick O'Brien (seated at
the left) and John Nangle (seated in the background), with former chapter
member Michael Macchiarella (at center) and former chapter President
Gabino Cabanilla (at right). The latter three now reside in Palm Springs area.
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At the celebration, Guest Speaker Mary E. Hunt is shown with the chapter Vice
President, Tim Roberts.
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At the celebration, John Butkis (at the left), a former chapter President and
the current lead chairperson of the Palm Springs chapter, is shown with his
partner Pablo Cuadras (at the right).
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At the celebration, former chapter President Fr. Jim Maier (at the left) is shown with a local
artist, John Swanson (at the right), some of whose art work adorns a worship space at the
chapter's Dignity Center.
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At the celebration, former chapter members David Valenzuela (seated at the left) and partner Bill LaMarche (seated at the right),
from the Palm Springs area, visit with chapter member Jay Getman (standing).
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Shown visiting at the celebration are two Dignity San Fernando Valley members
Jim Cummings (at the left) and Fr. Todd Scull (at the right).
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At the celebration, are Dignity San Fernando Valley members Julio Diaz (at the left) and Roberto Garcia (at the right).
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At the celebration, Dignity San Fernando Valley members Richard Heredia (at
the left) and Giovanni Molin (at the center) chat with chapter guest Rene S (at
the right).
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At the celebration, chapter guest Fr. John R. (at the left) visits witth Fr. Don
Greene (at the center) and John Mendiola (at the right) who represent Dignity
San Diego.
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At the celebration, are chapter guests Fr. Adrian Ravarour (at the left) of the
Church of the Beloved Disciple, John Turk (at the center), and David Kennedy
(at the right) who represents the Leadership and Education Committees of the
Catholic Ministry With Lesbian and Gay Persons.
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At the celebration, are Carl Matthes (at the right), President of UGLA (Uptown
Gay and Lesbian Alliance), with his guest Edmond Khachi (at the left).
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At the celebration, representing ONE Archives at the USC Libraries, recipient
of an award donation from the chapter, is Joseph R. Hawkins, the Drirector of
ONE Archives.
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At the celebration, representing Project Angel Food of Los Angeles, recipient
of an award donation from the chapter, are Ben Martin (at the left), the Client
Services Manager, and Jason Frazier (at the right), the Major Gifts Officer.
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At the celebration, vocalist Simone Simmons provided musical entertainment
for the event.
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At the celebration, there was a Program Booklet; and a
copy of its cover is shown above.
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Several others (including those listed below) attended
but do not appear in any photo (due to our lacking any
suitable photo):
Laura Okazaki
Corporate Secretary of the chapter
Dirk Farasey
Christian Service chairperson of the chapter
Keith Kimball
former chapter President
Al Kalian
former chapter President and
now Dignity San Diego member
Rev Nori Kieran-Meredith
frequent Liturgy Presider at Dignity SFV
along with several other members thereof
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