2005 Awardees

·  Mary Bonauto, Great Pioneer Award for achievement that embodies bold new vision or courageous break-through in our struggle for equality. Mary Bonauto has been the Civil Rights Project Director at Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) since 1990. She was lead counsel in the 2003 case of Goodridge v. Dept. of Public Health, which resulted in the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court declaring that prohibiting civil marriage for same-sex couples is unconstitutional. 

·   Rep. Benjamin Dudley, Larry Connolly Award for outstanding legislative service and leadership. First elected to the Maine House of Representatives in 1998, Ben Dudley is currently serving his fourth term in the legislature. In 2004, he sponsored and worked tirelessly to pass legislation establishing Maine’s first domestic partnership registry and providing inheritance protections for same-sex partners.

·  Paul Fuller, Community Service Award for outstanding service to Maine’s LGBT community. Paul Fuller’s contributions to the community include many years of service as an AIDS buddy; his leadership in the business community; his walk from Calgary, Canada to Kittery, Maine in support of equal rights; and much, much more.

·  Jamie Gibson, Community Service Award for outstanding service to Maine’s LGBT community. Jamie’s leadership crosses many organizations, as an active speaker with Maine Speakout Project, co-chair of Allen Avenue Unitarian Universalist Church’s Diversity and Welcoming Committee, and member of the planning committee for the 2005 Transgender Day of Remembrance.

·  David Hilton, F.E. Pentlarge Award for exceptional work that upholds and promotes family within our community. For nearly two years, David Hilton has worked tirelessly to bring Portland school board practice into compliance with the city’s 1992 anti-discrimination ordinance, urging the school board to discontinue its practice of allowing the Boy Scouts (who prohibit openly queer people from participating in their activities) to recruit students and disseminate materials.

·  Gloria Leach, Cameron Duncan Award for extraordinary accomplishment, commitment and service within the AIDS community. Gloria has been in the forefront of the battle against AIDS for many years in Cumberland county and across the state. As Executive Director of Merrymeeting AIDS Support Services, she has led the way in education, advocacy and services to combat AIDS.

·   Maine Jewish Film Festival, Media Award for exceptional commentary on LGBT and civil rights issues. Since its founding nearly a decade ago, the Maine Jewish Film Festival has demonstrated its ongoing commitment to the LGBT community through yearly programming of innovative and often controversial films about explicitly queer subjects.

·  Youth Leadership Advisory Team (YLAT), Youth in Leadership Award for youth leaders in recognition of their contributions to the broader LGBT community. Based at the Muskie School of Public Service, YLAT youth leaders have been instrumental making Maine safer for LGBT youth in state custody by providing advocacy, resources, publications, training and forums to address the needs of queer youth in care.

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Table Captains

When you become a Table Captain ($500 per table of 10), we'll provide reserved seating and a sign for your table featuring your name or your organization's name. Email quineast@equalitymaine.org or call 761-3732 to reserve your table today. (Tables may also be purchased online or by credit card, but when you pay by check, 100% of your purchase goes to Equality Maine - no fees!) 

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Sponsorship & Advertising Opportunities

$1,000 Platinum Patron

• Full-page ad in program book
• Opportunity to display business brochures or other promotional materials at banquet
• Sponsorship recognized in all media advertisements and promotional materials
• Sponsorship prominently displayed at the event
• Recognition from the stage at the banquet
• 8 tickets to the 21^st Annual Awards Banquet (& sponsor table sign)

Confirmed business sponsors at this level include ET Transportation, Hannaford Supermarkets, Honeck O'Toole, innewsweekly, Norway Savings Bank, Portland Phoenix, Portland Press Herald, Time Warner Cable, Verizon, and Vogel & Dubois, PA.

$500 Frontrunner

• Full-page (4 ¾ ” w x 7 ½ ” h) advertisement in banquet program book
• Recognition from the stage at the banquet
• 6 tickets to the 21^st Annual Awards Banquet

Confirmed business and organizational sponsors at this level include Tanya Busch (Realtor with Coldwell Banker), Coffee By Design, Diversified Communications, Nancy Field (Realtor with McFarlane & Field Associates, Keller Williams Realty), Holiday Inn By the Bay, Human Rights Campaign, Monahan Associates, Reali Realty and Videoport.

$300 Benefactor

• Half-page advertisement in banquet program book (4 ¾ ” w x  3 ½ ” h horizontal or 2 ¼ ” w x  7 ½ ” h vertical)
• 4 tickets to the 21^st Annual Awards Banquet

Confirmed business and organizational sponsors at this level include Maine Women's Fund, Cote Dow Accounting, Maine Community Foundation and American Cancer Society.

$175 Partner

• Quarter-page (2 ¼ ” w x  3 ½ ” h) advertisement in banquet program book
• 2 tickets to the 21^st Annual Awards Banquet

Confirmed business and organizational sponsors at this level include the Freeman Fund of the Unity Foundation.

$100 Advocate

• Eighth-page (2 ¼ ” w x  1 ¾ ” h) advertisement in banquet program book
• 1 ticket to the 21^st Annual Awards Banquet

Confirmed business sponsors at this level include Roberta Bass (LCSW), Cafe Bluefish, Alfred DePew (Life Coach), Dos Logos, The Greenshoe Group, I Love Flowers and Norma Kraus Eule (MSW, LCSW).  

To have logos included in posters, invitations, advertisements and other promotional materials, Signature Sponsor and Platinum Patron sponsorships must be received no later than December 15, 2004.  For inclusion of advertisements and to be listed as a sponsor in the banquet program book, all sponsorships (and accompanying logos and artwork) must be received by February 15, 2005.

To reserve your sponsorship, contact Erica Quin-Easter, Development Director, at 761-3732 or quineast@equalitymaine.org or send your check to Equality Maine Foundation, PO Box 1951, Portland ME 04104. (Sponsorships may also be made online or by credit card, but when you pay by check, 100% of your sponsorship dollars go to Equality Maine - no fees!)