Tulsa to host Heartland Pride Summit

The Heartland Pride Summit will convene on Friday, February 7.

The Tulsa Pride team is gearing up to host the Inaugural Heartland Pride Summit in February at Oklahomans for Equality’s Dennis R. Neill Equality Center.

With organizers from 23 LGBT organizations and 12 states convening in Tulsa on February 7, Pride teams from across the United States will be sharing ideas and discussing ways to grow and improve festivals around the country. “We worked hard to have a variety of presenters who have extensive experience in the areas they are covering,” said Patrick French, Tulsa Pride Director.

“The idea for this conference came after members of the Tulsa Pride team attended InterPride in Boston two years ago,” French said. “I knew there were so many small to mid-sized Prides in our neck of the woods that would benefit from a conference with like-sized organizations.

“The summit will have sessions covering topics like insurance coverage, free web and social media tools, safety and security, and year-round programming for Pride. Presenters represent a variety of Pride organizations as well as business people who are subject matter experts in their field.”

Noah Spiegel, a former Tulsan and now Nashville Opera COO, is a presenter at the Summit. Spiegel says, "I'm inspired by the new Heartland Pride Summit, which shows how Tulsa Pride and OkEq have truly taken LGBT advocacy for our community and region to a new level."

The Tulsa Pride team has evening activities arranged for the attendees, designed to showcase Tulsa’s LGBT nightlife, including a special performance of Tabitha Taylor’s Twisted Theater at New Age Renegade.

French says “We’re excited to be able to provide these learning and networking opportunities to our neighbors, and we’re looking forward to an amazing conference and a great time spent with our fellow Pride organizers.”

by Mandy Winton, special to The Gayly

(Mandy Winton serves as the Tulsa Pride Social Media and marketing Coordinator. Tulsa Pride is a program of Oklahomans for Equality).

The Gayly – February 4, 2014 @ 12:30pm