Montana Diary: Amazing LGBTQ leaders!
L-R: Brian Ecklund, Cathy Cooney, Caitlin Copple, DJ Lopez, Bob Engel at the Congregational Community Church in Kalispell Jan. 25
In the past 10 days, I’ve been hanging out with LGBTQ Montanans and our allies in Butte, Great Falls, Kalispell, and Helena, and I’ve been amazed at their generosity and warmth as they welcome Pride Foundation in Montana into their communities and lives. Over a drink at the historic Finlen Hotel in Butte, America, the town which electrified the U.S. thanks to its copper mines, I heard from Rick Holman about the needs of the gay and HIV/AIDS community.
In Great Falls, I met with leaders of the Metropolitan Community Church, which functions as a community center for the LGBTQ community there, and heard about the need for more healthcare options for the trans community.
In Kalispell, straight ally Cathy Cooney put together a meet and greet reception for me at the local congregational church, and I met about 20 Flathead County residents and connected with the local PFLAG chapter. We played Pride Foundation Trivia and the winner earned the naming rights to my Pride Foundation Pillow Pet, a frog who now goes by “Easy.” Montana’s LGBTQ community is diverse, resilient, and fun, and it has been a privilege to get to know people outside my hometown of Missoula over the past week.
Caitlin and Rep. Diane Sands
As I write this, I’m in Helena, the state capital, in the midst of the Women’s Policy Leadership Institute, which the Pride Foundation is co-sponsoring with Montana Women Vote. Last night, we heard from one of Montana’s three openly gay legislators and one of the foremothers of the women’s movement and LGBTQ movement in the state, Diane Sands. Rep. Sands (D-Missoula) shared a history lesson about women’s efforts to close the gender wage gap. She talked about where we as women fit into the larger movement for equality in our state.
I’ll head back to Missoula tonight but take with me the stories and strength of all the new people I’ve met and look forward to the next trip – to Billings the last week of February!
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