SoVo readers’ local male hero is a familiar face — or two. By day,
Jim Marks serves as chief financial officer and director of operations for the
NAMES Project Foundation, keepers of the AIDS memorial quilt. By night, Marks
transforms into camp drag legend Bubba D. Licious, tirelessly raising money for
HIV related causes. Second place went to U.S. Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), a civil
rights legend long known for his support of gay rights. Third place was a tie
between Allen Thornell, Georgia Equality executive director; Bill King, former
nurse at the Gay & Lesbian Center clinic; Fulton County Commissioner Robb
Pitts, sponsor of a successful bill granting domestic partner benefits to county
workers; and Dr. David Reznick of the Grady Infectious Disease Program.
For the second consecutive year, Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin is our readers’ female
local hero. A no-nonsense politician known for accessibility, Franklin continues
to welcome gays to her political table — supporting a gay tourism initiative,
visiting gay organizations and speaking at Gay Pride. Second place went to
Donna Narducci, executive director of Atlanta Pride; lesbian Q100 DJ Melissa
Carter took third.
When the Georgia General Assembly held hearings over the summer on a statewide
civil rights bill, Dana Brown-Owings was there. Owings, a technical service
representative at IBM, told legislators how her employer accepted her as she
transitioned from male to female, but many more transgendered people aren’t
as lucky. But Brown-Owings, director of operations for Trans=Action, is doing
everything she can to change that. In addition to working for transgender rights
on the state level, her advocacy helped IBM adopt a landmark gender identity
non-discrimination policy in 2002. A tie for second place includes Monica Helms
and Sir Jesse of Decatur.
Another win for Mayor Shirley Franklin: The popular Atlanta leader takes first
place from SoVo readers as both our best politician and female local hero.
Even when she’s not on the campaign trail, Franklin continues to reach
out to gay constituents she credited with helping vote her into office. Second
place goes to U.S. Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.). Third place winner Cathy Woolard
became the state’s first openly gay elected official when she won the
Atlanta City Council’s District 6 seat in 1997; in 2001, she was elected
City Council president, the city’s second-highest elected office.
With his restaurant sweeping three categories in our restaurant balloting,
it’s no surprise that SoVo readers voted Brad Williams, owner of Red
Chair Restaurant & Video Lounge, as the city’s best up-and-coming
business person. Williams took a great concept — an restaurant and bar
more upscale than many gay venues — and added enough extras, like the
delightful ban on indoor smoking, to keep packing in patrons. David Diehl placed
second; Gary Sissyon placed third.
 |
| Atlanta’s Rainbow Trout swimming team was voted the city’s
best gay sports team by Southern Voice readers. (Photo by Sher Pruitt) |
Together for five years, Marc Yeager and Roger Levine come from opposite sides
of the political spectrum to become SoVo readers’ most dynamic couple.
Yeager is perhaps best known to gay Atlantans as president of the Georgia Log
Cabin Republicans. Levine served as a campaign volunteer for U.S. Rep. Denise
Majette, a Democrat from Atlanta. The couple has a long list of volunteer activities.
Yeager serves on the national board of Log Cabin and is a 2003 graduate of
the Coverdell Leadership Institute; Levine is co-chair of Lutherans Concerned
Atlanta and a board member for the Atlanta Interfaith AIDS Network; both are
also active with their church. Second place from SoVo readers goes to John
Gibson and Anthony Morris, of Ansley Park Playhouse and Peachtree Playhouse,
while Tim Wright and Tommy Field took third.
Pets matter to SoVo readers, who named Pets Are Loving Support as the city’s
most effective non-profit agency. Known for creative fund-raisers like the
popular monthly theme bingo, PALS helps people with HIV and other serious illnesses
keep their pets by providing aid with food and veterinary care. AID Atlanta,
the city’s oldest and largest AIDS agency, took second place; Project
Open Hand, which provides meals to people with HIV and other conditions, won
third.
Located in the heart of Midtown at 781 Peachtree St., St. Mark’s United
Methodist Church is a familiar sight to anyone who walking the parade route
for Pride. For years now, St. Mark’s boasts an “our doors are open
to all” policy and an active gay membership, so it comes as no surprise
that it’s the church of choice for our readers. First Metropolitan Community
Church was voted second and Oakhurst Baptist placed third.
Whether competing in swimming and water polo meets around the country or hosting
the hilarious “Splash” competition at the Piedmont Park Pool during
June’s Gay Pride festival, the Atlanta Rainbow Trout wins the love of
SoVo readers, who voted the group as the city’s best gay sports team.
Woofs’ Wackers, a team in the gay Hotlanta Softball League, took second
place, while the Atlanta Team Tennis Association — hosts of annual Labor
Day weekend Peach Tennis Tournament — took third.
 |
| Arrested for violating Texas’ ban on same-sex sodomy, John
Lawrence and Tyron Garner took their fight to the U.S. Supreme Court, winning a
stunning victory that knocked out sodomy laws around the country. (Photo
by AP) |
Readers agree: The biggest gay rights win of the year — in fact, of decades — came
June 27, when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned sodomy laws around the nation
and affirmed gay citizens’ privacy rights in the case of Lawrence v.
Texas. “The state cannot demean their existence or control their destiny
by making their private sexual conduct a crime,” Justice Anthony M. Kennedy
wrote in the majority opinion. Activists hope the precedent could eventually
pave the way for gay marriage. Second place from SoVo readers went to the Fulton
County Commission’s recent approval of domestic partner benefits for
county workers; in a nod to the power of pop culture, third place is Bravo’s “Queer
Eye for the Straight Guy.”
Vermont shouldn’t be the only state where gay couples can have most of
the legal rights of marriage, according to SoVo readers who voted civil unions
first on the list of issues needing more attention. Vermont’s landmark
civil union law lets gay couples have all rights of marriage under state law,
though they still aren’t recognized under federal law. Now more than
20 years into the HIV epidemic, our readers voted finding a cure for AIDS as
second on the gay agenda. Third place went to the fight for equal adoption
rights for gays, a critical issue with thousands of children languishing in
foster care around the country.
