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by Elena Taylor-Garcia
In an effort to improve communication with other organizers and ordinary gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender folks across the state, the Vermont Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights will make some changes in its organizational structure this winter.
The Coalition will actively recruit representatives from various GLBT organizations throughout Vermont to serve on its Board of Directors. In the past, individual members served on the Board.
"We need to have comprehensive mechanisms in place to coordinate resources, stop duplication and utilize what we each have to offer," reflected Coalition co-chair Keith Goslant. "When the by-laws change and we look at, for example, work on the freedom to marry, we can ask ourselves, 'What can I do in my own community to be supportive?'"
Much of the impetus for change came from the leadership summit Out In The Mountains hosted for GLBT organizers at Goddard College in July of 1998.
Another reason for the change is to distribute the work of the Coalition in a more realistic and practical way, according to co-chair Virginia Renfrew. "I've been involved on the Board for the past four years. It seems to me that individuals come to the Board with great ideas but are often too busy for follow through. Another problem is communication. This gives us an opportunity to find out what each organization is doing and for each organization to find out what VCLGR is doing on the mainstream political end of things. If someone from a certain organization is on the Board, they can say, 'we're doing this,' and then we can figure out how VCLGR can support that."
Labor and money issues are forcing the Coalition to make tough decisions about how to spend their time and resources. Renfrew surmised that the new members might choose to drop the conference from the Coalition's agenda in the future because of the heavy workload and expense. "We have been spending more money on it than it has been bringing in," she noted. "A lot will depend on what happens in the next four months. If the churches pour money into the state to fight legal same-gender marriage, that might spark people up to have another statewide conference and say, 'This is something I want to attend.'"
While the structure and composition of the Board is changing, VCLGR's mission remains the same. Both co-chairs expressed their commitment to representing GLBT interests in mainstream politics. "Some organizations have identified that they may not accept an invitation to send a representative to the Board simply because mainstream politics is not a part of their mission. And that's fine," said Goslant. "However, we remain committed to building a mechanism for representing GLBT interests in mainstream politics and especially in Vermont state government. We believe that VCLGR and street activists can work in coalition together."
In addition to members representing different GLBT organizations, the Board will also continue to welcome individual members who are not affiliated with any particular group.
