Milestones
Milestones
Bill Youngblood and Roger Barnes of Charlotte held their civil union at their home on the afternoon of July 3, 2000. Roger and Bill, will be celebrating their eleventh anniversary this month and send very special thanks to good friends Brian Gilbar and Roger Monette who attended the event with very short notice.
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Brooke Pearson, attorney for the Department of Employment and Training, became the new President of the National Association of Unemployment Insurance Appellate Boards at its annual conference held in San Francisco in early June. In his acceptance speech, he spoke of the diversity in the organization and how that diversity was not just a strength, but also an opportunity for personal growth and understanding. After identifying himself as a gay man, Brooke challenged the membership to move through and beyond tolerance, acceptance, and passive endorsement and to active affirmation, inclusion, and celebration. His remarks were met with a standing ovation from the 200 members present from around the country. Brooke lives and works in Montpelier, where, in his spare time, he serves on the Planning Commission and the Board of Lost Nation Theater and sings in the Unitarian Church choir and the Vermont Gay Men’s Chorus. Upon occasion, he has been known to act, both up and out, both on and off stage.
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Michael B. Warner and Joseph F. Watson were joined in Civil Union on the evening of July 7, 2000 in a ceremony held at the Leicester Meeting-house. Sylvia Sprigg, Justice of the Peace from Charlotte, certified the Union. Standing up with Mr. Warner was Tracy Holzapfel of Ferrisburgh. Pamela Watson of South Kingston, RI, stood up with her brother. As family members and friends gathered for the ceremony, a rainbow glowed in the eastern sky. Following the ceremony, family and friends gathered for a dessert reception at the couple’s home. This civil union ceremony was a follow-up to their double-ring commitment ceremony held in June of 1993. Mr. Warner, son of Janice and Bernard Warner of Middlebury, and Mr. Watson, son of Marilyn and Joe Watson of Rutland Town, both work in the library at Middlebury College. They will continue to reside in Leicester.
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Moira Donovan and Mary Jean Bouvier were united in civil union on July 7, 2000. Afterwards they escaped for a wonderful weekend in Montreal.