Out In The Mountains : News - Town Meeting to be Resurrected

One of Vermont’s oldest organizations for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people is asking for help from the community to coordinate a statewide meeting.

After a year’s hiatus, the Vermont Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights will host the 2000 Conference/Town Meeting at the Vermont Technical College on October 21.

“We didn’t do a town meeting last year, and people keep telling us how much they missed it,” said VCLGR co-liason Virginia Renfrew. The 1998 meeting was held in Burlington on the campus of the University of Vermont. The small crowd attending disappointed the organizers, so they opted not to hold a 1999 event.

Paying close attention to the feedback the organization received from the 1998 conference, Renfrew said she was careful to check the community calendar before booking a date. The Randolph location is as central for the state as possible, so travel will be about equal for everyone.

In the past, the conference has been a day filled with workshops, exhibits by community organizations, and a community forum known by most as the Queer Town Meeting. Renfrew anticipates basically the same set up for this year, but says those kinds of decisions will be made by the planning committee. The Gill Foundation OutGiving workshop slated for the same day will be one of the workshops offered at the conference. (See story on page 2 for more details.)

The VCLGR is looking for community members to serve on the planning committee and to help out on the day of the event.

Renfrew is asking for help from the members of the community in designing the structure and content of the event. The 1998 meeting drew very little advance input from other people. “ A very few of us ended up doing most of the last one, and many people weren’t happy with how it turned out,” said Renfrew. “We really want lots of people involved in making this one happen,” she said. She is particularly eager to have youth involvement.

“There couldn’t be a better year for our community to have a town meeting,” said Bill Lippert, the executive director of the Samara Foundation of Vermont and a member of the Vermont House of Representatives.

While VCLGR acknowledges that the passage of the civil union legislation has energized the Vermont GLBTs, they don’t intend to have the conference focus solely on that subject. “There are a lot of things people want to see covered,” said Renfrew.

VCLGR membership has languished in recent years. The group hopes that the renewed energy they’ve seen in the community this spring will carry over to this event and further so that the organization can restructure and rebuild its membership. “I’m committed to sticking with this until a new group – the next generation – is ready to take over,” said Renfrew.

The cost of this year’s conference will be $25.00 per person, although no one will be turned away for lack of funds. The first planning meeting will be held at the offices of Zatz and Renfrew in Montpelier at 7 pm on August 22.