JC Radio Show Debuts on VirtualEntertainment Network

www.MetroEastPride.com

on Behalf of: Metro East Pride
By: Colby Kluthe

October 31, 2010
(BELLEVILLE)
The JC Radio show took to the airwaves Friday night, offering our community the Top 20 Billboard hits, talk, some entertainment gossip, and interviews with artists and celebrities.

While its studios are located at Westport Plaza, the host of the show lives in the Belleville area.
Listen/Watch Live Friday Nights 8-10PM

The first show began it's broadcast at 8pm Friday night, and concluded at 10. JC , the programs host not only counted down the hottest tunes out there, but between sets listeners learned of a "massage gadget" being sold at a St. Clair Square kiosk.

The shows host has worked in media broadcasting for about 10 years, and was excited when the opportunity came up at VE (Virtual Entertainment/ STLTalkRadio)
"I have always believed that dreams are pure thought, An opportunity to discover yourself. So after working at local radio station back in Southern Indiana, I wanted to live my dream of having my own national/global show", says JC.

Over the past few years Metro East Pride has promoted an Austrailian based radio station known as JOY94.9. This broadcast station in Melbourne Austrialia, also web-casts, providing LGBT entertainment on a global scale.

Virtual Entertainment Radio Network studio at the WestPort Plaza in St.Louis.
JC moved to the Belleville area about a year ago, and will take to the air waves again next Friday 8pm to 10.

We are proud to share with you about the JC SHOW, for its ability to share our local stories on a larger stage. Webcasting allows listeners to log in via the internet, and listen or watch live-stream using windows media player, or browser based application.

The show is 2 hours and runs on Friday Nights from 8 - 10 p.m. CST. You can catch my show at http://www.veradionetwork.com/stltalkradio/jcradio.html.

October 2010 Newsletter

www.MetroEastPride.com

VIEW NEWSLETTER IN DETAIL

VIEW OUR NEWSLETTER IN A WEB BROWSER

AT A GLANCE:

BLOCK PARTY OCTOBER 30th
October (7)

• MCCGSL Choir Performs at Sold-Out Scottrade Center...
• "Treasure Drive" Seeks your LGBTHistory Artifacts
• Candlelight Vigil Highlights Local Impact of Teen ...
• TransHaven Missouri changes its name to TransHaven...
• Candlelight Vigil - OCTOBER 11, 2010 in Belleville...
• National Coming Out Day/Candlelight Vigil OCT.11th...
• MEP President Sarah Baldwin prepares for 2011 Season...

MCCGSL Choir Performs at Sold-Out Scottrade Center

www.MetroEastPride.com

(ST. LOUIS)

By: Colby Kluthe

on behalf of: Metro East Pride

For the second year in a row, the Choir of Metropolitan Community Church- St. Louis (MCCGSL) was selected to participate in the "How Sweet the Sound" Gospel concert, which will be held on October 5th at the Scottrade Center in downtown St. Louis.

Photo: MCC of Greater St. Louis is the only LGBT choir to participate in the tour, and has represented our region well over the past two years.

In 2009, MCCGSL Chior was one of 8 choirs selected from more than 200 entries in St. Louis alone. And is the only MCC church in the world selected to participate. How Sweet The Sound is a nationwide gospel choir competition & tour sponsored by Verizon Wireless.

More than 12,000 people attended this year's Concert, with a sold-out venue. Choir director Jerry Smith lead 50 choir members into the 2nd year's competition, and was among only 7 choirs in the St. Louis region selected to perform. Exactly how many choirs auditioned for the 2010 event is unclear, however the 2009 competition had more than 200 entries in St. Louis alone.

Each Chior selected at the regional level receives a cash prize of $5000, with a grand Prize of $10,000. This years regional winner for "large choir" was the New Sunnymount Missionary Baptist Church, followed by the infamous "Rock Church", and rounded out by MCCGSL. Only three large choir entries were invited to participate this year.

MCC of Greater St. Louis
1919 S. Broadway
St. Louis, MO 63104
www.MCCGSL.org

"Treasure Drive" Seeks your LGBTHistory Artifacts

www.MetroEastPride.com
on Behalf of: St. Louis Gay History Project
By: Colby Kluthe
October 23, 2010


(ST. LOUIS)
It may seem to casual visitor to resemble an episode of "Antiques Roadshow", however this Sunday's Treasure Drive seeks to rediscover our history as a local LGBT community.

In recent years, there has been a determined effort to preserve and share the rich heritage of Lesbian, Gay and Transgender history in the St. Louis region.

Photos courtesy of Colin Murphy collection

The group known as the St. Louis Gay History project, lead by several spirited volunteers will be at Bad Dog Bar & Grill this Sunday October 24th to collect artifacts, photos, and stories from anyone who may have items or experiences of interest.
This past summer, a group gathered to share stories about East St. Louis, with stories that dated from the early 1950's. Until recently, the search for local LGBT history was confined to the private collections held at Washington University. This group has not only made our history available to anyone of interest, it will soon be publishing a comprehensive book for an even wider distribution.

Here is how you can help:
Go back into your closet (just for a hot minute) to dig for scrapbooks, photo albums, documents, diaries, movies/videos, magazines, newspapers - anything that documents your own personal and St. Louis' LGBT history over the years. Especially needed is information pre 1990s.

Find items your "not sure about" and perhaps find answers.
There will be formal remarks around 3 pm. AND a special guest appearance by a famous 70s ICON. We have also added a special feature - On Site Scanning.

If you have items you wish to "share" and not "donate", then we can scan or photograph the item on site.
*Ticket Stubs, Brochures, Bulletins & Flyers
*Tee-Shirts, Buttons, novelties
*books, publications, postcards, photos
*video-tapes, film, audio formats ect.
*Written accounts of historical events, people or places
* "What -Have's- You"

Please bring items that you are willing to donate to the Project or items the Project can scan or copy.

Learn more at:
Bad Dog Bar & Grill

3960 Chouteau

Saint Louis, MO

2-6pm OCTOBER 24, 2010


www.stlouisgayhistory.com

stlgayhistory@mac.com

314-740-0298

Candlelight Vigil Highlights Local Impact of Teen Suicides

www.MetroEastPride.com

October 17, 2010
(BELLEVILLE)

by: Colby Kluthe,
Vice-President Metro East Pride 2010-11
(photos by: Colin Murphy)

National Coming Out Day was observed by Metro East Pride (MEP) on October 11th with a Candlelight Vigil and March through historic downtown Belleville.

More than 140 people of all ages and backgrounds gathered at the downtown Carnegie Library in remembrance of recent teen suicides as a result of bullying, and other stresses faced by LGBT youth. A special focus was given to the local impact of suicide, remembering at least 6 individuals locally who have ended their lives in recent years.

The CDC estimates that 149,000 youth between the ages of 10 and 24 receive medical care for selfinflicted injuries at emergency departments across the U.S. each year. *
In June 2010, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn signed HB4672 into law, requiring all educators in public secondary schools undergo suicide prevention training, to recognize the early signs of individuals most at risk.

“We must do everything we can to protect our youngest citizens,” said Governor Quinn. “This new law will help save young lives by making sure schools are better-equipped to monitor suicidal behavior and know when and how to intervene.” *

Metro East Pride, in partnership with TransHaven, Project Safe-Harbor, Daniel McCree Foundation, Gay-Straight Alliance chapters at SIUE & Blackburn College, and local High Schools joined with Q&A-SWIC,
Club Escapade and PFLAG-Belleville. The overwhelming response by the community at large demonstrates the urgency of the issue, as well as concerns by people throughout Southern Illinois & St. Louis Regionally.

Local media coverage included KSDK-TV of St. Louis, the Belleville News-Democrat, and Vital Voice Magazine. MEP President Sarah Baldwin spoke of our individual responsibility for what we say, and for what we hear around us. The challenge being that each of us has an opportunity to put a stop to harassment in both school and work environments.

National Coming Out Day, began in 1987 and is celebrated globally each year as an outward demonstration of support to those who have not yet "Come Out". The Metro East Region has taken on the mantra "you are not alone" as the Global Cry for 2010 has been "It Get's Better".

ST LOUIS REGIONAL :IT GETS BETTER VIDEO (watch now)

VIEW PHOTOS OF BELLEVILLE EVENT

KSDK Television Coverage
w/ MEP President Sarah Baldwin

More information: www.MetroEastPride.com

LOCAL MEMORIALS to those we have lost
(Daniel McCree Foundation)

TransHaven Missouri changes its name to TransHaven, reflecting it's multi-regional outreach.

www.MetroEastPride.com

on behalf of TRANSHAVEN
Oct 15, 2010
(ST. LOUIS)

Our First Year


It has been a while, but we are still here. As you may have noticed, we have changed the name of our operating company to TransHaven. While our corporate entity remains TransHaven Missouri, Inc., we felt ‘TransHaven Missouri’ created unnecessary boundaries to those of our Community living in nearby areas, such as the Metro East Side of St Louis in Illinois that are not served.

We are in fact, working at this time with a small Trans group in Illinois. Our ‘friend base’ on Facebook (which remains TransHaven Missouri) extends to people and organizations within and outside of the United States.

A busy year in our work and advocacy, the establishment of a fixed base of operations in our office suite on Arsenal St in St Louis and attending conferences throughout the nation in Columbus (Ohio), Dallas, Washington, D.C. (where we also lobbied for ENDA), Concord (New Hampshire) Philadelphia, and right back to Columbus in August. And right ‘close to home,’ we work our way to Kansas City and to Jefferson City on Lobby Days, and made our presence known at four Pride Festival events including Paducah (KY) Pride in September.

Photo: TransHaven at Metro East Pride 2010

We have continued to pursue our personal growth and advocacy at such Conferences as Creating Change, the National Transgender Equality Conference, the US Census-LGBT Summit, various state Transgender Conferences, and our Director-At Large Sayer Johnson represented us at Southern Comfort. For next year, we are looking at hosting a Transgender Conference here in St Louis, with the objective of attracting not only Trans attendees from across the nation but also an outreach to the local LGBT Community.

In our work, we have joined two separate local LGBT Coalitions working such issues as the LGBT Homeless and Anti-Violence, working with a number of Transgender Activists across the nation and we are in the process of joining a coalition of state transgender organizations, in which we will share a knowledge base of skills and information in the fight for Equality of the Transgender Community.

Local to St Louis, we have established a monthly Discussion / Support Group for the ‘Gender Community’ (Transsexual, Transgender, GenderQueer and Intersex) and will launch our Trans*Continental Breakfast for the ‘Gender Community’ later this month. Upcoming events include the 1st Annual Trans Family Picnic and we will be sponsoring a film at the St Louis International Film Festival in November and the Transgender Day of Remembrance Memorial to be held on the evening of November 20th.

Dear to our hearts are our Youth and all of the Youth, meaning LGBTIQ Youth inclusively. We have joined the advisory board of Project Safe Harbor and we are working very close with the ‘I Care Campaign.’ That said, we will be announcing our ‘TransLine’ very soon, where we establish a phone number to call for those of the Transgender Community looking for referrals to services and organizations and if need be, a connection to a suicide prevention counselor or other support.

Yes, a lot of work yet to do for the Trans Community and the LGBT Community as a whole, as we step forward for Equality. But we are not looking back.

In Equality,
Robyn

TransHaven
Robyn Carolyn Montague, Chair

Photo: Robyn at MEP Coming Out Day Candlelight Vigil (Belleville Library)

3672A Arsenal St
Saint Louis, Mo 63116
314.329.7660
transhaven@transhaven.org

www.transhaven.org

Candlelight Vigil - OCTOBER 11, 2010 in Belleville

www.MetroEastPride.com

National Coming Out Day/Candlelight Vigil OCT.11th in Belleville

http://www.metroeastpride.com/

on Behalf of Metro East Pride

NATIONAL COMING OUT DAY
& CANDLELIGHT VIGIL MARCH

OCTOBER 11, 2010
BELLEVILLE, IL

Belleville Public Library to Club Escapade

121 E. Washington St.
Belleville, IL 62220

Metro East Pride would like for everyone to join us as we celebrate National Coming Out Day as we host a Candlelight Vigil March through downtown Belleville, IL.

In light of the recent teen suicides globally & locally, we would like for ALL teens to know that you are not alone. Join us as we march from the Belleville Library through the historic streets to Club Escapade.

LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE. Simply bring an open mind and a candle.


Sponsored by:
Metro East Pride

& Belleville PFLAG


www.MetroEastPride.com

FIND US ON FACEBOOK

MEP President Sarah Baldwin prepares for 2011 Season

http://www.metroeastpride.com/

October 1, 2010

on Behalf of Metro East Pride

Metro East Pride is proud to introduce our community to

Sarah Baldwin, who will serve as President of the Board of Directors for the 2011 season.

Metro East Pride is making every effort to be a grassroots organization, that serves and represents the entire Southern Illinois region, in both outreach & support.

Sarah Baldwin is a native of Swansea, IL and has worked in various community organizations of Southern Illinois since she was 14 years old. She and her partner Heather, have two children and are looking forward to serving the LGBT communities in the year ahead.

"I look forward to working with everyone and welcome comments, questions and concerns. Please remember that we are here for more than just the Pride festival. We are here to outreach and assist as often as we can." Explains Sarah.

Metro East Pride (MEP)was founded in 2008, by the Coalition for Economic & Social Justice (CESJ), a San Francisco based 501(c)3 Non-Profit organization. Sarah Baldwin becomes the third President of Metro East Pride, and will be organizing fundraiser activities as well as the "main event" held on June 18, 2011. Among the goals for the 2011 season, MEP hopes to become a free-standing 501(c)3 Non-Profit, and further the causes of equality, and celebration of our regions diversity.

Joining Sarah on the Board of Directors for 2011, is Vice-President Colin Murphy, Senior Writer at Vital Voice Magazine, and returning for the 2011 season is Vice-President Colby Kluthe (2010-2011) and Secretary Chance Baker who served on the 2009 Board of Directors.

Together, the MEP 2011 officers will be working to ensure that we continue the important mission of the past 3 years, that have made Metro East Pride what it is today. Metro East Pride hopes to serve as a reliable source of community news and events, as well as involvement throughout our region in support of equality for all our citizens.

UPCOMING EVENTS~

Fundraiser Volunteer Meeting OCTOBER 16th

~email us to volunteer: metroeastpride@gmail.com

Halloween Block Party - OCTOBER 30th

RSVP to the Event

DONATE ONLINE

All donations gladly accepted

and may be tax-deductible

Metro East Pride

P. O. Box 824

Belleville, IL 62222

http://www.metroeastpride.com/

~~FIND US ON FACEBOOK