2009, November 17. Potluck and Annual Meeting, 7pm to 9pm. This event has always been fun, with members and friends of many other Albuquerque organizations joining us to share the year's experiences. Halfway through the potluck, we held a brief business meeting to elect and install, officially, our new board.

2009, October 20th. Renaldo Chapman, a Navajo gay man who lives in Gallup, New Mexico, discussed the "cultural context" of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender people in Diné (traditional Navajo) culture -- as well as the Traditional vs. Christianized Navajo understanding of LGBT -- focusing on the generational differences influenced most by religion, but also by assimilation. Renaldo says, "Traumatic life experiences motivates me to become educated about traditional Diné culture. I carry that knowledge with me and am honored to share it with you."

2009, September 15. Penn and Dorothee Baker’s life story has been one of challenge, commitment and change. This March they will celebrate their 40th Anniversary – with a twist. The first 28 years were as a fairly typical hetero marriage. The last 12 years have been as a same-sex couple, following Penn’s transition from male to female. After experiencing nightmares that their marriage would be annulled through DOMA, both of them became more active in the GLBT community: MCCA, Native American 2Spirit community, Gay Rodeo, legislative advocacy, and most recently AVER (American Veterans for Equal Rights). Their journey reflects extensive spiritual and personal growth and offers some unique perspectives on transgender issues.

2009, August 18. Our guest was Rising Sun Ministries, whose mission is To bridge the relationship between Christian Faith Communities and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) people of faith.

2009, July 21. Tricklock (theater) Company was our featured guest. For the last decade and a half, Tricklock Company has been leading the charge in original, revolutionary theater, captivating the imaginations of audiences from Albuquerque to Edinburgh to Belgrade and beyond. Tricklock is one of the most inspiring, challenging and prolific theater companies in the Southwest. <http://www.tricklock.com/about/index.php>

2009, June 16. LGBT Summit report. Chris Salas, one of our new Board members, discussed the LGBT Summit held June 6 in Albuquerque. Over 100 New Mexicans from across the state gathered at the UNM Law School to discuss ways to strengthen the movement for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) equality in our state. Participants of all ages and representing many geographical regions of the state discussed and debated issues critical to the LGBT community such as passing domestic partnership legislation, furthering marriage equality, youth issues, and building political power in New Mexico.

2009, June 13. ALBUQUERQUE PRIDE DAY at the Fair Grounds. PFLAG Albuquerque members and our previous guests were part of PFLAG’s entry in the parade. If you have attended PRIDE in the past, you know how much PFLAG is respected and loved. It was great to be part of that and share the entire day with the members of our community.

2009, May 19. Seventy four people attended our Fourth Annual Families and Friends Night. As in previous years, GLBT and ally organizations were our guests. PFLAG Albuquerque members provided pot luck dishes.

2009, May 2. Albuquerque PFLAG sponsored "A Midsumer Night's Prom" at the Anderson-Abruzzo Albuquerque International Balloon Museum. It was our 1st time as sponsor, and we were pleased to see 107 kids in attendance.

2009, April 21. "Becoming Who We Are Meant To Be: theoretical model of the stages of Lesbian and Gay identity development," was a presentation by Abq. PFLAG Board member Joanie Dowd, MA, LPC, CC (Certified Life Coach & Professional Presenter). The presentation covered the six stages of identity development from first awareness to
synthesis and resolve. The class was helpful for parents, friends, helping professionals and of course, for those on the journey of coming out themselves.

2009, March 17. The program was presented by the Wilde Bunch. We learned about their organization and about square dancing, including some instruction on how to do it.

2009, February 17. This month's program was in celebration of Valentine's Day. PFLAG hosted a panel comprised of GLBT couples sharing the success of their loving relationships with each other.

2009, January 24th The TV movie Prayers for Bobby debuts January 24 on Lifetime. It tells the true story of Mary Griffith, the mother of a gay son, and her journey toward embracing the LGBT community following his tragic suicide. Based on the novel by Leroy Aarons, Prayers shows the important role PFLAG played in Mary's experience, and how PFLAG empowers families to embrace their LGBT loved ones. It has a powerful performance by Sigourney Weaver and an unforgettable script based on Aarons' groundbreaking novel. National PFLAG joins Lifetime Television and the stars from the upcoming film Prayers for Bobby on a number of public education events, so be sure to check on National PFLAG's official blog <www.pflag.org/blog> for complete information.

2009, Tuesday January 20. Equality New Mexico (EQNM) spoke about this year's 60 day legislative session, which started on January 20th. Again, this year, the key legislation impacting our community was Domestic Partnership. Equality New Mexico presented their plans to achieve successful passage of the proposed bill into law. They also highlighted what support they need from our chapter. [EQNM needs our support. National Organizations, that have strongly supported them over the years, made California Proposition 8 their priority. As a result, EQNM is operating this year with only one third of the budget it expected. Their Board has taken extraordinary measures to slash costs and significantly step up fund-raising efforts. EQNM has NOT let the budget shortfall to diminish their goals.]