COMMENDATION: RECOGNIZING PRIDE MONTH AND THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF LGBTQAI+ ORGANIZATIONS AND CELEBRATIONS IN DUTCHESS COUNTY

DUTCHESS COUNTY LEGISLATURE Commendation: Recognizing Pride Month and the Contributions of LGBTQAI+ Organizations and Celebrations in Dutchess County Resolution No. 2025095 Legislators BRENDLI, VALDÉS SMITH, ATKINS, DRAGO, MUNN, KEARNEY, PAGE, KAUL, and LAWLER offer the following and move its adoption: WHEREAS, Pride Month is celebrated each June in recognition of the 1969 Stonewall Uprising, honoring LGBTQAI+ individuals, and WHEREAS, Dutchess County is home to several vibrant Pride celebrations and organizations that uplift LGBTQAIt visibility, safety, and inclusion, and WHEREAS, Poughkeepsie Pride, launched in 2018 by community members, including five local parents Amy Bienstock, Karla Raimundi, Keryn Bartholomew, Katie Decker, and Pamela Sawchuk, and Executive Director Karen Marder, has grown into a very well-attended public celebration, held annually on the second Saturday in June with a downtown parade, festival, theatrical performances, and family programming that centers on LGBTQAI+ visibility and joy, and WHEREAS, the Dutchess County Pride Center, also founded in 2018 and led by Executive Director Karen Marder, provides year-round LGBTQAI+ programming throughout the county, including support groups, youth summer programs, trans and nonbinary support, parent education, school outreach, cultural events, and advocacy that affirms the rights and dignity of LGBTQAI+ residents, and WHEREAS, Beacon Pride founded in 2021 by the Queer Family Network, is a free and inclusive Pride celebration held at The Yard in Beacon featuring a community march, music, art, games, meals, wellness kits, intergenerational activities, and resource connections designed to break down barriers to participation, and WHEREAS, the Queer Family Network (Qfam) founded in 2018 by KK Naimool, Petra Aldrich-Naimool, Laura Brown-Rivera, Rae Rivera, Meredith Avey, Maria Ramirez, and Kara Dean-Assael, is a grassroots collective offering mutual aid, culturally competent training, healing spaces, and the Hudson Valley's only Queer Liberation March, centering historically excluded communities, including TGNCNB and BIPOC 2SLGBTQ+ residents of Dutchess County, and WHEREAS, Stanford Pride established in 2022 will mark its 4th annual celebration in 2025 with a town proclamation, caravan, and multigenerational event featuring music, food, family programming, and community pride in the hamlets of Stanfordville and Clinton Corners, and WHEREAS, BeckHook Pride launched in 2023 by Marie-Michele Mugnos of Red Hook and Debbie Hecht of Rhinebeck with founding board member Jean Michel of Rhinebeck, rotates its annual celebration between Red Hook and Rhinebeck and offers year-round LGBTQAI+ programming including Q-Club, youth nights, game nights, contra dancing, and affirming intergenerational events, and WHEREAS, these Pride celebrations and organizations exemplify Dutchess County's commitment to dignity, safety, and equity for all and provide affirming spaces for LGBTQAI+ individuals and families, and WHEREAS, Dutchess County reaffirms its support for LGBTQAI+ residents, condemns hate and discrimination in all forms, and pledges to foster welcoming, inclusive communities throughout the county, now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, that the Dutchess County Legislature hereby recognizes the month of June 2025 as Pride Month in Dutchess County in honor of the ongoing work and achievements of the LGBTQAI+ community, and, be it further RESOLVED, that the Dutchess County Legislature on behalf of all of the people of Dutchess County does hereby commend, congratulate, and thank the organizers of Poughkeepsie Pride, the staff and leadership of the Dutchess County Pride Center, the organizers of Beacon Pride, and the founders and members of the Queer Family Network, as well as the leaders of Stanford Pride and BeckHook Pride for their vital contributions to inclusion, empowerment, and the celebration of LGBTQAI+ life and culture, and, be it further RESOLVED, that with continued community support these Pride events and organizations will continue to grow, flourish, and foster safety, visibility, and belonging throughout Dutchess County. STATE OF NEW YORK SS: COUNTY OF DUTCHESS This is to certity that I, the undersigned Clerk of the Legislature of the County of Dutchess, have compared the foregoing resolution with the original resolution now on file in the office of said clerk, and which was adopted by said Legislature on the 9% day of June 2025, and that the same is a true and correct transcript of said original resolution and of the whole thercof. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and seal of said Legislature this Or day of June 2025. EASTWAGE Rugh lager