FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Jennifer Jones

(619) 692-2077, ext. 204

SAN DIEGO LGBT COMMUNITY CENTER
ANNOUNCES 2007 WALL OF HONOR INDUCTEES

June 7, 2007 – SAN DIEGO – The San Diego Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center (The Center) has announced the 2007 inductees for the San Diego LGBT Community Wall of Honor. The official induction ceremony will take place on Fri., Aug. 10 from 6-8pm at The Center, 3909 Centre St. The Wall of Honor is located in The Center’s auditorium.

“The San Diego LGBT Community Wall of Honor allows us to truly acknowledge some of the pioneers and leaders within our community. It is amazing what these inductees have accomplished,” said Dr. Delores A. Jacobs, chief executive officer of The Center. “This permanent exhibit gives us the opportunity not only to honor their contributions, but also to provide a sense of history and pride for all those who follow them.”

The 2007 Wall of Honor inductees include:

Lou & Carol Arko
Lou and Carol Arko became supporters of the LGBT community through their ownership of neighborhood fixtures like The Brass Rail and Number 1 Fifth Avenue. The Brass Rail, which opened downtown in the 1930s, is known as the city’s oldest gay bar. Lou bought it in 1958, and in 1963, he moved the bar to Hillcrest, and into its current location in 1973. Lou and Carol are among the earliest allies to the LGBT community. Lou laid the carpeting in the first Center building, and The Brass Rail hosted an AIDS benefit in the early 1980s, long before many others recognized the impact of the disease. Over the decades, the Arkos have contributed to countless LGBT and HIV/AIDS causes and have served as civic leaders.

Dr. Al Best

In 1979, Dr. Al Best became the first openly gay candidate to run for San Diego’s City Council. During the race, he lost his job, faced death threats, was completely outspent by the other candidates and still finished fifth in a field of 11 candidates. Best became the first openly gay person appointed to the San Diego Equal Opportunity Commission, and was elected president of the Civil Service Commission. He is a co-founder of Stepping Stone, served as president of the Something Special Food Pantry and has been involved on the board of directors of 66 organizations during his decades of activism. For his extensive involvement and commitment, Best and his partner of nearly 20 years, Eduardo Moncada, received San Diego LGBT Pride’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2004.

Gloria Johnson

Gloria Johnson is a nationally-recognized LGBT, feminist and Democratic Party activist.  Listed among The Advocate’s top 400 U.S. gay leaders in 1984, she has worked tirelessly for social justice over the past four decades. In 1976, Johnson became the first openly gay or lesbian person elected to the San Diego Democratic Committee. She was a delegate to the 1996 and 2000 Democratic National Conventions, and has been on the campaign staffs of Christine Kehoe, Donna Frye, Mike Aguirre and many others. Johnson has been a longtime leader in the National Organization for Women, from the campaign for the ERA to this year’s state convention. She has been president of the San Diego Democratic Club and, most recently, co-chair of the California Democratic Party LGBT Caucus. 

Drs. David McWhirter & Drew Mattison (deceased)

Dr. David McWhirter and Dr. Andrew “Drew” Mattison, partners for over 34 years, became international spokespeople for the LGBT community after the 1984 publication of their landmark study, The Male Couple. As the first gay couple to appear on the “Oprah Winfrey Show,” and countless other television and radio shows, they taught millions of people about gay relationships. 

McWhirter and Mattison were respected locally and nationally as scientists, educators and civic leaders. They each served as president of the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality and taught at University of California-San Diego.  Both were active in politics and LGBT organizations, including The Center and San Diego Democratic Club. Mattison died of stomach cancer in December 2005, and McWhirter suffered a fatal stroke in July 2006. 

Bernard (Bernie) Michels

Bernie Michels is one of The Center’s founders. Along with Jess Jessop, he called the very first meetings and went on to serve as the Planning Committee Executive Director from 1972-1973.  Michels was the first openly gay student in the San Diego State University School of Social Work and completed a master’s degree thesis on the San Diego gay male community.  He presented the city’s first LGBT studies course at SDSU in 1974. He was also active in the Metropolitan Community Church, and has been a supporter of Lambda Archives (which houses his papers). He received his Ph.D. in 1987 and is now an adjunct professor at the University of Massachusetts, Boston. Now active in Boston’s LGBT community, he still considers himself a San Diegan.

Frederick (Fred) Scholl

Fred Scholl helped build many of San Diego’s most important LGBT institutions. He co-founded The Center, Stepping Stone, Auntie Helen’s and the San Diego Coalition for Human Rights (which grew into GSDBA), as well as Clinica ACOSIDA, the first Mexican AIDS clinic. He was the first openly gay president of the local ACLU. He served as a liaison between the LGBT community and the police department, and co-founded the Gay and Lesbian Police Liaison Committee, teaching sensitivity training for cadets, and led the Police/Community Relations Advisory Board. A former U.S. Air Force covert intelligence officer, he speaks a dozen languages and holds two doctorate degrees. Now semi-retired, Scholl divides his time between San Diego and Germany, where he teaches at several universities.

Jim Woodward

After graduating from college in 1972, Jim Woodward joined the Navy. After coming out, he was separated to inactive duty, and pursued the right to serve openly for 15 years before the Supreme Court refused to hear his case. Dedicated to support his fellow LGBT servicemembers, Woodward published a manual on how to counsel gay servicemembers and coordinated The Center’s military counseling program, which became a national model, from 1975 through the mid-1980s. He founded the San Diego Veterans Association in 1985, and later co-founded the Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Veterans of America. Woodward has been active with AIDS Walk San Diego, the Metropolitan Community Church and PFLAG. In his professional life, he was a firefighter, paramedic and public health executive. Last year, he and his partner of 32 years, Sal Griego, retired to Costa Rica.

The year’s event will mark the fourth annual ceremony to induct honorees into the Community Wall of Honor that was created in 2004 by Nicole Murray-Ramirez, The Imperial Court de San Diego and The Center.

There is no cost to attend this event, although an RSVP is requested. For more information or to RSVP, please contact Sarafina Scapicchio at (619) 692-2077, ext. 247 or at sscapicchio@thecentersd.org.

The San Diego Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Community Center, Inc., (d.b.a., The Center) is the nation's second oldest and third largest LGBT community center. Functioning as the LGBT community's leadership organization, The Center is led by a 20-member board of directors, employs over 40 paid staff and utilizes more than 400 community volunteers. Incorporated in 1973 as a community-based, non-profit, 501(c) (3) agency, The Center has more than thirty-three years of experience as a health and human services agency. In 2006, The Center provided direct services to more than 25,000 community members and through its events, activities and advocacy, touched the lives of thousands more.