Although the lingering pandemic forced the cancellation of this year’s PrideFest and Pride Parade, the Shepherd Express is moving forward with the 2021 LGBTQ Progress Awards. This year the Progress Awards will return as a live event, scheduled for August 5 at Saint Kate-The Arts Hotel. For more information, visit shepherdexpress.com/shepherdevents.
As in past years, a committee of activists chose the winners based in large part on their pioneering struggle for social justice and inclusion. Here are the recepients of the 2021 LGBTQ Progress Awards
Progress in Equality: FORGE
For over three and a half decades, FORGE, Milwaukee’s transgender advocacy organization, has pursued its mission to build strength and resilience in our transgender and non-binary communities. It accomplishes this through training and assistance for professional service providers, resources and support for individuals, and connection and awareness for the general public.
In 1994, FORGE began its work as a resource to connect trans masculine individuals. The organization later merged with the Transgender Aging Network. Over the following years FORGE expanded to include anti-violence research, work with sexual violence victims and the cultural competency of those who provide care to them.
In 2007, FORGE hosted the FORGE Forward Conference. Over 500 trans individuals from across the country attended. Two years later, FORGE received two major grants to address the needs of sexual assault survivors and their service providers. Today, FORGE continues to contribute to LGBTQ progress, not only locally, but as a nationally recognized leader in its field.
LGBTQ Pioneer: Robert “Bim” Florek
Like many in the mid-1980s when AIDS struck Milwaukee’s gay male population, Robert “Bim” Florek volunteered to help confront the crisis. Bim (as he prefers to be called) selected a most challenging role as hospice grief counselor at the time when AIDS victims, many abandoned by their families, were left to die alone. His first patient, an 18-year old man, died in his arms. Bim continued there for 11 years.
Once begun, Bim’s volunteerism knew no bounds. Among his many roles, he has served as Stage Manager for the Vivent Health (formerly ARCW) AIDS Walk for over 30 years and as Fest City Singers artistic director in the late 1980s. As President of GAMMA since 2012, Bim has inspired that organization to increase membership and broaden its activities, including the philanthropic “GAMMA Gives.” He also leads the group’s annual Pride Parade contingent as his alter ego, Liberace.
Progress in LGBTQ Health: GALANO Recovery Club
Addiction has always been a human weakness. Founded in 1973 in response to high rates of addiction within the Milwaukee LGBTQ community, the GALANO Recovery Club has served the mental health needs of its members for nearly half a century.
With its staff of volunteers, and providing a safe space for its members, GALANO meets those needs through its fellowship and broad range of 12 step programs. GALANO Club facilitates recovery for its members who are confronting addictive behaviors including alcoholism, drug abuse and sexual compulsive behavior. It also has an Al-Anon program for supportive families and friends of those with a drinking problem. Meetings are conducted in person, online or via video and phone, allowing members anonymity and easy access. The GALANO Club also provides networking for a range of related addiction resources.
GALANO Club’s contribution to LGBTQ progress is reflected in the hundreds of lives improved and saved by its dedicated service.
Progress in Education: Jennifer Murray, MPH
Jennifer Murray once wrote, “I am here for all the queering of consciousness, connecting with higher purpose, and showing up to be present to the work of finding new ways of learning, knowing, and being!” It is in apparent fulfillment of that purpose that she has been engaged in LGBTQ higher education since 2004. As the Director of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) Resource Center, a position she has held since 2007, as Co-Chair of the UWM Chancellor’s Advisory Committee for LGBT+ Advocacy, and lecturer, she has established herself as a major contributor to Milwaukee’s LGBTQ progress through education.
Murray has been instrumental in making UWM an LGBTQ+ welcoming institution, creating programming based on her extensive experience in the development of transformative policies and programs. These are based in her dedication to the ideals of inclusion, diversity and equality. Her efforts have brought UWM nationwide recognition as a “Top 25 LGBT friendly campus.”
Progress in Activism: Broderick Pearson
Coming out in the late 1990s, Broderick Pearson followed a triple path as entertainer (Montell Infiniti-Ross) in the drag pageant scene, HIV activist and social justice advocate. The positive impact he continues to make, particularly in the Black LGBTQ community, can be attributed to those intersecting realms that allow Pearson his inspiring success as a messenger.
Beginning in 2001 at the House of Infiniti, Pearson engaged young gay Black men, promoting HIV prevention through intervention and outreach. His passion ignited, in 2011 he became a Medical College of Wisconsin Medical Research Associate and volunteer co-chair for the Wisconsin Action Planning Group for HIV.
His political advocacy is best documented by his leadership in organizing the 2020 Pride March for Black Lives Matter. Pearson’s motivation: “I do it because there needs to be a voice for our community. It has to be present always, whether social justice, trans rights or BLM. For me, I am committed to have that voice. Regardless under what umbrella, we are going to stand together.”
Progress in Philanthropy: Erv Uecker and Ross Walker
Erv Uecker and Ross Walker recognized November 30, 1957 as the official beginning of their relationship. Since then, they have worked tirelessly both in building their personal lives together and, through their combined efforts in contributing to the progress of their LGBTQ community. In 2014 they married after the introduction of marriage equality.
Moving to Milwaukee in 1983, they immediately became involved with local LGBTQ life. They both served as officers on the board of the BestD Health Clinic, Uecker as treasurer and Walker as president. They are credited with bringing stability and sound leadership to that organization.
Then, in 1996, the duo became involved with the establishment of the Milwaukee LGBT Community Center. As the initial planning evolved, Uecker and Walker pledged $120,000 over the following decade to underwrite the new center. Their contribution significantly advanced the project and lead to the Center’s opening in 1998.
Progress in Business: Walker’s Pint
Located in an 1885 storefront, and a fixture in the heart of the Walker’s Point gayborhood, Walker’s Pint is not only Milwaukee’s longest running lesbian bar but also one of the few remaining ones in the entire country. Opened in the traditional Milwaukee gayborhood by Elizabeth A. “Bet-Z” Boenning in 2001, the establishment’s motto “Every Night is Ladies’ Night” belies its universal and inclusive appeal, welcoming patrons of any persuasion and gender identity. That embrace of diversity has certainly contributed to Walker’s Pint’s longevity.
Although the award winning “Pint” enjoys a reputation for its classic and down-home sports bar ambiance, it also boasts a two decades’ long history of community engagement. It has fielded a softball team, the Uhaulers, in Milwaukee’s LGBTQ league, SSBL, hosted for numerous fundraising events for Milwaukee’s LGBTQ organizations, and owner “Bet-Z” has served as a member of the Milwaukee Pride Parade board of directors.
Paul Masterson is an LGBTQ activist and writer and has served on the boards of the Milwaukee Gay Arts Center, Milwaukee Pride, GAMMA and other organizations.
