At the San Diego LGBT Pride board’s annual planning retreat, January Riddle was elected as co-chair elect after recently serving on the board as secretary. She will serve as co-chair for two years, taking the place of Anne Hewitt whose term expires in August 2008.

Riddle is a longtime activist for women’s and GLBT rights and served 28 months as an educational resource specialist in South Africa for the U.S. Peace Corps. While there, she established the first library in the village of Kameelrivier, where she lived. Prior to her Peace Corps service, she was an associate professor of communication at Bethany College in West Virginia and served on the West Virginia State Board of the ACLU. She also taught at two California universities and is listed in Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in American Education and Who’s Who of American Women.

Additionally, she is a past president of San Diego County NOW and a past executive vice president of the San Diego Democratic Club. She is a realtor with Devin Properties and currently writes for K&K Publications, Inc.

Elected to serve as a new director on the board is Romer A. De Los Santos II, a senior engineer with Digirad Corporation and graduate of the University of Southern California, where he was president of the Associated Students of Biomedical Engineering and a recipient of the Engineering Alumni Association’s Award for Excellence in Leadership. A member of the San Diego Bulldogs Wrestling Team and Different Strokes Swim Team, he brings to the board more than eight years of experience in document control and project management.

Also, the board re-elected Dr. Philip Princetta to serve a second full term as co-chair, and Mike Karim, who will serve an additional year as treasurer. Board members transitioning off of the board this past September included Jeri Dilno, who was recognized for 17 years of service and Ticin Parker who completed his three-year term.

“The Pride board recently conducted a comprehensive assessment to identify its current mix of talent, knowledge and other important characteristics and determined what additional skills the board needs to achieve its goals,” Hewett said. “The board further identified that, while seeking to maintain diversity and gender parity, it will seek new board members with backgrounds or skills in accounting, legal affairs, public relations, development or banking fields.”

The board is the governing body that oversees the San Diego LGBT Pride organization, and the Pride production committee is the body that actually organizes the San Diego Pride parade and festival.

“Continuing its grassroots tradition of community volunteers organizing the annual Pride events, the 2008 production committee led by executive director Ron deHarte will have 90 members representing all walks of life,” Hewett said.

North San Diego County Pride, which returned in 2007 after three years off, has announced the date for its 2008 celebration. The one-day festival will be held on Aug. 2, 2008, at Stagecoach Park in Carlsbad. The event will include performances by two bands, country dancing by Kickers, two dance groups, games and more. Volunteers are needed to help make the event happen. More information is available online at www.northcountypridesd.org.

The community is invited to attend Sgt. Bob Lehman’s birthday bash on Thursday, Dec. 20, at 6 p.m. at The Hole. The event is a benefit for the Hillcrest Youth Center and the Imperial Court de San Diego’s annual toy drive. Attendees must be 21 years of age or older.

The evening will feature food, drinks and fun, as well as a performance by Cash’d Out, “the next best thing to Johnny Cash.” Admission is an unwrapped toy or gift card, which will be donated directly to the Youth Center and toy drive. The Hole is located at 2820 Lytton St. in Point Loma. For more information call 619-501-2809.

The San Diego LGBT Community Center (The Center) has announced the launch of its employment and mentorship program for its Youth Housing Project, a program that provides permanent and supportive housing to formerly homeless LGBT and HIV-positive youth. The program is funded by a donation from Dr. Lester Machado.

Carmen Chavez will be the program manager. Chavez, who joined The Center as program coordinator of the Women’s Resource Center, brings more than two decades of experience in youth development and public health. She previously worked with the San Diego Job Corps, where she established the library and research center. Her past service also includes National LLEGO; the Community Association of Progressive Dominicans, where she was director of HIV/AIDS services; and the Home Instruction for Parents of Pre-school Youngsters, where she was the director of policy and program development.

“I am so proud to be able to support The Center and its Youth Housing Project in this way,” Machado said. “This program will offer real help to young people in terms of how to effectively interview for a job and maintain a position by offering mentorship and internship opportunities. For too long, these youth have just been worried about survival; this program will help them to achieve a brighter and more successful future.”

The Center’s Youth Housing Project offers housing and a range of social and support services, including case management, health and mental health care, recovery programs and more. The employment and mentorship program is an important component of the program, which will help the residents, some of whom have never been able to obtain or maintain employment, to become more productive and successful young adults.

“Dr. Machado truly understands the challenges facing these young people and has generously given of his time and resources to help them overcome those obstacles,” said Patrick Loose, The Center’s director of programs and operations. “We are grateful for his commitment to the future of these youth, and his investment in their success.”

For more information on how to contribute to The Center, please contact Ken St. Pierre at 619-692-2077, ext. 104 or at ken@thecentersd.org.

The Center for Social Advocacy is now selling tickets for the 20th Annual All People’s Breakfast. The event, to be held on Monday, Jan. 21, celebrates the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The 7:30 a.m. breakfast will be held at Golden Hall in the San Diego Community Concourse. Tickets are $25 for main-floor tables, which include a full breakfast and reserved seating, and $10 for general admission, which includes a continental breakfast. The program will include presentations, by community leaders and activists, and a keynote speech by Odetta.

Odetta performed onstage at the 1963 March on Washington and participated in the 1965 Selma to Montgomery March. King called her “Queen of American Folk Music.” Rosa Parks said that Odetta’s songs were her favorite music of the Civil Rights Movement. Poet Maya Angelou said, “If only one could be sure that every 50 years a voice and soul like Odetta’s would come along, the centuries would pass so quickly and painlessly we would hardly recognize the time.”

A benefit concert will be held later that day from 5-8 p.m. featuring Odetta, and some of San Diego’s acclaimed emerging vocalists, musicians, dancers and poets. The concert will also be held at Golden Hall, and all proceeds will benefit the Center for Social Advocacy.

Tickets and more information are available online at www.centerforsocialadvocacy.org.

All post offices in the San Diego Postal District will be open Christmas Eve, but many will shorten retail lobby hours to enable retail employees to spend more time with their families. Regular mail delivery for Dec. 24 will be unaffected by the change.

“Retail activity in post office lobbies diminishes significantly by Christmas Eve Day,” said District Manager John E. Platt. “Many businesses are closed and customers have already conducted most of their postal business. This is an opportunity to permit employees in those post offices to spend more time with their families.”

Revised hours will be posted at each post office. To obtain the phone number of a specific post office, customers may call 1-800-ASK-USPS. Commercial customers are asked to check with their Bulk Mail Acceptance Unit for Dec. 24 hours of operation.

“The last collection of mail deposited in blue collection boxes for Dec. 24 processing will be at noon,” added Platt.

Post offices will be closed Dec. 25. Express Mail will be delivered Christmas Day and regular mail delivery will resume Dec. 26.

The San Diego Men’s Chorus announced auditions for its 2008 season.

Meet the Chorus receptions will be held on Monday, Jan. 7, and Monday, Jan. 14. Prospective members will attend an informal reception with refreshments, followed by a presentation of the music and calendar for the 2008 season and a short interview and audition with the leadership team and artistic director Jerry R. Foust.

Interested men should arrive on either night by 8 p.m. Each reception will last 90 minutes. No prepared music selection is required.

The Meet the Chorus receptions are held at All Saints’ Episcopal Church at Sixth and Pennsylvania avenues in Hillcrest.

In 2008, the chorus will be the first singing group to perform in the newly renovated Balboa Theatre at Horton Plaza. The Chorus will also welcome American Idol and Broadway star Frenchie Davis to its Spring concert in April. And in July, the Chorus will travel to Miami to represent San Diego at the GALA Choruses international festival.

Artistic director Jerry R. Foust, who recently completed his second year as leader of the group, said, “The San Diego Men’s Chorus is the city’s original gay men’s singing group. In our 23-year history, we’ve accomplished so much. But we’re just beginning. The next year will take us to new heights musically, while we explore new venues like the magnificent Balboa Theatre. We’ll also travel to destinations far and near – representing the city and its gay community with the class and musical excellence that we are known for. We’d love to have new voices join us, and we’re also extending open arms to past members who have been away for a while.”

To find out more about the Meet the Chorus events, or to RSVP for either night, visit the chorus’s Web site at www.sdmc.org or phone: 619-296-SONG.

The San Diego Men’s Chorus was founded in 1985. The ensemble was the first gay chorus to perform at the White House, the Super Bowl, and aboard a major oceanliner last fall. The chorus is a member of the Gay & Lesbian Association of Choruses (GALA).