San Diego Pride has named fund-raiser and financial advisor Sally M. Hall the recipient of its 2009 Spirit of Stonewall Community Service Award. The award is bestowed on an individual or couple recognized as an up-and-coming leader within the GLBT community, or whose contribution to the community in the past year was of particular significance.

Since starting her own business through Raymond James Financial Services Inc., more than a decade ago, Hall has passionately worked in the GLBT community. Before moving to San Diego in 2003 and immediately becoming involved in the local community, she lived in Colorado Springs where she was awarded Ally of the Year 2002 by Pike’s Peak Gay and Lesbian Community Center and was honored as grand marshal for the Colorado Springs Pride Fest 2003.

In 2008, with a few small ideas and the help of supportive friends, Sally Hall created Lucky Ladies California Hold Em Fundraising, which has raised $16,000 for a variety of social and political causes of vital importance to San Diego’s GLBT community. Some of the organizations that have benefited are Marriage Equality, No on Proposition 8, AIDS Lifecycle 7, the Toni Atkins Health Care Fund, the Gay Softball League, the Special Olympics and Shakti Rising. She is currently spearheading fund-raisers for Diversionary Theater, San Diego Pride, Human Rights Campaign, SNAP and the MS Walk.

An expert in managing investment assets and individual portfolios, Hall shares her expertise with the community through a column in Lavender Lens, called “This is Reality.” She is also the editor of Azalea Park’s FLASH e-newsletter and active with the San Diego Human Dignity Foundation’s Professional Advisor Network. In addition, she became an “Ambassador of Pride” earlier this year through a new sponsorship program that helps raise the visibility of San Diego Pride’s mission in the community while dispersing funds to various service organizations and charities.

The award will be presented at a ceremony on July 13 and Hall will be celebrated in the annual parade. Each year the Pride organization invites the community to submit nominations for the prestigious community awards that are presented in four categories for individual community service, group or organization services to the community, plus “Champion of Pride” and the “Friend of the Year.”

San Diego Pride’s 35th annual celebration is scheduled for July 18-19. This year’s theme is Stonewall 2:0 – Activism for Equality. For information about upcoming events and volunteer opportunities, call 619-297-7683 or visit www.sandiegopride.org.

On March 31, hundreds of community members flocked to Baja Betty’s and Urban Mo’s to attend The Big Switch. Masterminded by local restaurateur Chris Shaw, The Big Switch was conceptualized to benefit the San Diego LGBT Community Center, who lost out on some important grant funding late last year. The event raised $4,000 to support the programs and services The Center provides to the GLBT and HIV/AIDS communities.

“We’re so excited the community came out to support this event,” said Shaw. “Both Urban Mo’s and Baja Betty’s were packed throughout the evening. Not only did everyone have a great time, they helped raise a significant amount of money for The Center.”

Delores Jacobs, chief executive officer of The Center extended her gratitude to Urban Mo’s and Baja Betty’s. “Once again, Chris Shaw, and everyone at Urban Mo’s and Baja Betty’s, have shown us what it means to be a community,” she said. “On behalf of everyone at The Center, and the more than 25,000 community members we serve each year, I want to express our deep gratitude for this wonderful contribution.”

Joyce Marieb, CEO of the Greater San Diego Business Association (GSDBA), will receive The Center’s “Woman of the Year” award at the seventh annual Women’s Night. The awards event will take place at Paradise Point Resort and Spa in Mission Bay on April 18, from 6 to 11 p.m.

Marieb recently announced that she will retire in June, following GSDBA’s upcoming 30th anniversary celebration. She is being recognized for increasing the GSDBA’s membership and national visibility during her nine-year tenure as CEO, as well as for her work as chair of the Pacific Region of the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, through which she has helped in the development of other gay and lesbian chambers around the country.

“Marieb believes that economic parity leads to social equality, and based on that belief, she has worked diligently for business equality,” said Amber Cyphers Stephens, director of communications for the San Diego LGBT Community Center. “She is a proud and active member of the San Diego LGBT community and believes in and supports the work of community nonprofit organizations.”

A recipient also of The Center’s “Business Woman of the Year” award in 2007, Marieb said, “It has been a pleasure and an honor to work for peace and justice for women, people of color and LGBT people since I was in my early 20s. I am honored to receive this award and to be numbered among the women who make change happen.”

The GSDBA’s 30th anniversary celebration, featuring Olympic Gold Medalist Greg Louganis, will be held June 11 at the Hard Rock Hotel in Downtown San Diego. More information, sponsorship inquiries or to purchase tickets, call the GSDBA at 619-296-4543 or visit www.gsdba.org.

The winning logo that will be imprinted on this year’s San Diego Pride T-shirts was created by Trina Franklin in a seasonal design contest that welcomed numerous submissions from the community. Franklin will receive $250 for her logo, plus a pair of tickets to the Pride festival, scheduled for July 18 and 19.

The logo incorporates San Diego Pride’s 2009 theme: “Stonewall 2.0 – Activism for Equality,” using both color and black-and-white against a sketching of a gray brick wall. The visual aptly reflects a new generation of LGBT activism seen particularly since the California passage of Proposition 8 in November’s election. At the same time, it points to the momentous 1969 Stonewall riots in New York City, which marked the flashpoint for LGBT activism until recently.

Franklin’s design will be visible on Pride T-shirts worn by staff and sold within the general public as souvenirs for the organization’s 35th anniversary.

“Trina came up with an amazing logo which really captures the spirit of this year’s theme,” said Pride executive director Ron DeHarte. “It speaks to the grassroots level of activism that started with Stonewall, as well as the latest resurgence of activism we have seen in the aftermath of Prop 8, which was a wakeup call, but which will prove to be only a temporary setback.”

This year’s Pride weekend on July 18 and 19 will be preceded by several other official events and activities listed on the Web site at www.sandiegopride.org. For more information and volunteer opportunities, or visit the Web site or call the Pride office at 619-297-7683.