Happy Pride 2010 everyone! Each year I look forward to the celebration because I can still remember my first Pride in San Diego back in 1986 and how incredible it felt, for the first time in my life, to be able to stand with thousands of other LGBT community members and celebrate visibly and openly as a lesbian. This year will be my 24th Pride Celebration. It’s hard to wrap my mind around those 24 years — they seemed to have passed so quickly.

I arrived in the fall of 1985 from Virginia in time to celebrate the birth of my nephew, Tommy. I marveled at all San Diego had to offer, even then — several gay community newspapers, the San Diego Democratic Club, The Gay & Lesbian Center, the Metropolitan Community Church, sports leagues, gay bars and so much more. It was a real community and I felt embraced and supported immediately — so our annual Pride celebration for me personally is a time that I tend to reflect and be thankful for the community around me. I love seeing the faces of the old and the young in our community, along with our friends and our families who join us in the festivities. It’s always inspiring to me.

As I take stock of all that I’m appreciative of, as a member of the LGBT community, I recognize that it’s also a time that our community collectively takes into account what we’ve been able to accomplish in the past year. Pride is the rallying point for our successes and for redirecting our efforts to the work ahead for another year. It all comes together during this special time which is why this year’s theme — “One World, One Heart, One Pride” — seems so fitting.

While we await the court decision on marriage equality and congressional action on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” we can be proud of our efforts this year locally, to impact both of these issues. Our own Mayor Jerry Sanders gave impressive testimony in support of marriage equality. Many of us lobbied Congress and continue to do so from our historically military town on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” so that lesbian and gay military personnel can finally serve their country proudly, and be honest about their lives.

Since I work in the realm of politics, I can’t help but focus on our political successes. Here on our own City Council, we now have two LGBT members serving – Councilmember Todd Gloria and Councilmember Carl DeMaio. And of course I was proud to see that many in San Diego worked to support and help elect open lesbian Annise Parker as Mayor of Houston, Texas - the fourth largest city in the country! This kind of success truly makes a positive impact on San Diego and every other community across the nation.

Here at home, of all the names being tossed around to run for mayor of San Diego in 2012, we hear our own names — Christine Kehoe, Bonnie Dumanis, Carl DeMaio — being mentioned again and again. And with the recent appointment of Laura Duffy as U.S Attorney, we recognize that two of San Diego’s top law enforcement officials are lesbians. Also locally, we have the potential in this upcoming general election to elect Kevin Beiser and Stephen Whitburn - the first LGBT school board member to the San Diego Unified School Board and the first LGBT supervisor to the San Diego County Board of Supervisors, respectively. Now that is progress and what incredible progress it is!

In San Diego, we have been successful in getting our own elected to political and public office so that we could have a seat at the table to enact policies and laws that affect our lives directly, and advance our LGBT civil rights and equality.

As the parade kicks off on July 17th from Normal Street and University Avenue, amidst the thousands of enthusiastic revelers lining the streets, I know with certainty that I’ll be doing my mental checklist of all the positive experiences that I can be grateful for over the years, while participating in Pride: of the friends I’ve walked with who are still here today, of the friends and leaders we’ve lost in recent years, of the contingents that made me smile and those that filled me with Pride as they marched past, of the moments that brought tears to my eyes, of the incredible diversity we are fortunate to have in San Diego, of the non-gay friends who stood with us in our fight against Proposition 8, of the wonderful summer of love and weddings in 2008, and of the Mayor who showed his heart to an entire nation in support of his lesbian daughter and marriage equality. I’ll especially think of my own Mom, now deceased, but who joined me for Prides back in 1992 and 1993. And finally, I’ll end my mental list with a silent vow of thanks to the Pride Board Members, staff and volunteers who stepped up to the plate and made sure that we’re able to celebrate another inspiring Pride weekend together — as a way to highlight all that we, as a diverse community, contribute to San Diego.

I hope that you join in celebrating our community this weekend, acknowledging our accomplishments and preparing for another year of hard work to ensure we obtain full equality as citizens of this nation. Again, Happy Pride and I’ll see you at the parade!