One month after this year’s festivities, the San Diego LGBT Pride organization is recruiting new board members. An open house to recruit new prospects is scheduled for Aug. 31, beginning at 7:00 p.m. at the San Diego LGBT Pride office, located at 1807 Robinson St., Suite 106.

The open house is an annual event where the Pride board seeks to replace outgoing leaders who have already served their terms. This year the board is also seeking to expand the number from the existing eight members to 15 or 16 people.

“We have a yearly open house,” said board member and co-chair Philip Princetta. “We’ll have an application for people who come to the open house with a cover letter. In that letter, we have our guidelines for board members. We see if they want to fill out an application and go from that point forward.”

Princetta said the key qualification is availability for the required time to serve on the board. “We’re looking for people who have time and energy and love for Pride,” he said, adding that other qualifications include, “individuals who will enhance the board with their own experience and knowledge, independent thinkers who will come forward to the table, and people from all walks of life from our own community.”

The Pride board welcomes gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transgenders and straight allies with an equal mix of males and females. The board is specifically looking for people of color to fulfill their self-mandated 40 percent ethnicity ratio – a percentage that is currently at 20 percent.

Specific information about the board’s year-round duties will be available at the open house, and those interested can also inquire through e-mail at director@sdpride.org.

If selected, applicants go through a 12-week probation cycle before being officially appointed to the board of directors. Once appointed, a board member serves a three-year term, with an option to extend an additional three years.

The appointment of new board members is just one aspect of a three-part action plan initiated by Pride to resolve issues that arose from controversy over registered sex offenders brought to its attention last month. A second part of that plan includes developing a dialogue with community leaders, both critics and supporters, for continued input regarding the screening process, board-member recruitment and board-meeting participation.

The Pride board is also seeking applicants to join a new advisory council, a position that does not require an extensive time commitment as does serving on the board.

“We’re in the process of creating an advisory council at the same time. People may have a better opportunity and time to do that,” Princetta said. “We’re hopefully going to create an advisory council that is the eyes and ears of the community.”

Princetta could not give too many details regarding the responsibilities and duties of members serving on the advisory council, but said information should be available at the open house.

“We’re in the process of creating it,” he said. “We want to do it quickly, but at the same time correctly.”

This is not the first time the board of directors has attempted to create an advisory council. Previous attempts, however, were not successful due to a lack of interest from the community, Princetta said.

The last part of the board’s three-part plan has been initiated. A committee was formed last week to develop a screening process for staff and volunteers involved with Pride’s year-round activities and annual three-day celebration. That committee includes board members Maggie Allington and Deb Gordon, as well as emeritus board member Jeri Dilno. The committee has so far conducted independent research for establishing the screening process, and its members have contacted officials in law enforcement with requests to review and assist in a final draft.

“The screening committee has already begun its work,” Princetta added. “Both the committee and the board realize that we are not alone as organizations throughout San Diego who are, and will be, faced with these same issues. It’s our job to ensure that we have expert guidance and counsel in adopting this screening policy and process.”

For more information about Pride’s open house for new board members, call the Pride office at (619) 297-7683 or e-mail director@sdpride.org.