The Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund awarded William Beck and Pamela Wilson with the Gay & Lesbian Leadership Award at the GLBT political organization’s annual luncheon, held at the Bahia Resort Hotel on March 2.

“Bill and Pam have been best friends to the Victory Fund from the beginning,” said Chuck Wolfe, president and CEO of the Victory Fund. “The progress that has been made could not have been done without them.”

According to Wolfe, recognition for the pair is long overdue, as Beck and Wilson have set an example for the entire GLBT community and politicians for years.

“They helped lay the groundwork as members of the organization’s board of directors and by creating a model city, with San Diego, for all other cities and the Victory Fund to aspire to.”

He noted just a few of the many GLBT politicos who have benefited from the work of both Beck and Wilson, and who were present to honor the award recipients.

“The spirit and legacy of the Victory Fund is best captured in some local examples, and if you just look to Bonnie Dumanis, Judge Rubin, Senator Kehoe and Councilmember Atkins, you can see the trails that Pam and Bill helped lay,” Wolfe said.

Kehoe and Atkins honored Beck and Wilson with official commendations for their vision and for working for GLBT rights.

During the event, Wolfe outlined the progress GLBT candidates made in 2006, detailing some of the 67 Victory Fund-endorsed campaign wins across the country.

Additionally, he noted the organization raised more than $4 million to help GLBT candidates and trained 350 people in various aspects to assist on campaigns.

The Victory Fund’s Gay & Lesbian Leadership Institute aims to teach openly GLBT candidates the skills they need to compete and prevail in the electoral process. The institute provides intensive four-day candidate and campaign trainings periodically throughout the year, which provide attendees with intellectual and technical skills through practical training from proven campaign professionals.

“Make no mistake. Few of these candidates have easy races, but that’s where the Victory Fund and its donor network make all the difference,” Wolfe said.

Teaching candidates how to stay on track if and when anti-gay attacks occur is also one of the elements of the campaign training, along with advising candidates how to run strong voter-contact programs via direct mail, telephone banking and door-to-door canvassing, Wolfe said.

“Last but not least is raising money through the donor network to make sure our candidates can run the best races those cities or states have ever seen,” he added.

Wolfe then introduced keynote speaker Oklahoma Representative Al McAffrey.

McAffrey detailed his victory last fall and painted a picture of Oklahoma’s political landscape. He said the odds were stacked against him before he began his campaign and he took a risk in running for the seat because there were no other openly gay or lesbian politicians in Oklahoma.

He noted that he became known only by his sexual orientation to everyone throughout the state, except those within his district.

“When it came to my constituents, my sexuality was never an issue, but what was an issue was how I could better serve them,” McAffrey explained.

He said that it is because of the support that the Victory Fund gives that he has been able to give a face to the issues and bring a voice to the people in Oklahoma.

“While opponents were looking for dirt and hate to spread, the Victory Fund was able to help find and train my volunteers. They helped me to out-work, out-strategize and out-fund the other side,” he said.

McAffrey lauded the organization’s work and concluded that he would not have won his political race without the efforts of the Victory Fund.

“I am proud of what I have done because of the help from people involved in organizations like the Victory Fund,” McAffrey remarked.

He said it made sense for him to run to give the people of Oklahoma a regular face to associate with a gay man, to build a strong economy for his three daughters, and to secure the best future possible for his grandchildren.

“It’s not right that year after year, a tiny little group of angry people wrap their hatred in the cloaks of politics and convince their friends and neighbors that there is a class of gay people that’s going to destroy their lives. I’m glad that the Victory Fund helped me to put a face on our community for these people.”