OutCentral Cultural Center has named the recipients for its annual Autumn Honors awards.
Autumn Honors will take place from 6:30-9 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 7. The evening’s festivities, which also mark OutCentral’s fourth anniversary, will recognize individuals and organizations who have made — and continue to make — a difference in Middle Tennessee through visual and performing arts, literature and journalism, fashion, cuisine, philanthropy, education and athletics. Ticket for Autumn Honors are $20, and will go on sale the first week of October via the OutCentral website, www.outcentral.org, or can be purchased from OutCentral when the center is open, or from any board member.
This year’s honorees are:
Angela R. Davis
Davis receives this year’s OutCentral Volunteer of the Year Award for her work in planning this year’s highly successful Gay 5K at Shelby Park. A member of the event’s Planning Committee, Davis went above and beyond in her efforts to engage sponsors, recruit participants and volunteers, and make this new event a success.
Jon Glassmeyer
Glassmeyer is past president of the Nashville Shakespeare Festival and was a past chair of the Nashville Children’s Theater. Between this and his involvement with Artrageous!, Nashville Cares Board and also served on the Nashville/Metro Arts Commission, Mr. Glassmeyer is one of Nashville’s greatest patrons of the arts. He currently serves as treasurer of the Nashville Grizzlies Rugby Club.
Lisa Howe
Howe’s high-profile battle with the administration of Belmont University was a lightning rod for change and discussion within the college and Nashville at large. But she has moved beyond the controversy to build and promote local commerce as the new executive director of Nashville’s GLBT Chamber of Commerce.
Jerry Jones
As the founder and publisher of Out & About Newspaper, Jones has built the paper from a small local paper serving metro Nashville into the definitive source for GLBT news and thought for the state of Tennessee. He has formed and coordinated a talented group of writers and editors into a force for awareness and change locally and statewide.
Brad Palmertree
While Palmertree serves as interim director of the Tennessee Health Care Campaign, OutCentral is recognizing him for the leadership he has provided to the Middle Tennessee Chapter of the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), providing hope and understanding to the region’s most vulnerable teens and young adults.
Jeff Rymer
The owner and proprietor of the Rymer Art Gallery, Rymer has been a regular supporter of Artrageous! and similar projects promoting the arts and Nashville’s GLBT community. His establishment is not just one of the premier art galleries in Middle Tennessee, but also a nexus for GLBT activism and culture.
Maria Salas
Currently involved with the board of Nashville Cares, Salas has lent her expertise to many boards and commissions over the years, most notably the HRC Steering Committee and the Metro Human Relations Commission. Through her law practice, the Salas Law Group, PLLC, she advocates for justice and fairness towards all on a daily basis.
Chris Sanders
Sanders is the Chairman of the Tennessee Equality Project (TEP), a statewide organization dedicated to advancing and protecting the civil rights of GLBT persons throughout the Volunteer State. Chris has worked tirelessly to promote TEP and to champion the cause of equality for all people throughout the state of Tennessee.
Del Ray Zimmerman
This year, OutCentral is honoring Zimmerman towards the end of a five-year run on the Board and currently serve as its President. In that time, Mr. Zimmerman has cemented OutCentral’s reputation as a place to meet, a place to learn, a place to get involved—in short, the heart of Nashville’s GLBT community.
OutCentral was established in 2008, and is Tennessee’s first cultural center dedicated to arts and education programming for the GLBTQIF community. OutCentral creates a positive and energetic environment for inclusive social functions, recreation, and a home for other groups and organizations to meet.
To become involved with OutCentral, visit our website at www.outcentral.org. There you can find out about our latest events and sign up to receive our weekly email newsletter. OutCentral cheerfully accepts donations to offset operating costs, and welcomes volunteer participation. To find out more, visit our website or speak with any board member.
For more information on Autumn Honors, as well as a link to purchase tickets, please visit www.outcentral.org.