DETROIT – Guests to this year’s Equality Michigan Annual Dinner on February 22 at Motor City Casino will hear remarks and a special announcement from Freedom to Marry’s Richard Carlbom. Previously the campaign manager of Minnesotans United for All Families, the campaign which won Minnesota’s marriage equality ballot initiative in 2012, Carlbom is now the director of state campaigns for Freedom to Marry, the organization working to win marriage nationwide. In addition to delivering the event’s keynote address, Carlbom will be making a special Michigan marriage equality announcement.
Equality Michigan, the statewide anti-violence and advocacy organization serving Michigan’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and HIV positive communities, will be bringing the organization’s annual dinner event to Motor City Casino for the first time. The dinner event includes a reception, silent auction, remarks by community leaders, and the presentation of this year’s Catalyst Awards recognizing excellence in LGBT and HIV advocacy.
The organization’s leader, Emily Dievendorf, will be delivering this year’s state of equality in Michigan address and join Carlbom in making this year’s special announcement. She stated “Equality Michigan is honored to have Richard Carlbom joining us for this year’s Annual Dinner. The wisdom Richard will be able to share from his experiences leading Minnesota’s successful marriage equality campaign in 2012 and his work at Freedom to Marry will be invaluable to Michigan achieving marriage equality by the end of 2016. Anyone interested in winning a victory for gay marriage in Michigan will not want to miss it.”
Dievendorf added “The evening will not be just about marriage, we have a lot to celebrate from 2013 and even more to prepare for in 2014. Workplace discrimination is a hot topic right now, and we once again selected Detroit for this year’s event in part to acknowledge the city’s LGBT inclusive anti-discrimination protections. We also wanted to acknowledge the city’s renewed commitment to LGBT outreach, another topic we will be sharing news about that evening.”
Tickets and more information about Equality Michigan’s 2014 Annual Dinner are now available online at equalitymi.org/dinner or by calling 313-537-7000.
