Change Makers
Lucy King- May 4
- 3 min read
I have been thinking about what to say all week. Last weekend the Carroll County GA Democrats held their annual Nellie Duke dinner. If you don't know anything about Nellie Duke, you can learn about her fight for women's rights, among other things, at this link.
The dinner had been rescheduled due to bad weather earlier in the year, and I was invited to attend. I knew I was to receive an award, so honestly, I was kind of dreading it. I'm great with words when typing them out, but I'm not so great at public speaking, and I don't love having attention drawn to me, despite an appearance that might suggest otherwise.
I asked to make sure I wouldn't have to speak-- I needed to prepare myself if I would-- but fortunately it was up to me. I could just accept the award with no words if I wanted. I invited Trina to tag along as my guest, and I worked on convincing myself that it would be okay despite my anxiety. I could go enjoy a dinner with people I like and just enjoy the evening, not worrying about speaking in front of people.
The fates has other plans. I spent Sunday afternoon at the ER with a family member. (Everything is “okay,“ but it's been a rough few weeks.) So… after convincing myself that it wasn't something to be anxious about, I ended up sending Trina to accept on my behalf and missing the evening. I did get to hear the kind words spoken about us thanks to a video clip.
I'm not going to lie, I was not expecting the beautiful award that we received. I would have been just as appreciative if it had been a piece of printed paper in a frame, but what we got is gorgeous, and if Carrollton Rainbow had a proper office, this would be sitting front and center. Isn't it nice?
So what's the award for? I know it's hard to read etched glass in a photo. We were awarded for being Change Makers. Here's the description:
Community Change Maker Award: This award recognizes someone who has pulled people together to make a difference in Carroll County. This person or group needs to be a Carroll County resident(s), and the work needs to be done in Carroll County over the past two years.
The award is not just mine, and not by a long shot. This award goes to all of those who have worked with Carrollton Rainbow for the past three years, from those who helped put on a small but mighty Pride event in the 4AM parking lot, to those who are now working on a Pride festival that will serve thousands of guest and feature a day of music and entertainment, to all of those who have volunteered and organized all of the little events in between, to those who just help manage social media or come hang out at spirit night.
Carrollton Rainbow is a nonprofit for the sake of gathering funds for events, but for all intents and purposes, it is a collective. A collection of people who want to let others know that they are not alone. A collection of people who want to do little (and big) things to make our corner of the world a little brighter, safer, and more colorful.
Carrollton Rainbow is all about bringing people together, whether it's to pick up trash along the Greenbelt, being there for each other during a peer support group, or organizing one of the biggest community events of the year. Community is what we're about.
So, on behalf of all of the people who make Carrollton Rainbow what it is, those who fight to make life easier for those who come after us, those who believe in my mission of putting together a great community picnic… I would like to say a big thank you to Bryan Hager and the CCDC. Thank you for supporting our mission. Thank you for sponsoring our events. And thank you for this award.
We don't do what we do for any accolades. But it's nice to be noticed for trying to do a little good out there. We appreciate it so very much!
Lucy
Comments