Boston Pride Announces the 2011 Parade Marshals

By a vote of over 2,000 people the following honorees have been named Boston Pride’s 2011 Parade Marshals

 

Individual: John Affuso, Attorney

A former lieutenant in the New Jersey Army National Guard, John has worked tirelessly for years on this issue and spent most of 2010 organizing folks and lobbying in Boston and Washington, D.C. His efforts helped to win the support of Senator Scott Brown and, ultimately, the successful passage of legislation that has started the repeal of DADT. In addition to his amazing work on DADT, John has been a advocate for LGBT equality for nearly twenty years, serving in a number of highly visible roles in the community, including Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino’s LGBT Liaison, a member of the Grass Roots Gay Rights Fund, a board member of the Gay Officers Action League of New England, and as a Co-Chair of the Massachusetts Lesbian and Gay Bar Association, where he worked relentlessly to help defeat the proposed constitutional amendment that threatened to take away marriage equality in Commonwealth.

 

Group: Community Servings

Community Servings was founded in 1989 by a diverse coalition of gay activists, doctors, nurses and restaurateurs to address the AIDS crisis and the need for home delivered meals.  As people with HIV/AIDS became ill, and before the discovery of today’s powerful medications, food was the only tool available to help prolong someone’s life.  The agency began serving 30 meals a day in January 1990 in three Boston neighborhoods.  Now, 21 years later Community Servings has delivered 4.4 million free meals and has grown to provide over 775 meals a day throughout Greater Boston.  Over 50% of the individuals and families they serve are fighting HIV/AIDS, but the agency has also expanded to serve people with any form of Cancer, MS … any critical illness. 100 volunteers a day help to prepare, package and deliver the meals.  It costs just $5 a day to provide lunch, dinner and a snack to someone struggling with a critical illness.

 

Honorary: Rev. Professor Peter J. Gomes 

Read about Peter’s life and work