Pride North of 55 has a new chairperson, at least for the time being, after Harlie Pruder resigned from that position at the group’s April 21 annual general meeting, and is currently considering whether it will continue with the events it has been holding for the past few years or change things up.
Susannah Mueller, who took over as acting board president, told about 15 AGM attendees that she would like to start having monthly social activities and doing some fundraising and at the very least organize a Pride march and barbecue this year.
“I do want to see this group move forward,” said Mueller.
Pride North of 55 had about 50 people each at its Pride march and mini-festival in September and about 17 attended the raising of the Pride flag at City Hall to mark Thompson’s Pride week.
Jesse Mosioner is also continuing on in his role as a board member, while Nelly Duarte and Freddy Routhier were nominated and acclaimed as new board members.
The past year was a new experience for Pride North of 55 as it took steps to become an independent organization, which required incorporation and the drafting of bylaws. Previously, it had operated as a subsidiary of Pride Winnipeg and it no longer has access to all of the resources Pride Winnipeg previously provided, though that group is still willing to help its northern counterpart out, Pruder said.
Other activities of the past year included attending GLOW (Gay, Lesbian or Whatever) group meetings at R.D. Parker Collegiate, creating Snapchat and Instagram accounts and becoming more active on social media, and joining Fierté Canada Pride, a non-profit national organization of Pride organizations.
Events that Pride North of 55 or its members participated in included the Trans Day of Remembrance, the Defeat Depression five-kilometre walk, youth homelessness engagement sessions put on by the University of Manitoba Northern School of Social Work and the Moon Time pad drive, as well as the Nickel Days parade and the community Christmas dinner.
Mueller said developing a sustainable structure is necessary because if volunteers get burnt out, the organizations they run can disappear.
“In Thompson groups have come and gone when leaders left,” she said, especially if they are small. “If you lose one person that’s a bigger impact than if you have a larger group.”
Key to achieving that is getting more people involved, as Pride North of 55 believes there are more people in Thompson who support what they do than have necessarily been attending Pride events.
Pride North of 55’s next meeting will be held May 12 at the Thompson Public Library at 1:30 p.m.
