FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: FEBRUARY 5, 2009
Contact: Ginny Apuzzo, (845) 331-5300
ASSEMBLYMAN DANIEL O’DONNELL TO KEYNOTE HUDSON VALLEY LGBTQ COMMUNITY CENTER GALA
KINGSTON, NEW YORK (Feb. 5) – Assemblyman Daniel J. O’Donnell, the first openly gay man to serve in the New York Assembly and prime sponsor of the State’s proposed Marriage Equality Act, will be the guest of honor and keynote speaker for the Hudson Valley LGBTQ Community Center’s second Annual Gala, which will take place on Saturday, March 7, at the Grandview in Poughkeepsie.
O’Donnell represents the 69th Assembly District, which includes Manhattan Valley, Morningside Heights, and the Upper West Side of Manhattan. He grew up in Commack, Long Island, along with four siblings including actress, comedian and talk show host Rosie O’Donnell, before working his way through George Washington University and CUNY Law School. He served as a public defender in the Brooklyn office of the Legal Aid Society before opening his own public interest law firm in Manhattan, and in 2002 was first elected to the Assembly, where he currently serves as the Chair of the Subcommittee on Criminal Procedures. O’Donnell and his partner, Jon Banta, have been together 27 years; the Assemblyman gave impassioned closing remarks during the debate on the Marriage Equality Act that passed the Assembly on June 19, 2007.
“Danny O’Donnell is a perfect choice to keynote our annual Gala this year, in the wake of the Proposition 8 vote in California which has energized LGBTQ people and their allies across the country and this state around the issue of marriage equality,” said Center President Ginny Apuzzo. “The Gala is the Center’s biggest annual event to raise funds in support of our ever-growing work, and we are delighted that he is able to be part of the evening.”
Apuzzo also noted that holding the second Annual Gala in Poughkeepsie underscores the regional nature of the community served by the Center, which is headquartered in Kingston. Tickets for the Gala are still available; for more information, visit http://www.lgbtqcenter.org/events/springgala/index.html.
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The Hudson Valley LGBTQ Community Center is working to build tomorrows infinitely safer, saner and healthier than our yesterdays. Learn more at www.lgbtqcenter.org.