Out in the Mountains Queer Town Voices Continued from page 17 community needs. That’s going to be a big part of my job. And an ability to network with other gay men around the state. “I went to a fabulous leadership workshop which helped me to get a feel for the idea of not just having leaders up at a podium but people down in the community, people involved in the community, and leaders being within the community. The whole thrust of that workshop being whether or not you think so, you are a leader as a gay person. And that’s a great message.” Carey Johnson -- Men Who Have Sex With Men (MSM) Outreach Educator, Brattleboro Area AIDS Project, Brattleboro “One thing that’s very neat about (Vermont) is that it more or less has the characteristics of being a big, little town If we network efficiently and effectively, we can create a lot of change at the state level Being from a rural community, I think many of us feel isolated. It’s very difficult for us to meet one another. This Conference is a chance for us to (meet) people _ of similar interests and similar activism, to come together and affmn one another and check each other out. “I am one of these people who does feel that the awareness and the activity happens on that Montpelier-Burlington corridor. As somebody coming from the opposite end of the state, I am very much interested in having my voice and the voice of our community heard as much as we can There are many more of us in rural communities that need to have our voices expressed.” ***** Susan Aranoff (below) -- VCLGR Co—Liaison to the Governor, Randolph “It’s really important that elected officials, appointed officials, on all levels in every agency in government know that there are lesbian and gay Vermonters, know that lesbian and gay Vermonters have particular needs in a wide range of areas We need to make sure that our voice is heard, that our particular needs get taken into account.” Keith Goslant -- Former VCLGR Co—Liaison to the Governor, Plainfield “If you are really committed to doing social change, if civil rights is something that you feel passion for, there comes a time at which you step aside and make room for new leaders. The vision that you had is not necessarily the vision that needs to continue. You need to make room for that change. “Also, after having done this for (eight) years, you lose pieces of your personal life. The role of (VCLGR Co—)Liaison (to the Governor) becomes encompassing; it starts taking over more and more aspects of who you are as a person One of the things I personally found frightening was that as I would be driving from my office, from my home, to the Statehouse, I could feel myself changing There is a deliberate Statehouse apparent both physically and mannerisms that you take on and I was slipping into it much too easily. Your sense of presence gets distorted, and once your sense of presence gets distorted, you have to truly question who and what it is that you’re representing. ‘The high point was decidedly the passage of the anti—discrimination bill (in SUSAN M. MURRAY WOMENZSTCHOICE GYNECOLOGIC ASSOCIATES LANGROCK SPERRY & WOOL ATTORNEYS AT LAW - I5 SOUTH PLEASANT STREET MIDDLEBURY. VERMONT 05753 23 Mansfield Avenue, Burlington, Vermont 05401 802-863-9001 Fax: 802-863-4951 BURLINGTON OFFICE: 275 COLLEGE STREEY BURLINGTON, VERMONT 05402 802-864-0217 AREA Conz: B02 TELEPHONE: 3808-6356 . HOME PHONE: 877-3165‘ FAX 9: 388-6149 Cheryl A. Gibson MD. Susan F. Smith MD.