Community
Community means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. To me, as a new business owner on the island, it means cooperation - something that was sorely lacking for at least the past decade. There are several LGBTQ+ businesses, bars and non-profits on the island, and for far too long they have operated independent of each other - often in detriment to their own interests. Coming in as the new guy, I was able to help facilitate change and bring us together. In the short 4 months since Island Time has opened, I have witnessed cooperation between the 3 LGBTQ+ bars (The Island Sisters), their ally bars, and by our community partners. It’s AMAZING! We are all now working together on Pride, Pridefest and social media, all marketing for each other to help promote big events and fundraisers that do good for our whole community. We have held several fundraisers and all three of the LGBTQ+ bars, and several of the ally bars have been involved in raising money for great causes here on Galveston Island - and we are just getting started!
Our next big step is completing the launch of GayGalveston.com, a single place for all things LGBTQ+ in Galveston. Working together is great, but our tourists (and even some of our locals) don’t know how many great organizations are here and the initiatives they take part in, bringing unity to our community. This new site will be a place to find all the great organizations as well as a community calendar that showcases all that’s happening. I am personally happy to be spearheading this amazing new site that is sure to bring us all closer together.
I cannot wait to see what our community will do in the next year- even in the face of state laws making it more difficult to be ourselves. This is the time for everyone to come together and be proud to be a member of a growing LGBTQ+ community right here in Galveston and I truly believe that together we will weather these challenges, prosper as a community, and come out stronger on the other end.
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