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GayIndy.Org News
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Indianapolis-- Over fifty GLBT community leaders and activists gathered on November 23 at Jesus MCC in Indianapolis to hold an organizational meeting for a new Marion County GLBT Coalition. ![[Photo] Coalition Work Group](/images/news/coalition.jpg)
While many issues were discussed, most of the new organization's future plans as well as it's overall structure are still in the working stages. "We have to figure out who we are" said Ellen Anderson, one of the meeting's organizers, as the participants were divided into groups with instructions to list their ideas and vision for the coalition.
The primary reason for forming the coalition according to the meeting's organizers was to bring the various central Indiana GLBT organizations together in order to be more proactive rather then reactive to issues that affect the community. "We were spending all of this time and energy on someone else's plan," stated Mary Byrne, a long-time activist and one of the principal organizers of the meeting. "We don't want to re-invent the wheel, we just want to make sure everyone is working together."
At the conclusion of the meeting, several working groups were formed, including a planning committee that is charged with crafting a proposal for the basic structure of the coalition, a draft of which is expected to be presented to the coalition body by January 31, 2003. In addition to the organizational structure planning committee, working groups were formed to plan for education and training, communication within the GLBT community, and public information for communication to the wider community. Each of these groups will meet regularly while the coalition's basic structure is being drafted.
While much of the future direction of the coalition remains unclear, the meeting was exactly what the organizers were hoping for according to Byrne. "We did not want to come here and say 'here it is, buy into it,' " she said, describing the meeting as "everything and more than what we wanted to get accomplished."
More information about the group will soon be posted on their website
