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SpeakOUT Members & Friends:

With a heavy-heart, I'm writing today to announce that as of July 1st, SpeakOUT - as a formal organization - has ceased operations.

I know this announcement will come as a surprise and I have struggled for many weeks to make this tough decision. As much as I would love to continue running this group as a formal non-profit, I simply no longer have the time and energy required to do so. My personal life has changed in many ways since I began this group in the spring of 2004. My youngest son was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in the fall of 2006, which brings with it unique demands and focus to ensure that my son remains healthy. My two children are now 12 and 9, and their activities are becoming increasingly demanding on my time. My husband lost his job not once, but twice due to the recession. He remains unemployed at this time. This change in our life sent me back to working full-time and forced me to cease all speaking engagements during working hours.

These changes in my life have not changed my personal feelings and goals as an ally, but it has forced me to re-evaluate my priorities and take a hard look at my schedule and what I can and cannot do at this time.

Seeking out social justice for the LGBT community started as a spark inside me the summer of 2003...and it grew into the birth of SpeakOUT the following year. This organization is truly a labor of love - it is something I have done as a volunteer for six years. There are no words adequate enough to express how much I wish this letter was not necessary.

Over the past year, I have tried several things (such as suspending our monthly meetings) to ensure that SpeakOUT would endure. In the end, however, these chan ges proved to be not enough. I want to assure you that I have also actively sought out a replacement for myself as the acting Director, but after a year, I have failed to locate anyone willing to do so.

I am so proud of everything SpeakOUT has achieved as an organization. There is simply not enough room to list all of our accomplishments, but let me just say that our message of hope was heard by thousands...not just here in central Ohio, but across the nation. (I have received numerous letters of thanks from people who reside out of Ohio!) Not only did we reach out and welcome new allies but we built bridges within the gay community itself. Some of the most remarkable letters and comments I've received were from GLBT-identifying people who were moved by our members and actions.

I am very excited about the current atmosphere of activism in central Ohio. I have met more straight allies this past year than in any other since I've been active. New ally focused groups are spring-up all over: Knox County GSA has been incredibly successful, TransOhio continues to grow and do good things, Delaware Christian Gay/Straight Alliance remains a steadfast warrior and the new Athens PFLAG is off to a great start. While I certainly do not take any credit for this20growth in LGBT awareness in the straight community, I do hope that SpeakOUT played some part in spreading the seeds of activism in our state. I strongly encourage our existing organizations to put more time, money and effort into the education and recruitment of allies.

I would like to thank everyone for their support and encouragement over these past years. I want to thank the many individuals who listened to my "stupid questions" and taught me. Thank you for sharing your secrets, fears and hopes with me. I have learned many lessons, gained a life-time of knowledge and was blessed with many new friendships though my work with SpeakOUT. I want to thank each member - especially the founding ones who came to my very first meeting when I was green, nervous and very-late since my husband was in urgent care at the time! I want to thank the community leaders who welcomed me, taught me and eventually had to put up with me as one of them! I want to thank each and every person who donated their time or money to our organization. I also want to thank the Columbus LGBT community for welcoming a straight, suburban mom & wife into their community - I am honored to be a member.

Specifically I feel the need to thank a group of people by name, each of whom played a specific and special role in developing our organization in their own special way: Linda Thornberg, Rob Berger, John Marzulf, Susie Johnston, Dina Smith, Rachel Andrews, Peg Allegman, Kelley Pinkleton, Michael Dutcher, Russ Goodwin, Chris Hayes, Michael Daniels, Tom Grote, Bill Hedrick, Adam Leddy, Nick Staup, Rolando Ramon & Dorrie and Karen Andermills. (If your name is not on this list, please be assured that you are remembered and thanked in my heart.)

Lastly, I want to thank my family; Brian, Meaghan and Brandon. All of them have supported me in this effort and I can truly say without them SpeakOUT would never have existed. All of them have sacrificed time with me and given their energy (sometimes not by choice) to support SpeakOUT. My family makes me proud and I won't be surprised if one of my kids grows up to be their school's GSA president! :)

So to wrap up all official business: The remaining amount of $70 in our bank account will be donated to a fellow GSA. I will also be reaching out to the community to see if anyone is interested in obtaining the massive amount of literature and so forth that I've accumulated over the years. Our last "official" sponsorship will be at this year's TransOhio Trangender and Ally Symposium...where we are donating a gift basket to be raffled off. All documents which may contain personal information (such as addresses) will be shredded. 20The group site (for members only) will remain up until the end of July to allow you time to save any photos or files you may want. I will also be closing our Cafe Press account at the end of the month - so if you want a keepsake, order it now!

If you would like to continue to keep up with me and my activities as an active ally, I invite you to follow me on Twitter at AlliesSpeakOUT. On there, I plan on sending out tweets regarding action alerts and so forth. It's not the update, but it's close. Also, if time allows, I may create another way to keep up with action alerts and news over on MySpace or Facebook. I will keep my email account active - so you can always reach me at SpeakOUT_cols@yahoo.com

I'm not ending this with good-bye because I still plan on being out there volunteering, staying active and speaking out wherever an ally voice is needed. Please join me...there is still much work to be done.