Pride St. Louis Elects 40th Anniversary 2019 Board of Directors

ST. LOUIS, Mo. - Th e annual Pride St. Louis, Inc. (PSL) Board elections were held on Aug. 13th selecting four new directors and re-electing four directors whose terms were up this year. The now 17 member 2018-2019 PSL Board of Directors will oversee next year's 40th anniversary PrideFest, PrideCenter, and numerous other events and fundraisers.

Prior to Monday's vote, the PSL Board Development committee held interviews with a majority of this year's candidates. The Board Development committee also recommended the appointment of PSL coordinators Jolene Gosha and Morgan Morris to fill two vacant seats on the existing Board for a one year term. This was unanimously approved by the Board on Monday.

Following a round of this year's candidates introducing themselves for two minutes and a five minute Q&A with the Board, the new PSL Board directors are Julia Rachel Clay, Harry Painter, Jr., Travis Vancil and Jesse Doggendorf. Reelected to the Board were Christa Cunningham, Dennis Gorg, Jason Johnson and Marty Zuniga. All will serve two year terms.

Applicants were required to be nominated by a sitting member of the Board and encouraged to have one year of experience working or volunteering with the organization. According to PSL, 12 applications were submitted following a public call for new members in early July. There were also two voice nominations for new members by sitting directors on Monday, which is allowed under the organization's bylaws. Seven seats were up for a vote with an eighth added after evaluating all candidates.

Also held on Monday were officer elections for the following positions: Marty Zuniga, Vice President; Jason Johnson, Treasurer; and Dennis Gorg, Director of Compliance. All were reelected.

Pride St. Louis would like to express the deepest appreciation to Adam Ruppert, Kevin Hirsch, and Wolf Smith for their years of service. The organization is thankful for their leadership and for their many contributions to the LGBTQIA+ community, and wishes them the best of luck in all of their future endeavors.