Indy PFLAG Chapter History

1988 - 2008

Florene and Ken Prunty knew that their son was gay, but they did not discover National PFLAG and join until 1984. The National office began referring calls from other Indiana parents to the Pruntys, and one of these calls was from Donna Haddox, mother of a gay son. By the spring of 1988 Donna felt strongly that Indianapolis should have a PFLAG chapter and, with names provided by the Pruntys, she started one.

The first meeting of Indy PFLAG was on Sunday, March 6, 1988 at Butler University. Four mothers and a few gays and lesbians attended. Word spread and there were 18 at the next meeting. Gradually the mailing list grew to 75 and attendance continued to be good.

During the next few years Donna connected with many other Indianapolis organizations, such as Dignity, Indiana Youth Group (IYG), Damien Center, Justice, and others. She spoke to these groups and representatives from them spoke to PFLAG. Donna and her husband John shared a booth at Indy Pride Fest and handed out literature in 1989 and 1990.

In 1991 Donna withdrew from the organization for personal reasons. The group drifted on for a few months until one spring only 3 people attended the meeting. At that point, Oran and Charlene Lakin, Sarah Patterson, and Florene and Ken Prunty became a steering committee. Our numbers began to grow again.

The chapter continued to have their annual PFLAG booth at Indy PRIDE, giving away literature and talking with many people. The primary focus remained providing information, and in 1996 we also began to sell logo buttons and other items.

In the fall of 1993 the Pruntys went to a National PFLAG convention and returned with an invitation for Indianapolis to host the convention in 1995. The steering committee, which by now had expanded to include about a dozen people, agreed. Ken was the president of the chapter and had experience in planning conventions. We relied on him to guide us through the planning.

During the next year we outgrew the room at Butler and found a new home at St Luke's United Methodist Church. We incorporated, elected officers, and began requesting membership dues. With much help, we planned the convention.

September of 1995 found us hosting a great National Convention attended by over 700 people. It was both popular and financially successful. We still hear from others that the Indy convention was the greatest! We received half the profit, and placed the money in an investment account named after the Pruntys. Income from this is used for special projects.

Sarah Patterson was elected President. Our chapter mailing list grew to more than 250. We continued to keep in contact with other groups, and PFLAG representatives talked at universities, at other meetings, and with the media. We began an organized support group for straight spouses, however this did not last very long. Our first Indy PFLAG brochures were produced in 1996.

In 1997 we walked as a group under the PFLAG banner at the Damien Center's AIDS Walk. We shared a booth with GLSEN and IYG at the National Middle School Convention and handed out nearly 400 packets of information. Kent Schwob was our next president.

We organized a PFLAG State Council meeting in April 1999 at Broadway United Methodist Church, under the leadership of Rhonda Ames, president. Several chapters sent representatives for networking as well as workshops. When health issues caused Rhonda to resign, Charlene Lakin filled in until Oran Lakin was elected in 2000.

Lisa Furlow was our first newsletter editor, followed by Kent Schwob until Marcia Neff took over in 1999.

National PFLAG's Safe Schools project in 2001 was the impetus for us to mail information packets to over 300 area school superintendents and counselors and to continue our presence at teacher and social worker conferences in Indianapolis.

While continuing to provide support and education, our chapter became more involved in advocacy in 2002. The idea for a Human Rights Ordinance for Indianapolis/Marion County and proposed legislation to ban Lesbian/Gay adoption spurred members to write letters.

The chapter decided in 2002 to present a program for the Spirit and Place Festival. Spirit and Place is a multi-day festival of arts, humanities, and religion in Indianapolis. Each year there are 50-100 events throughout the city. In November of 2002, we co-sponsored a panel discussion entitled Can You Tell Your Church You're Gay? Our next Spirit and Place program was presented in November 2004. That program was entitled The Experiment: Gay and Straight. We co-sponsored the showing of a video about a diverse group of gay and straight folks living together in a house for a week, and followed up with discussion.

Lambda Legal's 2003 Annual Indiana Benefit Dinner was the scene for their presentation of an Individual Leadership Award to Sarah Patterson. This award recognized Sarah's activism and ongoing leadership in PFLAG. She used the occasion to provide more information about PFLAG to the 400 attendees.

Awarding scholarships has been a goal for PFLAG. In 2004, our chapter received money from the dissolved Anderson chapter and offered a local scholarship for the first time.

In 2005 Dick Patterson took over the IndyPFLAG website. The original site had basic information, but he added many pages and links and made it easier to navigate.

The chapter had not had a president for a few years, operating under an informal steering committee. Rita and Marvin Wagner agreed to be co-presidents in 2005. In September of that year we held a statewide PFLAG Conference attended by members from six Indiana chapters. Various state and local government officials visited some of the conference events.

In 2005, Indy PFLAG became more active in advocacy issues. The chapter partnered with Indiana Equality (IE) to work against a proposed state constitutional marriage amendment (SJR 7) and to work for passage of an expanded Human Rights Ordinance (HRO) in Indianapolis. The Indianapolis HRO extended protections in the areas of housing, employment, and public accommodation to GLBT citizens.

Marcia Neff spearheaded an effort to gather stories from chapter members and members of the GLBT community. She compiled a Family Scrapbook of stories and pictures. Copies of the scrapbook were shared with city-county councilors during the work to pass the Indianapolis HRO and with state legislators during the debate over a proposed state constitutional marriage amendment. We felt it was important for our represented officials to learn first-hand about our families and our family values.

These grass-roots efforts on behalf of the HRO were successful. After much work and a couple very heated hearings, the HRO passed in the Indianapolis City-County Council in December 2005! PFLAG parents and other members under the IE umbrella enjoyed a wonderful celebration!

In 2006 Annette Gross became president. Working with a wonderful board, she continues PFLAG's mission of providing support, education, and advocacy to parents and families in our community.

We have been fortunate to have only a few treasurers. Paul Smith did the hard work for the National Convention and then Neal Hursh took over. Mark Cox helped briefly, and in 2000 Sue Hazer agreed to fill the position.

Advocacy has been an ever-growing part of the Indy PFLAG work. Chapter members continued efforts to defeat the proposed state constitutional marriage amendment. Members of our PFLAG chapter have testified in opposition of the Marriage Amendment at Senate hearings, and we sponsored a letter writing campaign in opposition to SJR7. After years of effort by many groups in Indiana, this amendment is now dead after the 2008 legislative session.

The chapter co-sponsored a third Spirit and Place event in 2006. This was entitled Traditional Family: Fact or Fiction? This program included a panel discussion, a video presentation, and small group discussions where we considered the different types of families in the US and looked at some of their unique challenges.

In 2008, we helped sponsor a workshop held by OUTSpoken, a non-profit organization from Boston, to help us learn how to tell our stories. In April, 2008, PFLAG is coordinating with Indiana Youth Group (IYG) and the Central Indiana Community Foundation to present a community-wide forum on GLBT issues.

Indy PFLAG has continued to offer support to parents and education in the community. Typical attendance is 15-20 people at our monthly meetings where we have sharing time followed by a program. We have continued to sit on panel discussions at IUPUI and Ivy Tech Colleges. We send speakers to various organizations throughout the area, and we have booths at conferences, including those for social workers and school counselors. Over the years we have worked with Youth and Diversity (YAD) and IYG in our work at conference booths. At the conferences, we distribute literature, buttons, and bumper stickers and speak with members of the organizations. We continue to march in the Indy Pride Parade every year and we are extending our presence in other community fairs including Black Pride and some neighborhood celebrations. In 2007, the chapter instituted a Speaker's Bureau, led by Jeff Jones, to help us provide better services to the growing number of schools, organizations, and corporations that request our speaking services.

The chapter continues to hold meetings on the 2nd Sunday of every month at St. Luke's United Methodist Church. The church has provided a warm and welcoming environment for our members. We continue to offer support, education, and advocacy for the many parents who find us through our meetings, with phone calls, or even via our website.

It is now 2008 and Indy PFLAG is 20 years old! The many people involved now walk in the footsteps of past leaders. There is still work to do to ensure equal rights and fairness for all GLBT citizens. PFLAG parents and friends are always willing to do what it takes to lead the way in this endeavor. We stand behind our loved ones 100% and plan on being there for them for another 20 years!

We are proud of our past and excited about our future!

Compiled by Sarah Patterson, Annette Gross and Sue Hazer, 2008