Austin Pride Announces 2012 Grand Marshals

The Austin Gay & Lesbian Pride Foundation announced the Grand Marshals for Austin Pride 2012 in a post on the organization's Facebook Page earlier this afternoon. This year's Marshals are community organizer Roger Temme, philanthropists and volunteers Tana & Joe Christie, and Austin entertainer Kelly Kline.

ROGER TEMME

During his 13 years of service as Director of Volunteer Recruitment at The Care Communities, Roger has connected hundreds of people living with HIV/AIDS with loving teams of volunteers to help with practical and emotional support. Roger is also a strong but gentle voice for celebration of LGBTQ people as members of faith communities. He is a member of St. David’s Episcopal Church and helped found and organize the first Multifaith Pride Service during Austin PRIDE Week in June 2001. Roger currently organizes and facilitates the Annual World AIDS Day Service of Remembrance & Hope.

Roger would like to dedicate this honor to the clients at The Care Communities who are living with HIV/AIDS and cancer--it is they who deserve the honor, respect, unconditional care and applause for living their lives honestly and with hope. He would also like to dedicate this honor to the thousands of volunteers he has been able to recruit over his 13 years at the Care Communities. In the Parade, he will be riding with a tote bag full of client and volunteer names, pictures, and videos as he believes they all deserve to be recognized as "Grand Marshals".

TANA & JOE CHRISTIE

Tana Christie was one of the first people in Austin to respond to the AIDS epidemic in the late 80's when so many had turned their backs. She was a founding board member of AIDS Services of Austin (ASA) and hosted its first major fundraising event at her home. Together with her husband, Joe, Tana has made her dedication to ASA and the work that the organization does for Austin’s LGBTQ community known to the entire Central Texas community.

Today, the Christies continue to support the staff of ASA through sustained donations, hosting of fundraising events, and countless volunteer hours with the organization. The couple will chair ASA’s upcoming 25th Anniversary celebration.

KELLY KLINE

Kelly has been an active member of the Austin and Texas drag communities for the past 20 years. During this time, she has volunteered to perform at and hosted countless fundraising events for various non-profit organizations and causes including ALLGO, Informe SIDA, AIDS Services of Austin, Christopher House, Project Transitions, Meals on Wheels, Project LUV for Pets, The United Court of Austin, and the Austin Baptist Women, to name just a few! She has also donated thousands of dollars in performance tips toward these causes! Outside her extensive work within the drag community, Kelly created the Pink Santa Toy Drive to collect toys for homeless children in the Austin area and is an active member, leader, and mentor within the transgender community.

Kelly explains that her motivation for all her work has simply been to improve the lives of Austin’s LGBTQ community because she believes that blessings should be paid forward.