Submitted by the Rose City Pride Bands Denny Richard is the embodiment of who a recipient of the LGBA Pillar of Pride should be. Denny brings his whole self to any project or goal he is associated with. However, we have to admit, Denny’s whole self is a combination of many past and present selves. To name a few:

• East Coast Denny
• Drum and Bugle Corps Denny
• Denny the Banker
• Denny the Personal Trainer and Yoga Master
• Denny the Wilderness Guy
• Volunteer Extraordinaire Denny

Denny Richard was born and raised in the Boston, MA area. It may be an East Coast stereotype, but Denny brings a palpable passion to all he does. He has an intensity and drive that encourages others’ participation and inclusion. As a young man, Denny was involved in the Drum and Bugle Corps community performing and touring with the Cadets. After college, Denny worked in the banking and finance industry. Disillusioned, he decided to move cross country to Phoenix, Arizona where he became a personal trainer and yoga teacher. He also joined the Desert Overture band in their clarinet section. Following his time in Phoenix, Denny moved to Portland. From Chad Alexander: “Denny Richard is one of the hardest working guys I know. We participated together as committee members and players with the Desert Overture band in Phoenix, AZ, and then with the Rose City Freedom band in Portland, OR. He has the innate ability to get people involved and enthusiastic about the different projects needed to keep groups like this alive. He is also deeply committed to his friends and colleagues in helping them succeed…Denny has been a positive force in the gay band scene for a number of years now, and is a most deserving candidate for this award.” His first volunteer assignment with Rose City Pride Bands was as our Marching Band Coordinator. In his first year, he managed to recruit an entire color guard – the first time we ever marched with one. That wasn’t enough though. He also managed to convince a majority of the band to vote for new “uniforms”. Instead of our usual khaki shorts and blue “I can’t even MARCH straight” tee shirts, he had us all picking a color from the rainbow flag and color coordinating our outfits by section. We were a mass of color coming down the street. It was a radical change! Once Denny became the Pride Marching Band Coordinator, that group eventually increased in size from about 25 musicians to an 80+ unit of percussion, winds, flags, color guard, and banners. One year we even marched with a steel drum! During his stint as Marching Band Coordinator, we also finally purchased our very own set of (used) marching percussion. Up until that time, we had always borrowed equipment from other sources. By having our own equipment, we were then able to accept and prepare for other gigs. It was around this time, after fundraising and purchasing the marching band equipment, that Denny volunteered to be on the Rose City Pride Band board. The position of Treasurer was open after our former treasurer died of cancer. It was a very difficult time for all of us in the band then. With Denny’s background and experience in the finance and banking industry, he was essential at keeping the organization’s financial stability. As a board member, Denny was an advocate for enlarging our board and including non-band members. These changes helped our organization to have a more prominent presence in the community which also helped with our fundraising. As Denny’s involvement and work on the board increased, he was able to use his board skills in new professional opportunities. Denny became the Volunteer Coordinator for the Cascade AIDS Project and an REI trip leader and associate. From Kurt Jull: “By sharing his time and talents with young people in the marching arts and winterguard, he mentored students and performers from all walks of life including a large population of LGBTQ+ youth who desperately needed someone to look up to. Through trials and tribulations, Denny is always there to help. Denny also found the amazing world of LGBA and nothing could stop his passion and energy from growing and innovating with the Rose City Pride Bands. His interest and activity connected all aspects of the programming from administrative to performance. His musicianship and athletics would find him playing a wind instrument, then jumping into the percussion section and then moving with the dancers and colorguard. He would humbly excel at whatever the family needed him to be and wherever the family needed him the most.” Just as Denny’s professional life has led him to where he is today, so too has his path been woven into and through our community. Denny led the effort to form a coalition of Portland LGBTQ performing arts organizations. This group now shares their performance and benefit dates so we can support one another and also so as not to interfere with one another’s calendars. Brilliant! This has also led to RCPB ensembles performing and volunteering with other organizations and other performing groups doing the same with us! The Rose City Pride Bands continue to grow in their artistic capabilities and strength; as Denny has helped to evolve the organization’s mission statement, while also giving the latitude to let artistic teams embolden their players to push the envelope in musicianship and camaraderie. With Denny’s leadership, our members have also volunteered for non-musical community organizations. This year we were honored to be selected as the local host organization for Dining Out for Life, a National event to support folks who are living with HIV. In this capacity, RCPB was featured in all the DOfL print and social media campaigns. It was also Denny’s vision and commitment to help steer our organization through our recent name and branding change. No small feat! The LGBA 2020 conference was to be the culmination of 3 years of work in our organization and community. And though the band has been in existence for 30 years, this was to be our first time hosting the national convention. With countless hours of preparation and meetings, Denny was the guiding light throughout the entire process. It was his sheer will that propelled everyone to do their best and stretch their limits to make this conference the absolute best experience we could possibly offer. Though the Covid pandemic has forced us to cancel the conference, we are a stronger organization for the work we did to prepare for the conference. It was a total group effort, but it was initiated and led by one man – Denny Richard. From Kellyn Addis: Knowing Denny has changed my life in the best ways. I was about a year into sobriety, and was trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my new life without alcohol. Rose City Pride Bands had just held a symphonic concert where we had more members in the band than in the audience. At the following rehearsal, Denny gave an impassioned speech about joining the board. By the time he was done speaking, I knew I would join and now have served for 5 years. I have worked closely with Denny since I joined the board. There are not enough words to describe what his guidance and friendship over the last years has meant to me. He’s put everything he has into our band. He has listened to me scream, cry, celebrate and laugh, and been my friend, leader, and band companion through it all. As we can see, Denny Richard exemplifies the core qualities of the Pillars of Pride:

Red – Support

Orange – Growth

Yellow – Musicianship

Green – Fellowship

Blue – Dedication

Purple – Innovation

We enthusiastically nominate and support Denny Richard for the LGBA 2020 Pillar of Pride award