As Pride month continues, I am pleased to share a project that we did for an organization in Longview, Texas. Wolfie Hoover is an LGBTQ+ historian working to increase visibility and acceptance for LGBTQ+ citizens in their community. Because of this work, they had the opportunity to create a Pride display at the Longview city library. The display would highlight the origins of Pride, providing education for Longview citizens. While they had the research and knowledge to share this history, they did not have the resources or budget to create a professional display for the public. This is where #CrossroadsCares stepped in to help.

We worked with Wolfie, and they provided us with the stories and images they would like to include in the display. To optimize the investment, the display needed to be something that was easily portable and could be reused again and again in a variety of presentation settings in the future. Big thanks to Crossroads’ Robert V. for donating many hours of time creating the art design and layout for the content. The art was delivered to a local printer in Longview for production, and Wolfie was conveniently able to pick it up in their hometown.

The library installation was an immediate success as Longview kicked off Pride month. The display gained media attention and their local newspaper delivered a great article and interview with Wolfie Hoover about the display and upcoming Pride-related activities. The Pride history display will be available the entire month of June at the Longview library. You can read about it and see the images here.

Creating safer places for LGBTQ+ people begins at home, in our communities, and in our workplaces. It is a privilege to contribute in ways that are meaningful and have real impact. If a small town in Texas can celebrate Pride in this way, it can happen everywhere.... and this is why Crossroads Cares about Pride.

Happy Pride from all of us at Crossroads Communications.

Gail Fritz (she/her)

Director of Business Operations

DEI & #CrossroadsCares Champion