The Houston Transgender Unity Committee has launched ticket sales for the 2008 Houston Transgender Unity Banquet, set for April 26. The Committee, the nonprofit consortium of area trans organizations, organizes and hosts the annual banquet, which is one of the largest single-night transgender events in the nation.
Tickets are $50 in advance ($60 at the door) and may be purchased online through
TicketWeb or by contacting the Unity Committee through its website, www.htuc. Tickets are also available for purchase at the Heights boutique Vanity: A Trans-formation Studio (1442 Yale, 832/767-3252).
Proceeds from ticket sales support the Peggy Rudd Transgender Scholarship Fund, which awards scholarships to trans-identified students pursuing higher education. Information on the fund is
available at
www.htuc.org. The application deadline is March 15.
Jennifer Finney Boylan, whose acclaimed 2003 memoir She's Not There: A Life in Two Genders was one of the first best-selling books by a transgender author, will present the keynote speech at the 2008 Houston Transgender Unity Banquet, which will take place at the Sheraton Houston Brookhollow (3000 North Loop West). Boylan's latest book, I'm Looking Through You: Growing Up Haunted–A Memoir, is being released this month.
Unity Banquet sponsorships are available at a range of levels, from $75 to $2,000 to underwrite the Brenda Thomas Education Table, named in honor of Thomas (1943-2006), the transgender and HIV activist and educator and longtime Unity Committee executive director. Interested individuals and companies may contact the committee at
www.htuc.org. A silent auction held during the banquet will raise additional funds to support programs of the Unity Committee.
In addition to the Unity Banquet, Unity Committee programs include the Brenda Thomas Memorial New Year's Day Social in January (new in 2008), Unity Month in March, Pride month activities in June, Transgender Day of Remembrance in November, and the Rudd Scholarship Fund. Unity Committee representatives frequently speak to schools, businesses, and organizations.
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