2009 World Gay Rodeo Finals Grand Marshal IGRA and the Finals Rodeo Committee are proud to recognize and introduce Lorrie Murphy as the Grand Marshal for the 2009 World Gay Rodeo Finals.
Lorrie has been very instrumental in getting people interested and involved in rodeo. She is one of the original members who competed for Team Money Pennies, and she has had a tremendous impact in growing the rodeo community. Not only has she drawn numerous people to the Canadian Rockies International Rodeo (CRIR) with her team sponsorship and support for the Alberta Rockies Gay Rodeo Association (ARGRA) and the International Gay Rodeo Association (IGRA) over the years, she has been able to get more people involved with the ARGRA rodeo committees.
Lorrie was the Grand Marshal for the 1999 CRIR and has received two IGRA Appreciation Awards and three ARGRA Appreciation Awards for her work as Rodeo Director. She has also received the Wild Rose Award 2000 for individual contributions to Calgary's Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Two-Spirited Community. She has been involved with many organizations - too numerous to list. A few of these organizations are Gay Lines Calgary and its successor Gay & Lesbian Community Services Association of Calgary, Imperial Sovereign Court of The Chinook Arch, AIDS Calgary, and Pride Calgary.
Lorrie is such a positive energetic woman that every person, group, or organization she supports cannot help but grow from her enthusiasm; her support and hard work are infectious; she stays involved because she believes in the cause and the greater good her sponsorships will bring.
2009 World Gay Rodeo Finals Local Community Hero IGRA and the Finals Rodeo Committee are proud to recognize and introduce Paul James (PJ) Sedillo as the Local Community Hero.
PJ is a native of Albuquerque, New Mexico and is currently working on his Doctorate in Special Education with an emphasis on the gifted and talented. He has been teaching within the Albuquerque Public Schools (APS) for the past 21 years and is currently a Resource Teacher assisting newly hired teachers of the Gifted to APS. He currently serves as Albuquerque Pride President and Sinatra-Divine President.
PJ has been an active member in the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered community. As an "out" positive role model, he has been an activist for many issues pertaining to human rights for all of Albuquerque's citizens. As an advocate for human rights in Albuquerque, he has had numerous accomplishments. Some of these accomplishments include: Securing job security for all APS employees with a non-discriminatory policy with sexual orientation written into all APS employee contracts; assisted in the creation of the Albuquerque Gay & Lesbian Teacher's Forum for the Albuquerque Teachers Federation; Coordinated the Albuquerque Gay & Lesbian Parade and Pridefest for the past 20 years; Founded the Sinatra-DeVine, a non-profit 501c(3) corporation, and helps produce the famed Come Out Show to benefit local charities. PJ was legally married in Canada in 2003 and charged discrimination against APS to ensure his spouse (Tony Ross) would receive spousal benefits. Together PJ and Tony received spousal benefits from APS which opened the door for domestic partnership benefits within the Albuquerque Public School System.