Around The Old Pueblo

Please help welcome Wingspan’s new Executive Director, Jason Cianciotto, by attending a public reception on Thursday, May 15, 5 to 7:00 p.m. at Wingspan, 425 E 7th St. Jason’s tenure began on April 16 and he has brought with him a wealth of policy and advocacy experience, having recently served as research director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force’s Policy Institute. Jason’s relationship to Wingspan is a personal one, as he is a former member of Wingspan’s youth group and was one of the organization’s first paid employees. Light refreshments will be served. For more information, call Wingspan (520) 624-1779. ...

Join the Monday series of free quit tobacco classes for LGBT people and allies. Two separate series of classes are scheduled. One will be begin Friday, May 2 at 5:30 p.m.; the other on Monday, May 12 at 7:30 p.m. All classes will be held at Wingspan, 425 E. 7th St. Class #1 starts Friday, May 2, 5:30-6:30pm; meets weekly for six weeks. Class #2 starts Monday, May 12, 7:30-8:30pm; meets weekly for six weeks. This class includes support for quitting and, for a limited time only, you'll get free nicotine replacement (patches, gum, or lozenges) for three full months. There's never been a better time to quit. To register, contact Michael Woodward, Wingspan Health & Wellness Programs Manager, at (520) 624-1779, x117 or mwoodward@wingspan.org. ...

Everyone is invited to "A Colorful Life: Hannah Blue Heron" this coming Saturday, May 10 from 2 - 4:00 p.m. at the Ward VI Council Office, 3202 East 1st St. This is a Wingspan Senior Pride series highlighting local LGBT celebrants in which they share their amazing colorful life-journey with us. Eight-two year old young, Hannah Blue Heron (aka Sister Mary Teresa) will share her life as a nun, a "hippie", a feminist, a writer and as a composer of music. Please "come out" for an entertaining afternoon and support our efforts to begin gathering the collective Southern AZ LGBT his/herstories! ...

Marketing to the Gay Community on the Internet? Looking for valuable insights? A competitive edge? Matthew Skallerud, the founder of GayWired.com, will lead a presentation at Wingspan’s Anzaldua Room, 425 E. 7th St., 11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m., about some of the latest trends in making outreach to consumers using the latest Web 2.0 tools including MySpace, FaceBook, Blogs, Gadets & Widgets, YouTube, RSS/XML and more. Find out how and why other companies are utilizing these technologies to get the word out to consumers online, and discover more about some of the unique opportunities in the GLBT Web 2.0 space in targeting Gays & Lesbians online. For more information, go online to http://www.pinkbananamedia.com/seminar.cfm .