Exchange PRIDE Invites Associates to Participate in Pride Fest, Plans June Lunch-and-Learn
This year marks the 10th anniversary of Exchange special emphasis program PRIDE (People Respecting Individuality, Diversity & Equality), which is inviting associates to participate in activities during June, which is LGBTQ+ Pride Month.
For the second consecutive year, PRIDE members and other associates will participate in Dallas Pride, the city’s biggest annual pride event, which takes place June 3 and 4 at Dallas’ Fair Park.
On June 3, the Exchange will have a booth at the festival, where associates will hand out Exchange swag and inform attendees about Veterans shopping privileges, ApplyMyExchange.com, the MILITARY STAR card and other Exchange benefits.
Exchange associates at the 2022 Alan Ross Texas Freedom Parade in Dallas. Holding the banner, from left, are Senior Marketing Manager Scott Lohmann (now retired), Chief Operating Officer Jason Rosenberg and Audit Project Manager Roger Hugh, PRIDE program manager.
Dallas-Fort Worth Exchange associates will also participate in the Alan Ross Texas Freedom Parade on June 4 in Fair Park. The festival and the month of June celebrate gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender people, and their allies, which creates an inclusive environment where everyone is welcome to attend.
Dallas Pride Festival will take place 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on June 3 at the Dallas’ Fair Park. The festival will feature food, and about two dozen performing acts across three stages. Tickets are $10 for adults 20 and over; $5 for teens 13-19; and free for children 12 and under.
The Alan Ross Texas Freedom Parade is scheduled from 2 to 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, June 4, and will feature more than 150 entries. Admission to the parade is free, but Fair Park parking is $10. For more information, visit dallaspride.org.
“Pride is more than a parade,” said Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer Dr. Patrick Oldenburgh Jr., PRIDE’s executive champion. “It’s a celebration of inclusion and equality. The PRIDE festival and parade are family events, and all are welcome. The Exchange has an inclusive culture, and participation in Dallas Pride and Pride Month activities is just one reflection of the diverse backgrounds and perspectives of the Exchange team.”
An Exchange truck featuring a PRIDE trailer wrap will be part of the parade.
Audit Project Manager Roger Hugh, PRIDE’s program manager, said that allyship is important to the group.
“We can all be allies to each other,” Hugh said. “We have started a collaborative relationship with the other special emphasis programs. Our goal is to have a collaborative effort with all the SEP groups so that we can support each other.”
This is the third time that the Exchange has had a standalone presence at the festival and parade. In 2018, about 30 associates walked with the Human Rights Campaign, but in 2019, the Exchange registered its own spot. More than 40 associates from headquarters and Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth staffed a booth and/or marched in the parade.
In 2020 and 2021, the festival and parade were canceled because of COVID concerns, but it returned in 2022 and Exchange associates once again participated.
“The festival was amazing last year,” Hugh said. “I talked to a lot of people and you’d be surprised how many people have a military background come to the Pride Festival and are interested in hearing about the Exchange. It’s always great to hear when they talk about their experiences with the Exchange. For me, it was a wonderful opportunity to communicate what we do.”
Water and snacks will be available for associates who join the parade. Hugh suggests that any associates who plan to walk in the parade arrive before noon. Golf carts will be available for associates who have issues with walking.
Valerie Wagoner, associate Equality Employment Opportunity officer, said she was also at last year’s festival and parade and called it a fantastic event.
“It was interesting how many active-duty military members were present who are not assigned to anywhere in Dallas-Fort Worth,” Wagoner said. “They come in for this event because it’s the closest one to them. It’s good for us to be present because some individuals who attend the Pride festival are our customers.”
Hugh said that some associates from the Waco Distribution Center and Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland have said they will make the trip to Dallas to participate in the parade.
In addition to the festival and the parade, PRIDE has planned a lunch-and-learn tentatively scheduled for 11 a.m. Central Time on June 27, featuring Arlen Miller, who was the first program manager of PRIDE (the program launched in 2013 as ALLY but changed its name to PRIDE in 2014). Miller, who left the Exchange in 2016, is now vice president of marketing for Citi, according to his LinkedIn page.
To learn more about PRIDE and other Exchange special emphasis programs, visit the Exchange HUB here. You can also read more about Pride Month and related stories in the June 2023 EEODI Digest. If you’d like to join a special emphasis program, click here.
