As part of their Professional Luncheon Series the Greater San Diego Business Association (GSDBA) welcomed San Diego’s first lady, Bronwyn Ingram, fiancée of Mayor Bob Filner Feb. 12, at Wang’s North Park. GSDBA members and guests attended this special lunch event to hear Ingram speak about her current endeavors with local organizations and Team First Lady, the group of citizen volunteers she has formed.
Ingram began by saying that she was impressed and inspired by all the people she met on the campaign trail. They would not only speak to her about the issues they were concerned about but also offered their services on what they could do to help out. One of her main focuses is to unify organizations and assist in whatever way she can especially with homelessness.
“The way I see my role is just to support services that are out there already. I didn’t want to start a new organization or, you know, think that I have some answer that’s not already out there; so it’s just a matter of I want to support the work that’s happening now.”
Ingram was very candid about her intentions and past experiences. She mentioned how Mayor Filner is so proud of her and her work that he often tells people she’s an expert in dealing with homelessness issues. “I’m not an expert on homelessness, I’ve been working with the disabled community for 21 years and it’s my profession. So I have worked with the disabled homeless for the past few years in Los Angeles.”
Ingram’s smile can light up a room and her excitement was apparent as she spoke about her upcoming projects including a beautification project in the East Village, “City College has a horticulture department that’s really active and they’re going to work with us on making some planters all up and down Broadway to bring color and excitement to that area. It’s not only just about what the City can do and using taxpayer money, it’s about all of us and pooling our resources, working together…”
She will also be co-chairing the committee set up by the GLBT Historic Task Force of San Diego County to create an AIDS memorial in San Diego. “All Americans have been affected by AIDS in one way or another,” she stated.
Ingram also understands that everyone has different schedules and is hoping that Team First Lady can offer flexibility so that everyone can contribute in some way. “The exciting thing is you know, all of us have different schedules, we all have different levels of ability to participate, and the cool thing about Team First Lady is you can go to the Web site and just say, ‘Hey you know, I don’t have a lot of time to give but next weekend I’m not doing anything so let me see what’s going on;’ and you can click on the calendar and see what’s happening for that day. So you can commit to something that is 3-hours or you can commit to an ongoing project like helping with adult literacy in the library. You can sign up for 3 months or 6 months of tutoring an adult for literacy. So, there are a lot of opportunities to get involved in. It’s pretty cool, it’s pretty exciting.”
To become part of Team First Lady you can register by going to teamfirstladysd.com
Founded in 1979 GSDBA continues to support small businesses in San Diego while advocating for mainstream acceptance of diversity. GSDBA is one of the largest specialty chambers in San Diego County and the second largest gay, lesbian and supportive chamber in the nation. For more information on joining or attending an upcoming GSDBA event go to: gsdba.org
