We are so excited to present to you and the world, our first ever speaker series! All of the speakers in our series have a connection to Kokomo and/or Indiana and we are proud to offer all of these speakers free of charge to all who wish to attend.
RSVP is not required but it is greatly appreciated.
A zoom link will be available here when we are closer to each date if you would like to tune in but are not comfortable in person yet.
Click here or go to our Facebook page, Kokomo Pride, to watch live at home.
Kokomo Pride and our hosts will follow any and all current CDC guidelines pertaining to the COVID-19 pandemic at the respective date of each conversation.
Jeremy Fewell…
Jeremy Fewell is a husband, father, special education teacher, and coach. Jeremy is a native of Kokomo, IN graduating from Kokomo High School in 1996. Jeremy, having grown up in Kokomo, lived in fear that sharing his secret would cost him both his family and friends. Jeremy finally decided to tell his truth on the verge of turning 40 through the help of “Outsports”. Jeremy will reflect on his personal and professional journey and address the complicated relationships between teaching and coaching within the LGBTQIA community.
Come here Jeremy’s story in person at Sun King Kokomo’s Community Depot Room on Monday, January 13th at 6pm, doors will open at 5:30.
Paul Novak…
Paul Novak is a former Kokomo Pride board member and helped to establish Kokomo Pride Youth Group, acting as its first director. During his tenure, he provided a safe, welcoming, and supportive environment for queer youth while offering them access to a variety of resources, ranging from mental health professionals to life skills classes.
Paul has participated in many events in Howard County and the surrounding areas to discuss issues pertaining to the queer community, organized countless fundraisers and drag shows, and volunteered with the Diversity Club at a local high school. He also took on the unofficial role of archivist for Kokomo Pride and Kokomo Pride Youth Group by documenting the histories of both groups. In 2021, the Kokomo Pride board recognized Paul’s service and commitment to the LGBTQIA+ community by dedicating the Novak Community Room, at their LGBTQ+ Center, in his honor. Currently, Paul is a board member on the City of Kokomo’s Human Rights Commission.
Come join us at 6pm on February 10th at Sun King Kokomo for a talk about the history, growth and future of the LGBTQ+ Community in Kokomo.
Chris McNew…
Chris McNew is a former elementary science and health teacher and current weather forecaster, and entrepreneur, owning and operating Weather For All Hoosiers. Chris has lived in Indiana his whole life and wants to share some of his life story, from growing up in a small town in central Indiana, going to school at Hamilton Heights with AIDS patient, Ryan White and settling in as an openly heterosexual man, but knowing down deep he was different than others around him. He married, had two children, and then realized that he was not heterosexual. Listen to his story of evolution, growth and perseverance.
Chris will be speaking at Sun King Kokomo’s Community Depot Room on Monday, March 14th at 6pm. The doors will open at 5:30.
Leon Acord…
Leon Acord is an award-winning actor who has appeared in over 35 films you’ve never seen and 30 plays you’ve never heard of. Possible exceptions include the digital TV comedy series Old Dogs & New Tricks (2011-2016) on Amazon Prime (which he created, wrote & co-produced), and the stage hit Carved in Stone (in which he played Quentin Crisp in both SF and LA productions). His 2020 memoir, SUB-LEBRITY: The Queer Life of a Show-Biz Footnote, is now available in paperback & e-book on Amazon. He wrote his one-man show Last Sunday in June (1996) and co-authored the 2014 play Setting the Record Gay. He was a “Take Five” columnist for Back Stage West throughout 2009 and a former contributor to Huffington Post. He has also written for the San Francisco Examiner and the journal Human Prospect. He is on the Board of Directors of The Ledge Theatre. Leon currently lives in West LA with husband Laurence Whiting & their cat Toby. His next book, Hissy Fits, will be out in late 2022.
Leon will be speaking virtually via Los Angeles. A zoom link will be made available closer to the date. A watch party will be available if people want to gather in person at Sun King’s Community Depot Room. Date and Time are TBD. The date will be in April.
TBA…
This dynamic speaker will be announced soon!
They will be speaking in May.
TBA…
This dynamic speaker will be announced soon!
They will be speaking in June.
This series is totally free of charge and we cannot thank our partners enough for making this possible.
Interested in sponsoring one of the speakers? How about the whole series? Visit us at kokomopride.lgbt/support to read more about how you can support this series and Kokomo Pride as a whole.