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Always learning, always wondering, always sharing!

Independence Gay: Week 4

Welcome to Independence Gay, Bryan Blanchard's weekly blog about his experience being a summer intern for BRAVO!. We love our intern blogs and hope you enjoy following Bryan!

Week 4

June 22-26, 2015

Oh hey! It’s me, Independence Gay, here to share my week with you. I don’t know if this ever happens to you, but I have a bad habit of falling in love with places in an extremely short amount of time. Case-in -point: I'm in a committed relationship with D.C. and I'm ready to shout it from the rooftops. Or maybe I’ll just use all caps to convey my feelings. I LOVE THIS CITY! Okay, caps lock is off. No one panic. This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone, but I'm definitely a big-city girl. I’ve become the cliché small-town boy with metropolitan dreams, and I don’t hate it.

Working with the BRAVO! Team has allowed me to explore the city and meet so many amazing people, like the staff at Whitman-Walker Health. I apparently can’t do a post without shouting out some of their dedicated staff, so this one goes to Dave and Rachel from the Development Team. We’ve been working closely with them in the planning of the Walk to End HIV. The Walk has become one of my favorite projects to be a part of here at BRAVO! From permit research to marketing meetings, I have gotten to see multiple sides of the event planning process. On Wednesday, we had a meeting involving Development and Havit, an advertising firm based in D.C. I was thrilled with the creativity and thought that was pouring out of our meeting, and I can tell that our collaboration will be as flawless as a Beyoncé single.

In the office, I’ve been working closely with Kristin this past week. Focusing mostly on the Walk, we’ve been weaving some web magic to make sure that both our clients’ sites and our own company site are on point. One of my most intensive tasks has been answering the Walk hotline. Kristin put together a comprehensive call guide so we can provide the most helpful service and it’s been a lifesaver. Even though most calls have been from potential sponsors and team captains, we have had some members of the LGBTQ community share their story and connection to the cause via the call line. Theses individuals’ stories are so powerful and really speak to the rich history of D.C.’s gay community. It’s just another one of those moments that I have to take a hot second to appreciate life and everything that’s been afforded to me. Now with the Supreme Court ruling in favor of marriage equality, I feel hope and change in the air.

However between us, I'm a little sad. All of these fabulous events, like the Mautner Project's 25th Anniversary Celebration, The Walk to End HIV and the Be the Care Gala, all occur after the end of my internship. I'm not quite sure what the future holds for me, but I think I will be making a special trip in order to be back for at least the Walk. There’s no way I could put this much of myself into a project and not make sure it’s superbly perfect! But hey now, hey now, this is what dreams are made of. If you picked up on that last reference, then snaps for you and we can totally be best friends. I can’t wait to see what this next week can send my way. Bring it on and as always, stay fab!

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