Georgia Equality, the state’s largest LGBT advocacy organization, is asking its members and allies to vote for Drenner to give her the chance to to speak to young government leaders “about how being your authentic self is key to public service.”
To vote for Drenner, click http://bit.ly/NextGenKD and then submit your vote at the bottom of the page. Voting ends May 3.
The name of Drenner’s proposed talk is “Paint By Numbers?” Her description of the talk:
I loved to paint by numbers as a child. I always admired the pictures on the outside of the paint-by-numbers boxes, and I would carefully open the box and excitedly pulled out the contents: the picture which contained odd shapes — each one marked with a number that corresponded to a particular color, the brush, and of course the paints.
I would spend hours painting, and my Mom would monitor my progress, encouraging me to “be mindful and stay inside the lines.” After she left the room, I thought, “Why can’t I paint the picture the colors that I want to paint?”
At an early age when most kids try to please their parents, I was already questioning why I could not think for myself and create my own masterpiece within the canvas.
Little did I know, years later the lessons I learned painting would prepare me for the challenges ahead as Georgia’s and the South’s first openly gay State Representative. As the odd shape within the political mosaic I found that painting my picture the colors I wanted has contributed to creating a new landscape within Georgia.
My talk will use the above analogy to illustrate how being your authentic self is the key to political service
Photo: Rep. Karla Drenner (by Dyana Bagby)