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Last night I attended the GOAL (Gay Officers Action League - New England) Banquet to receive an award on behalf of the Cambridge GLBT Commission of which I am a co-chair. We worked with the Cambridge Police Department on establishing a program of GLBT training which was is performed by GOAL. The Commission was established in 2005; our first project was to get the GSA in the high school reinstated and our second project was to work with the police department on various GLBT issues including training. Now we are working with GOAL and the Fire Department for similar training, and then the rest of the EMT providers will be next.

Ours was their mostly annual Community Service Award which has been given to various individuals (prior Attorney General Scott Harshbarger was one such recipient) and organizations. They give several kinds of awards and recipients last night included Martha Coakley (Atty General and senate candidate), Gunner Scott (Director of the Mass Transgender Political Coalition), Sheriff Cousins of Essex County, Judge Meagher (retired judge who was the first out judge in Mass), and Officer Karen Berube (Wellesley College police force).

From Left to right: Sarav Chithambaram (other co-chair), Steve Ahern (GLBT liaison in police force), Joanne Shapiro (training coordinator for police department), Toni Snow, GLBT Commission member, moi, E Denise Simmons (Mayor of Cambridge), Robet Haas (Cambridge Police Commissioner), Gloria Kinkaid (Boston police officer - guest of Mayor)