I caught this very late last night.  Great way to end a weekend.

GLCC Youth Director has been named a Finalist for the 2011 Jefferson Awards. His profile will run in the PG on Wednesday. 

His name is Ben Cook and I met him in 2003 when I was on the GLCC Board.  I distinctly remember being impressed that he gave up his Fridays to support LGBTQ youth.

He's been there on Friday nights for over ten thousand hours. Ten thousand!

I've found Ben to be an articulate, generous man.  I've had a little bit of professional contact with him and his demeanor in his work life reflects the same values that take him to the GLCC.  We once had a conversation about the experiences of LGBTQ youth who were homeless and he was very quiet when he described the Friday night pizza snack as the only meal someone would eat that day. 

We should all be very proud to have a volunteer like Ben.  His work is at the heart of the critical role the GLCC plays in the lives of Pittsburgh's LGBTQ comunity.