Respect and Safety for All

Several Edinans were honored at the second annual Cultivating Respect Conference, which is held by the national nonprofit Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG), for their positive support of the GLBT community. An Outstanding Student Award was presented to 2012 Edina High School graduate Alec Fischer for his powerful documentary about the effects of bullying in the lives of Minnesota students.  Leslie and David Lagerstrom received this year’s Robert & Joyce Curoe Family Award as the supportive parents of Sam, a transgender teenager. PFLAG has more than 200,000 members who support the well-being of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered persons, their families and their friends. The Twin Cities branch of PFLAG attracted 250 teachers, coaches, administrators, counselors, parents and students to the Cultivating Respect Conference to help create safe schools for all students. The conference added sports as a new focus this year. The forum highlighted a panel of gay and lesbian athletes, led by Patrick Burke, a scout for the Philadelphia Flyers and founder of the You Can Play Project. The panel included Esera Tuaolo, a former NFL player for the Vikings and Packers; Nick Kleindon, former member of the Breck High School hockey team; and Becca Lindquist, who was an NCAA champion rower at University of California–Berkeley and UC–Davis. Everyone’s message: a universal goal to eradicate homophobia in sports. & For more information on PFLAG and to read the individual stories of the athlete panel, log on to pflagtc.com