January 2001 Speech to the Pikes Peak Gay and Lesbian Community Center on the occassion of the presentation of the Thomas "Major" Martin Award for Community Service

On behalf of Thom's family, both biological and more importantly, in many cases in the gay and lesbian community, extended; I would like to thank you for this honor. I know that Thom would have been mortified by this as he never wanted or enjoyed being the center of attention and his entire epistemology revolved around helping others and making a difference without any thought for himself or his own well being but secretly I know that he would have been thrilled.

There is often a tendency after someone dies, to eulogize them in glowing terms. Thus the tiresome bore becomes a "lovable curmudgeon" and the offensive bigot becomes "a man of strong convictions". In Thom's case none of this is necessary. This was a man of immense strength, immense bravery and someone who changed the lives, convictions and priorities of almost all of those with whom he came into contact.

I do not know and thus cannot speak to his actions whilst living in Colorado and growing up in Colorado Springs. What I can do, however, is tell you just a little of the difference that Thom Martin made on the East Coast in just 10 years.

When we first were married and Thom moved to Washington, he immediately launched into charitable work. I cannot begin to tell you all that he accomplished, as we have nowhere enough time, but I can certainly give you an indication.

He volunteered with the Human Rights Campaign Fund and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. He sat on the Board of Directors of the Carl Vogel Foundation and the Whitman Walker Foundation. He sat on the Ryan White Planning Council, the Aids Drug Assistance Program Board and was a founder of the Atlantic States Gay Rodeo Association. He advised members of the White House Commission on AIDS, the National Minority AIDS Force and numerous national policy organizations.

He raised funds for more political, gay and lesbian and AIDS related causes than you can possibly imagine. He held Kids Count, a black tie fundraiser for the diplomatic community that raised over $75,000 for AIDS assistance; he held thousand dollar a plate dinners in our home for minority AIDS programs; he supported the Mautner Project for Lesbians with Cancer, the Sexual Minority Youth Assistance League, the Lesbian Herstory Archives, the Hetrick Martin Institute, the Victory Fund, Emily's List, NARAL, NOW, and more charities than you probably have even heard of.

He volunteered, raised funds, advised and assisted with political campaigns all over the country; not just for candidates such as Bill Clinton, Geraldine Ferraro and others, but local and state candidates across the board.

He opened and was president of Martin Medical Associates, a pharmaceutical advisory company that designed indigent patient programs that provided life saving drugs to people who fell between the cracks of qualifying for programs such as Medicare or having private insurance. He advised and produced conferences and newsletters that bettered the treatment of people in prisons with AIDS and persons receiving help from state AIDS drug assistance programs around the country. His writings and opinions were and still are being quoted in journals and papers.

When we moved to West Virginia, he immediately launched into local endeavors and became the President of the Berkeley County Democrats and was on the Board of the Aids Network of the Tristate Area. In addition, and most importantly, he was the first out candidate for political office in history in West Virginia last year, winning 41 percent of the vote in the Democratic Primary for the House of Delegates for the State of West Virginia. I know that had he not become so ill at the time, he would today be the first openly gay elected official in West Virginia History.

Thom often joked that he could go from Black Tie to Black Leather and he managed to cross all boundaries effortlessly. Our first date in fact involved chaining ourselves to the White House Fence under Dubya Senior, being arrested and appearing on the front page of the Washington Post. He worked with ACT UP and Queer Nation organizing demos in Washington at the White House, on the Mall and at NIH, as well as in New York, at the CDC in Atlanta and in other places. Thom was one of the primary movers and instigators that resulted in the CDC redefining the definition of AIDS diagnoses in women who, to that point, had largely been ignored. He is one of the only men whose papers are on file at the Lesbian Herstory Archives in New York.

Thom loved and was proud of his involvement in the community in Colorado, both in Denver and in Colorado Springs. Indeed, there is a chair in the Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum, which bears his name and the words "one day we will not be judged on the basis of whom we love".

Thom believed that coming out, speaking up, and living life honestly was the most political act that any one of us can accomplish. I remember many nights where Thom discussed his beliefs with such luminaries of our community as Urvashi Vaid, Gabriel Rotello, Mikey Signorile, and others. I like to think that his input contributed to the national dialog on the gay and lesbian agenda.

On a personal note, I would like to remark that many of us have watched the change in recent years in AIDS treatment and have seen how easy it is, after all these years of work and horror, to sink into complacency. New treatments have changed longevity and mortality and the Andrew Sullivan theory of AIDS as a chronic but treatable condition has, unfortunately, gained credibility. It is very easy to pretend that the holocaust is over, but I am here tonight to testify that AIDS is still with us and is still devastating our community. It is and continues to destroy our generation and we have a moral obligation to continue to fight for our brothers and sisters who are still suffering. Just because the obituary pages are not as full as they once were with the names of our friends, does not mean that the suffering does not continue. I know that there are many of us here tonight, and I am among you, who live with the daily indignities of living with the disease. To ignore or pretend that the AIDS crisis is over, is simply wrong. The fact that AIDS now disproportionately affects minorities, youth, IVDU's and not gay white men means that now, more than ever, we have to fight. The gay and lesbian community, is, was and will always be defined by our compassion, tolerance and love for all people and we can never lose track of that.

In 10 years on the East Coast Thom was instrumental in changing attitudes, policies and beliefs. The difference he made was incalculable and to give you and indication of how fundamental he was, I can tell you that after his death there were over 300 people at his funeral and I received over 600 cards and letters from people in all walks of life. I do not know and thus cannot begin to understand the difference that he made here in his first 24 years, but knowing Thom, it must have been enormous.

When Thom's health began to decline, he and I formed the IanThom Foundation to ensure that, regardless of which of us died, our charitable giving would continue. I am proud tonight to be able to make the first donation from the foundation in memory of Thom Major Martin in the amount of a thousand dollars to the Community Center. Although the pain of his loss continues, I take joy in the knowledge that we can continue to support those organizations in which he believed in his name.

Thom Martin enriched our lives and we are the better for his presence, his love and his commitment. We are diminished and bereft by his loss. I am honored and proud that he should be honored in this manner and the recipient of this award should know that he or she are continuing a tradition of selfless giving and boundless generosity that was epitomized by Thom Martin. In this age of apathy and selfishness, Thom truly proved that one person can make a difference and change the lives of future generations. I, along with his friends and loved ones, and I hope you yourselves, are inspired by his example.

Thank you.