This week was one that was about appreciation as well as saying so long. It was during this week that we celebrated one of our good friends. For me, it was also about saying goodbye to someone who enjoyed hearing about my journey.
Tuesday was our Laurel Highlands Toastmasters meeting. It was a meeting in which our president Ryan encouraged us to bring a small appetizer or snack. The occasion was that we were having a little party for one of our dedicated members since it was her last in person meeting with us.
Sharon Joseph had a big hand in starting the Laurel Highlands Toastmasters club in June of 2021. It became the first chapter in Fayette County since the early 1980s. I first met her at the DTM gala at Westmoreland County Community College in July, right after the club began having meetings (at the Connellsville Canteen). It was the first club to be chartered as a hybrid club (which meant that meetings would be in person and online).
The club had its red carpet celebration in November of 2021, just before I left WIS and started working at Giant Eagle. It was a big event with many people attending.
Sharon recently married and has relocated to Maryland, and her husband Gary is involved in Toastmasters as well. We’re hoping that they will eventually get a Toastmasters chapter started in either Bedford County, or somewhere around the Frostburg, Lavale, or Cumberland area.
Some of the culinary highlights of the meeting were the sweet and sour meatballs and the cheeseburger dip. I bought two bags of potato chips. We had plenty of guests attending as well, family members of Sharon’s as well as Andrea’s.
Thursday night was my last night working with someone who has been interested in my non binary journey. I haven’t really shared my journey with a lot of people. I don’t really talk about it that often because there’s no one around for me most of the time to talk to anyway. This has left me somewhat burned out. I’m still not going to give up the fight, however.
For my departing coworkers to tell me how much they appreciated hearing about my journey meant a lot, and it makes me happy that Giant Eagle is accepting to people who are LGBTQIA+🌈. I will miss chatting about Queer Eye with them as the new season kicks off in a few weeks.
I’ll always be JVG to Donald and Brogan. As they move on from Giant Eagle, my parting gift to them is that I will always keep slaying.
Stylish 🍒 