Hundreds of readers and community members just like you participated in the QList-Best of LGBT Charlotte 2013. You helped choose the best of the best nightlife hotspots, eateries, non-profit groups and community leaders. We’re proud to present this year’s QList! Read on to see the winners!
Best Non-Profit Organization
Time Out Youth
Honorable mention: Campus Pride
Since 1991, Time Out Youth has worked to provide support, social opportunities, education and empowerment for Charlotte’s LGBT youth. Time Out Youth is one of the most organized, solvent community organizations in the city. The group is soon moving to a new, larger location and holding their first Carolina Conference on Queer Youth this month. Their work hasn’t gone unnoticed, evidenced by QList voters who chose to name Time Out Youth this year’s Best Non-Profit Organization.
Best Support/Social Group
Time Out Youth
Best Young Adult Leader
(under 30)
Micah Johnson
Honorable mention:
O’Neale Atkinson
Like the organization he works for, Micah Johnson has been front-and-center in advocating for the needs of LGBT youth in the Charlotte area. Johnson, the director of school outreach at Time Out Youth, is relatively new to Charlotte, but in that short time has worked to support queer youth organizing for change in local schools across the region. Voters decided to honor Johnson with Best Young Adult Leader this year, but Johnson’s fellow Time Out Youth staffer, O’Neale Atkinson, wasn’t very far behind.
Best LGBT-affirming Faith Institution
Holy Covenant United Church of Christ
Honorable mention: Metropolitan Community Church of Charlotte
Best LGBT Leader (Male)
Scott Bishop
Honorable mention: Rodney Tucker
Scott Bishop is a man who wears many hats. He serves as a member of the national Human Rights Campaign Board of Governors, has been involved in local HRC Carolina Gala planning and is currently the chair of the Mecklenburg LGBT Political Action Committee. Additionally, he was an instrumental Charlotte-area volunteer and organizer during last year’s anti-LGBT state constitutional amendment campaign.
Best LGBT Leader (Female)
Charlotte City Councilmember LaWana Mayfield
The city’s first-ever openly LGBT elected official, LaWana Mayfield has earned her place in local history. It came after years of hard work, organizing at the neighborhood and community level and working for a Charlotte that is safer and more inclusive for all people.
Best Transgender Community Leader
Janice Covington
Honorable mention: Roberta Dunn
Janice Covington has worked tirelessly to advocate for transgender equality, often putting herself front and center in the debate on inclusion and the still-pending federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act. In 2012, she became the first openly transgender delegate from North Carolina to the Democratic National Convention.
Best LGBT Bar/Club
Cathode Azure
Honorable mention: The Bar at 316, Hartigan’s Irish Pub
Cathode Azure is one of the newest kids on Charlotte’s gay bar block. They must be doing something right. Voters chose the bar as their best local LGBT bar/club this year. The Bar at 316 and Hartigan’s Irish Pub tied in second place.
Best LGBT-friendly, Locally-owned Restaurant
Dish
Honorable mention: 300 East
Best LGBT-friendly, Locally-owned Retail Store
Brief
Honorable mention: White Rabbit, Paper Skyscraper
Best LGBT-friendly, Locally-owned Coffee Shop
Amelie’s French Bakery
Honorable mention: Smelly Cat Coffee, Central Coffee Co.
Best LGBT-friendly Bar/Club
Snug Harbor
Bar/Club with Best Drink Value
The Scorpio
Honorable mention: The Bar at 316, Hartigan’s Irish Pub
Bar/Club with Hottest Bar Staff
The Bar at 316
Honorable mention: Cathode Azure
Bar/Club with Best Drag Show
The Scorpio
Honorable mention: Cathode Azure
The Scorpio, one of the state’s oldest and longest running gay clubs, is known across the region for its drag shows. So well known are they, the bar should really just be called a Drag Palace!
Best Drag Performer
Roxy C. Moorecox
Honorable mention: Bethann Phetamine, Buff Faye
From Los Angeles and London to Chicago and right back here in Charlotte, Roxy C. Moorecox is on a globe-trotting adventure taking her unique drag humor, song and dance across the world. Here in the Queen City, she’s become a regular at community events and emceed at this year’s Charlotte Pride Festival and Parade.
Best Local DJ
DJ Little Betty
Honorable mention: DJ Ghost
Regional AIDS Interfaith Network
The Regional AIDS Interfaith Network has worked for more than 20 years to support Charlotte’s HIV-positive community, their family and friends. They do so by offering not only direct support, but also by working with community organizations and faith institutions to build a caring, attentive support network.
Best LGBT Arts Group
One Voice Chorus
Honorable mention: Gay Men’s Chorus of Charlotte
Best Annual LGBT Event in Charlotte
Charlotte Pride
Honorable mention: HRC Carolina Gala
Best Man About Town
Dan Mauney
Honorable mention: Tommy Feldman
Dan “the Shoe Man” Mauney is perhaps best known for his role in organizing Takeover Friday, a monthly social outing that’s proven popular and stood the test of time. It’s likely the reason why QList voters chose him as Best Man About Town — the guy everyone loves to hang with, the hip guy who seems to always be “in the know,” networking, making friends and being seen out and about.
Best Woman About Town
Janice Covington
City of Charlotte, Corporate Communications & Marketing
Best Openly LGBT or LGBT-friendly Politician/Elected Official
Charlotte City Councilmember LaWana Mayfield
Honorable mention: Charlotte Mayor Patsy Kinsey