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MOST PROMINENT NONBINARY ACTIVIST Mike Webb
Finalists: Joelle Bayaa Uzuri, Verniss McFarland
MOST PROMINENT MALE ACTIVIST Brad Pritchett
Finalists: Randall Hance, Brandon Mack, Ashton P. Woods
MOST PROMINENT TRANS MALE ACTIVIST Landon Richie
Finalists: Dylan Forbis, Emmett Schelling
MOST VALUABLE FEMALE VOLUNTEER Januari Fox
Finalists: Augie Cahee, Donna Junker, Christyna Lewis, Angie Tate, Heather J. Taylor
MOST VALUABLE MALE VOLUNTEER Jim Taylor
Finalists: Don Gill, Randall Hance, Tom Seymour, Tim Tate
MOST VALUABLE TRANS VOLUNTEER Landon Richie
Finalist: Emmett Schelling
MOST VALUABLE NONBINARY VOLUNTEER Kevin Nguyen
Finalist: Darrien Dyrell
REAL ESTATE
BEST MALE REAL-ESTATE AGENT Brooks Ballard
Finalists: Bryan Cotton, Jeremy Fain, Thomas Phillips, Danny Pleaseon, Chris Schmidt, Colby Wulf
BEST FEMALE REAL-ESTATE AGENT
Karen Derr (tie) Debbie Levine (tie) Finalists: Melissa Murray, LaToya Phillips, Shan Randle
BEST MORTGAGE COMPANY AmCap Home Loans (Cari Middaugh)
Finalists: Amegy Mortgage, John Frels, Cody Grizzoffi
BEST TITLE COMPANY Alamo Title Co. (Lyn Sullivan)
Finalists: Chicago Title Inner Loop, Texas American Title
BEST HOME BUILDER Sabo Custom Builders
Finalists: Jose Ocque, Sandcastle Homes, ROC Homes, Loyd Russel Homes
BEST HOME REMODELING COMPANY Heels 2 Hammer
Finalists: Juancho Jimenez, Luria Construction, Odd Job Fence Co.
FAVORITE RENTAL COMMUNITY Durham Heights
Finalists: Elan Heights, Elan Memorial Park, Law Harrington Senior Living Center ➝
Let’s Get Physical
Pam Straker is a state-recognized PE teacher.
By OLIVIA FLORES ALVAREZ Photo by CORY MICHAEL FRASIER/CMF STUDIOS
It’s been a good year for Pam Straker, a PE teacher at Red Bluff Elementary School in Pasadena. Before winning this year’s Gayest & Greatest Favorite Female LGBTQ Educator/Teacher award, she won the 2021 Texas Association of Health, Physical Education, Recreation & Dance (TAHPERD)’s Elementary Physical Education Teacher of the Year award.
Chosen from more than 3,000 educators statewide, TAHPERD acknowledged Straker’s dedication and leadership, both in the classroom and in the community. The award surprised Straker, who says she sometimes feels like a newcomer to the field even though she’s been teaching for more than eight years.
Like all educators, Straker spent the last several months adjusting to online teaching during the pandemic. Working with pre-K to 4th-grade students, Straker found herself having to utilize new tools to reach her kids.
“I jumped in head-first to learn virtual tools and platforms to reach our students at home,” she says. That included conducting workouts via Zoom, starting a PE Facebook group, and taping videos for a YouTube channel. The activities were designed to keep her students active, and to give their families accurate health information.
“My job is to ensure learning in my students through developmental skills, socialemotional learning, and a lifelong love of health and wellness. I try to teach my students that we aren’t just here to play a game, but rather that we are learning skills for a lifetime,” Straker emphasizes.
And all of that is on top of the challenge of meeting the complex educational and emotional needs of elementary students.
“Our school is in a low-socioeconomic area, and our families struggle in ways that some people may not ever be witness to,” she says. “But our school family is fantastic at reaching our students’ needs and trying to bridge the gaps that our students face. I consider myself lucky to be a part of such a great school and district.”
Working with such young students doesn’t give Straker the chance to directly address gender identity or sexual orientation in the classroom. Even if she were open about her sexuality at work, Straker would not welcome being known as “the gay teacher” to either her students or co-workers.
“Being gay isn’t my identifier, it’s just part of who I am as a whole person. I want people to see me as a good person who cares for others and is funny and cheerful and positive. I can’t really say I’m a lesbian or gay or queer or nonbinary, because at times I am all of those or none of those. I’m just a person.”
Nevertheless, Straker is happy for her OUTSMART G&G win. “Being recognized as a gay educator in OUTSMART gives both of those words—gay and educator—a chance to shine together. It allows LGBTQ+ individuals to see that there are teachers who provide a safe place for our students. And it gives teachers courage to be who they are in a place that is, at times, hard-pressed to change.”
FAVORITE FEMALE LGBTQ EDUCATOR/ TEACHER
tools and platforms to reach our students at Working with such young students doesn’t For more info, visit tahperd.org.
