The DECplus Annual Meeting took place in the Mt Washington Conference Room in the HLO2 facility on January 14th. About 30 people showed up for the event. Going through the change from one Eboard to another, finding out what Ilene Jacobs, the Worldwide VP of Human Resources for Digital, would say...there was mystery in the air.

The accompolishments for the year was the first thing on the agenda. Those accomplishments are:

1. February the Gay & Lesbian National Hotline put the DECplus homepage on their page. Not because we're a b/g/l/t homepage, but because of what we have done. We had helped several other companies set up programs of their own.

2. June was a busy month for us. First we got Domestic Partner Benefits. And with the help of HR, we were able to make the announcement to the press at Boston Gay Pride! Then at the end of the month there were two special events. Congressman Barney Frank came to the Hudson facility to talk to us about being gay in Congress. He talked about our rights, and with his wit and knowledge he had the audience, who were b/g/l/t and straight, captive. Then that night our lovely Miss Pippa Jollie had an affidavit party where six same sex couples came and signed up for the benefits. To date, over 400 inquireries have been made for DP Benefits with 60 couples signing up for them.

3. September we revised the event that started it all. We met along the Charles and had a great time with a great picnic.

4. October was a month where HR came through for us again. The announcement to the company that they were backing National Coming Out Day, and had an extensive write-up on their diversity page was a major step for equality.

5. November was the Thanksgiving dinner. This year we were able to have Bose & EMC Corporation there. It was incredible. At the meeting EMC announced DP Benefits!

6. December HR was once again on the move. They agreed to, and ordered the g&l positive posters to put up in Digital facilities.

Next on the agenda was Carol duBois, who was taking over as the new President of DECplus. She talked about what they wanted to do for the future, with safety and education. She went on to talk about the outgoing board and what they were able to do. She then handed out framed certificates to each outgoing member.

Awards were next on the menu. Carol Leger, Russ Johnson, Joel Goldstein and Ilene Jacobs all received awards for their contributions to the bglt community.

Ilene Jacobs called in to the meeting, as she was with some important people from Digital at a dinner in Boston. Her words will be something to be remembered for quite some time. She stated that she will not rest until every GAY, LESBIAN, BISEXUAL AND TRANSGENDERED PERSON can come into work, be who they are, and not fear for their jobs, and NOT to be oppressed in any way. She wants to have a time where people can be who they are, without any problems. And this goes further than just our community. Judging by the amount of applause she got, it was something we ALL believed she meant! And if you put it into the proper perspective, here is a woman in a restaurant, on the phone, screaming out the words, GAY, LESBIAN, BISEXUAL AND TRANSGENDERED over and over again. This is by far the most incredible thing to ever have happen!

The meeting ended by all of us going to the Horsesho Pub in Hudson MA. We chose this place because the Flames (bglt) Softball team was going to hold their banquet there. When they talked to them about it they mention what kind of team they were. Their response? So what? You're still like everyone else. Come on in! A place like that can make us all feel great. And wouldn't you know it... the person who said those words just happened to be our waitress this time out!

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