Welcome to Washington

By PHIL REESE

Just about a year and a half ago, an e-mail appeared in my inbox titled “Welcome to Washington,” sent to me by a close friend from Illinois.  Mike had quietly sought out and quickly secured a government job in Washington, D.C., and the entire process had happened so fast, he’d hardly had a chance to let any of his loved ones know before he had to move and begin his job.

“… Or so the sign said as I pulled into town,” was the e-mail’s opening.

Now just a few months later, I’m trying not to steal his words as I seek to tell everyone that I know where I’m very soon going to be relocating.

I can’t begin to tell you how excited I am to be joining the rest of you all inside the beltway. I’m very eager to join the Washington Blade staff this May. I’m hoping you can help me get to know this great town — which has been my favorite city in America since I first visited at 10 years old — and hope you welcome me onto your computer and mobile device screens as I begin my time here at one of America’s great LGBT institutions.

A little about me.

I’ve been an LGBT advocate for more than 10 years, starting as a local LGBT student organizer in Michigan, and later as an LGBT journalist, blogger and podcaster for publications both online and in print in Illinois and across America. I’ve been a regular contributor to the LGBT opinions and analysis site Bilerico Project since the president’s first months in office, where I have discussed politics, strategy, inner-community issues and even music and pop culture. I’ve also contributed to the blog of the No. 1 LGBT-themed entertainment podcast, Feast Of Fun. I may be known best, however, for my time co-hosting and co-producing with Joe Mirabella SameSexSunday, the only weekly one-hour LGBT politics and public affairs round table discussion show.

Over the years, I’ve come to eat, sleep and breathe LGBT news, and there is no place like Washington, D.C. for someone like me.

The Blade is one of our community’s most treasured institutions nationally, and my dreams couldn’t have come true any more perfectly than to come to the city I love to work for a publication I adore in the community I hold dear, while the work that enthralls me so takes place all around me.

I hope to hear from you, the Blade’s readers, often. Feel free to comment and connect over the content I’m looking to bring you. I’m eager to continue the proud tradition of all of those who have been a part of this paper over the years, bringing the world to you and bringing you to the world. This is America’s LGBT paper of record, and as it grows closer and closer to its 45th year, it’s never been more relevant than it is today.

Thank you, in advance, for welcoming me to D.C.  Like Bogie said, “I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship!”