Special Announcement from the First Friday Breakfast Club President

UPDATE:  Read about Deb Madison-Levi, FFBC’s first female member on the Board of Directors in the January 2023 newsletter.

Historic Change! The FFBC board voted at 2 consecutive board meetings to unanimously add “allies” to our bylaws defining who can be a member. Gay, straight, lesbian, transgender, bisexual, and allies welcome as long as they support our mission to reduce prejudice and homophobia. Spread the word and join us at Hoyt Sherman or via Zoom on the 1st Friday of each month!

Byron Huff, FFBC President

 

Welcome to the First Friday Breakfast Club!

The First Friday Breakfast Club (FFBC) is an educational group for gay, bisexual, transgender men, and their allies. We gather monthly in Des Moines for breakfast, fellowship and a speaker. We provide a safe and supportive environment for all members and guests.

As Iowa’s largest breakfast club, we are active, dynamic and engaging. We educate ourselves on LGBTQ issues. We work to reduce prejudice and discrimination. Throughout the year, we raise scholarship funds for students who fight homophobia. We offer guidance to those who need help in the coming out process. And we provide opinion leaders and the community with positive images of LGBTQ people.

Please visit our website www.ffbciowa.org where we have our upcoming speakers and archive of prior speaker recordings as well as newsletters.  
 
You now have the ability to make one-time or recurring donations to support the scholarship program!

Click HERE to donate to the scholarship fund.  

The February 2023 newsletter is now available HERE.

Twelve outstanding graduating high school seniors were awarded scholarships at an awards ceremony on June 3, 2022.  See more about these outstanding young adults on the Scholars page.

2023 Scholarship Applications Due March 15, 2023

See the Scholarship page to download the applications and letter to Iowa High School Guidance Counselors.

Upcoming Speakers

 
February 3, 2023:  Rick Wagaman, owner of HW CBD in West Des Moines, a locally owned family company. Its proprietors have been involved growing the industry for nearly a decade and helped pass the law allowing for the sale of legal CBD products in Iowa.  Click HERE to RSVP now!
 
March 3, 2023:  Mark Stringer, Executive Director of The American Civil Liberties Union.  The ACLU works within communities across the state to defend the civil rights and civil liberties of all Iowans through litigation, education, and community engagement.
 
April 7, 2023:   Sheriff Kevin Schneider, Polk County Sheriff, has served in the office since 1981.
 
May 5, 2023: Kathie Obradovich of the Iowa Capital Dispatch has been covering Iowa government and politics for more than 30 years, most recently as political columnist and opinion editor for the Des Moines Register. She previously covered the Iowa State-house for 10 years for newspapers in Davenport, Waterloo, Sioux City, Mason City and Muscatine. She is a leading voice on Iowa politics and makes regular appearances on state, national and international news programs. She has led national-award-winning coverage of the Iowa Caucuses and the Register’s Iowa Poll.
 
June 2, 2023:  Senator Zach Wahls will be the speaker for the June 2 meeting when the FFBC annual scholarship awards will be presented to the 2022-2023 recipients.  When Senator Wahls was a high school graduate in 2011 he received a FFBC scholarship. He became famous when he addressed the Iowa House Judiciary Committee in a public forum regarding civil unions; the speech garnering more than 3 million views on YouTube. He was also a guest on the Ellen show talking about his life and the famous speech.  He was elected to his first term in the Iowa Senate in 2018 and elected Iowa Senate Democratic Leader in November 2020.  Senator Wahls represents Senate District 37, which includes Coralville, western Iowa City and Solon in Johnson County; all of Cedar County; and the City of Wilton in Muscatine County.  
 
July 15, 2023:  will be the annual donor recognition and member party at John Schmacker’s home.
 
August 4, 2023:  Kendra Weston, Executive Director Lavender Legal Center, providing legal representation for LGBTQ people. 
 
September 1, 2023:  Darwin Goodspeed, Director, Veterans Affairs (VA) Central Iowa Health Care System.  

FFBC members enjoy breakfast and a speaker during the monthly gatherings. Breakfast begins promptly at 7:00 am. Unless otherwise noted, all meetings are at the Hoyt Sherman Place.

Hoyt Sherman Place (website) 
1501 Woodland Avenue
Des Moines, IA 50309

To view past speakers (and listen to remarks from select speakers), click here or on the PAST SPEAKERS link at the top of the page.

Speaker Recommendations:  If you have a recommendation for a speaker for a future First Friday Breakfast Club meeting please email to info@ffbciowa.org, providing information about the potential speaker, and contact information for them.  Your contact information would be appreciated as well. 

Items of interest

Des Moines Pride Center Glow 2023

Join the Des Moines Pride Center on Saturday, January 28, 2023, 6 – 8 PM, for an evening celebrating community! The dessert reception will highlight the work being done by the Des Moines Pride Center and honor the contributions of volunteers, organizations and community members. Tickets are $25 each – Call 515-274-5518 for reservations.  See info on Facebook.

Prime Timers of Central Iowa

Bringing together mature gay and bisexual men for friendship, activities, support, and personal growth.  For more information see their Facebook group or website.

The Rainbow Revival

Past FFBC Speaker (June 2021), Reverend Jim Conrad, published a memoir, The Rainbow Revival:  a pastor and church on the journey towards inclusion.  Reverend Conrad tells about the journey of his congregation’s acceptance of a same sex couple and his church’s expulsion from the Southern Baptist Convention.  You may listen to Rev Conrad’s FFBC presentation HERE or view on YouTube.