A group of LGBTQ owned and allied businesses joined a full capacity crowd at North Shore Pride’s annual evening of networking and inspirational messaging from Paul Alexander, chief marketing officer for Eastern Bank, and the keynote address from Judy Shepard, founder of the Matthew Shepard Foundation, named for her son. On this 20-year anniversary of Matthew’s death, Judy’s message of acceptance, understanding and education—including how business and our local community are key to ending discrimination towards LGBTQ persons—was paramount to the evening. The evening also featured complimentary hors d’oeuvres, a cash bar and live music by the North Shore band “What Time Is It, Mr. Fox.”
