[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 99 (Tuesday, June 24, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1059]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


               RECOGNIZING THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF TOM DYER

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. ALAN GRAYSON

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 24, 2014

  Mr. GRAYSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of Lesbian, Gay, 
Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Pride Month, to recognize Tom Dyer. 
Tom was born in Lancaster, Ohio in 1955. His family moved from Madison, 
Wisconsin to the Orlando area in 1969. One of his first summer jobs was 
as a character at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom. Tom is a graduate 
of Winter Park High School, DePauw University and the University of 
Florida, Levin College of Law.
  Tom is the founder and publisher of Watermark, Orlando and Tampa 
Bay's award-winning LGBT newspaper. Founded in 1994, the newspaper 
distributes 20,000 newspapers to more than 500 locations every other 
Thursday. The web site, WatermarkOnline.com, is visited by more than 
5,000 users every week. The company donates more than $200,000 annually 
in free and sponsor advertising to worthy local and national LGBT non-
profits.
  In 1997 Watermark Media produced Beach Ball at Disney's Typhoon 
Lagoon, the first large-scale nighttime party associated with Gay Days 
Weekend. Watermark publishes a glossy guide to Gay Days Weekend, the 
largest annual LGBT gathering in the nation, as well as programs for 
St. Pete Pride in June and Orlando's Come Out With Pride in October.
  Watermark sought to hang rainbow flags throughout downtown Orlando 
during Gay Pride Month in 1998. The city reluctantly acquiesced, but 
the controversy made national news when televangelist, Pat Robertson, 
predicted Orlando would be beset by hurricanes as punishment.
  Tom has interviewed such luminaries as Gloria Steinem, Billie Jean 
King, Lily Tomlin and Martina Navratilova for Watermark. His recent 
interview with former governor, and now candidate for governor, Charlie 
Crist, went viral after it was picked up by HuffPost.com, CNN.com and 
MSNBC.com.
  In addition to publishing Watermark, Tom is a practicing attorney and 
senior partner in Dyer & Blaisdell, PL. He is a former board member of 
the Metropolitan Business Association and the Tampa International Gay & 
Lesbian Film Festival. He currently serves on the advisory board for 
the Harvey Milk Foundation.
  Tom has received the Vice Versa Award for excellence in LGBT 
journalism, the Spectrum Award for Male Role Model and Equality 
Florida's Voice for Equality Award. In 2004, the City of Orlando 
presented Tom with the ``Key to the City'' in honor of Watermark's 10th 
anniversary. In 2014, he was named a Champion of Equality by the Harvey 
Milk Foundation.
  Tom lives in Winter Park, where he enjoys spending time with nine 
nieces and nephews and his beloved Welsh corgi, Seamus. He's also 
working on his downward dog at regular Yoga sessions.
  I am happy to honor Tom Dyer, during LGBT Pride Month, for his 
contributions to the Central Florida LGBT community.

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