For Further Event Information:
215-732-FEST or
www.pridefestamerica.com

For Further Press Information:
Deborah Fleischman
215-735-7356

TWO GAY NEW YORK POLICE OFFICERS TO RECEIVE PRIDEFEST AMERICA'S DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD FOR THEIR HEROISM ON SEPTEMBER 11

Award Presented at VIP Kickoff Party on Monday, April 29

PrideFest America will present its Distinguished Service Award to New York Police Department (NYPD) officers Francis Coppola and Carol Paukner, in recognition of their heroism at the World Trade Center on September 11. The Award will be presented at PrideFest America's VIP Kickoff Party on Monday, April 29 at 6:00 PM in the Mayor's Reception Room at City Hall. PrideFest America, the nation's largest annual gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) symposium and festival, will be held in Philadelphia from April 29 to May 5, 2002.

"In honoring Officers Francis Coppola and Carol Paukner, PrideFest America's Distinguished Service Award not only recognizes the heroism of two openly gay NYPD officers at Ground Zero on September 11, but is also an important reminder of the multitude of ways in which gays and lesbians provide public services on a daily basis for the well-being of our nation," said Malcolm Lazin, Executive Director of PrideFest America.

Detective Francis Coppola was assigned outside the World Trade Center. Shortly after his arrival his partner, who was with the New York Fire Department (NYFD), arrived and entered the Towers. His partner's life was lost when the World Trade Center collapsed. Coppola saw his partner briefly at the South Tower. Said Coppola: "[When I saw him] he smiled. I smiled, and while we were exchanging smiles, a lady grabbed my arm and asked me to take her outside. She was afraid to go by herself. He used sign language to say 'I love you'. I did the same. I went outside, he went up, and then the tower came down. Out of all the craziness, I am grateful I was able to say I love you one last time."

Detective Coppola has been a New York City Police Officer for fifteen years and promoted to the rank of Detective five years ago. For the first ten years, he worked in the Homicide Division of the 75th Precinct in East New York, Brooklyn North. He then moved to the Narcotics Division at the Organized Crime Control Bureau where he was promoted to Detective.

Officer Carol Paukner was the second New York Police Department officer to respond when the first World Trade Center tower was hit. She stayed through most of the day even though she sustained injuries which have since required extensive surgery and attention. After being blown out of the building when the second plane hit, she pulled herself from the rubble and continued with the rescue operation, helping evacuate people from the lower half of the building. Said Paukner: "Now begins the second phase of my recovery. I recently had surgery to have my shoulder rebuilt [for a torn motor cuff], followed by lots of physical therapy and the knee surgery [for a torn knee cap]. My main worry is the constant cough I can't shake from what I inhaled on September 11 and its possible consequences in the years to come. Still, I know I am lucky - I am alive, and I have the support of my family."

Officer Paukner has always been involved in public safety. For the past ten years she has worked for the New York Transit Department and for a short while in the O.C.C.B. Narcotics Division. Previously she served as a Safety Officer and Veterans Administration Police Officer. Officer Paukner will attend the ceremony with her life partner Geralyn Garcia.

Since its founding in 1993, PrideFest America has become the nation's largest annual gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) symposium and festival. It has expanded from a three-day conference of regional organizations to a full week of events featuring international, national and regional leaders on a broad range of compelling issues. With more than 60 programs and social events presented by 80 regional, national and international organizations, PrideFest America 2002 is the nation's most in-depth program of the emergence of a vibrant GLBT community and its civil rights aspirations.

Some of the highlights of this year's tenth anniversary festival include Tseng Kwong Chi: A Retrospective, an exhibition of approximately 85 works is the first-ever retrospective of this important postmodern photographer; the Tom Stoddard National Role Model Award to MTV at the Kimmel Center in recognition of their distinguished contributions to social change in the GLBT community; Living in a Rainbow Nation: Gay & Lesbian Dynamics in South Africa with an all-South African panel focusing on contemporary issues for gay black and white South Africans such as apartheid, constitutional protection, and AIDS in South Africa; a National Healthcare Panel with AIDS Czar Scott Evertz, among other national, international and regional programming; and a National Religious Colloquy moderated by Dr. Arun Gandhi, grandson to Mahatma Gandhi and founder of the Mahatma Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence.

For further information, visit the website at www.pridefestamerica. com, or call 215-732-FEST.

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