South Carolina Pride is proud to welcome the following speakers to our Festival. They will be on stage each hour to deliver important messages to our crowd about a wide variety of topics.
George Willis “Bill” Eiwen
Bill Eiwen is a native of Lancaster, PA. He has been an ordained minister for more than 35 years having served six congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, in both Texas and South Carolina. His last position was as pastor of Reformation Lutheran Church, a Welcoming congregation, from which he retired in June 2012. Bill and his wife, Ginny, have been married for 39 years and have two grown daughters, and six grandchildren.
[divider style="dotted" ]Mayor Stephen K. Benjamin
Steve Benjamin was elected Mayor of Columbia in April of 2010. He has worked very actively in community initiatives with numerous public and private organizations dating back to his years at the University of South Carolina where he served as President of the Student Government and as Student Bar Association President at the USC School of Law.
[divider style="dotted" ]Ryan Wilson
Ryan Wilson is executive director of SC Equality, serving in that capacity for the past year. Ryan has volunteered in numerous other capacities including on the board of SC Pride Movement, on the board of Harriet Hancock Foundation, serving on several Pink Party steering committees, the HRC Carolina Gala planning committee, and has been a member of the SC Gay + Lesbian Business Guild since 2006. During his time at SC Pride the festival budget grew as a result of increased sponsorships and local grant funding while the attendance grew from 5,000 to more than 8,000 people in just two years.
[divider style="dotted" ]Mark Sandlin
Mark Sandlin is an ordained Presbyterian PC(USA) and a self-described progressive minister currently serving at Vandalia Presbyterian Church in Greensboro, NC. Mark is a co-founder of The Christian Left and blogs at The God Article. He has been featured on NPR’s The Story with Dick Gordon, PBS’s Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly, and the upcoming documentary film Amendment One. He received his M. Div. from Wake Forest University’s School of Divinity. He will be speaking at the Openings Meeting on September 27, at Pride on September 28, and at Pride Sunday on September 29.
[divider style="dotted" ]Tony Snell
Longtime gay activist Tony Snell served as president of SC Pride for several years. During that time, he was one of the community’s most articulate spokespeople in the Statehouse and public forums, organizing many initiatives and demonstrations over the years, including the infamous trip to the art museum at Bob Jones University, which had prohibited gay alumni from visiting campus. In 1998, Snell was interviewed along with Harriet Hancock by The New York TImes in a ground-breaking story about gay and lesbian political organizations in South Carolina.
[divider style="dotted" ]Paris Lefaris
A resident Diva of Columbia, Paris Lefaris has been gracing the stage for more than 16 years. A current cast member of the PT’s 1109 Divas, she is known for her high energy dance moves as well as her gracefulness. She holds several titles from her career, including Miss SC Pride, Miss SC Black Pride, Miss Upstate Pride, Miss Hope for the Peedee, Miss DIVA, Miss Pantheon, Miss Timeout, Miss Timeout Sweetheart, Miss Greenville, Miss Castle, Miss Castle New, Miss SC New. She can be seen performing and hosting throughout South Carolina.
[divider style="dotted" ]Chase Nelson
Winner of Pride Talent 2012, Chase W. Nelson is a PhD student in genetics and Presidential Fellow at the University of South Carolina (Columbia). Besides music, Nelson also enjoys writing, swing dancing, and learning Mandarin Chinese, among other endeavors. He’s honored and delighted to be performing our national anthem.