What's Happening MoCo?
An authentic, unscripted update from County Cable Montgomery highlighting items that help residents of Montgomery County. This program features interviews with elected officials, employees, public servants, and residents. This program is produced by the Office of Community Engagement from the Department of Technology and Enterprise Business Services. Interviews are recorded live and presented with very few edits to ensure the integrity and authenticity of the conversations.
What's Happening MoCo?
What's Happening with MoCo Pride and the LGBTQIA+ Community?
Ever wondered how you can be a supportive ally to the LGBTQIA community?
Hear from Phillip Alexander Downie of MoCo Pride Center and Mia Gordon from Trans Maryland as they share their insights on available resources and how we can all make a difference!
Good day and welcome to what's Happening, moco, an authentic unscripted podcast from your Montgomery County government. Now here's your host.
Speaker 2:Derek Kenney. Good day and welcome to a special edition of the what's Happening MoCo podcast. In today's episode, we're talking about MoCo pride and learning about the LGBTQ community inside of the county, and also resources available to individuals and families. To start us off today, join me in welcoming Philip Alexander Downey. He's the Chief Executive Officer of MoCo Pride Center. Welcome, philip, how are you today?
Speaker 3:I'm doing well. Thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 2:Well, thank you for being here. I think this is such a wonderful thing to do. We're such a diverse county in so many different ways cultures, religions, races but the people of the county are so beautiful, strong, intelligent and diverse in many, many other different ways as well, and today we're going to learn a bit more about some of those ways. Sounds okay? Yeah, absolutely All right, that's fantastic. So tell me, before we start about you and your organization, and when did you start getting involved inside of Montgomery County's LGBTQ?
Speaker 3:community, absolutely. So my name again Philip Alexander Downey. My pronouns are he, him. I started off in this role working for an organization now founded and comprised within the Montgomery County Pride family. So Live In your Truth, live In your Truth. We're the main programming arm for Montgomery County Pride in the Plaza, which is our large countywide celebration of LGBTQI, a love acceptance community and our just fabulous selves, and so, within that role, we do a lot of linkage to care and wellness work, and so Living your Truth is an organization that is all about connecting folks with wellness resources, while we provide atmospheres and outlets for authenticity where people we really. Our message at the end of the day is always live in your truth.
Speaker 3:Of course, you absolutely belong, and you have not found all of the people that are going to love you yet, and that's so important when we go through and we provide this messaging but not only messaging, but resources, and so live in your truth is a great hub for finding local resources at our programs, and we have worked and partnered with the MoCo Pride Center for a long time as their programming arm, alongside their longest standing program, which is Montgomery County Pride Prom or MoCo Pride Prom, and so that has almost been in existence for a decade.
Speaker 3:So those were my beginnings working with the organization in 2019, and then flash today, where I am the CEO of the Pride Center, the inaugural, but also the culturally competent community-based organizations that already do this amazing work, like Trans Maryland. So that's evolved into us becoming the Montgomery County Pride family under the MoCo Pride Center Inc. Umbrella. So we're the consortium of LGBTQIA plus service, advocacy, arts and culture organizations that serve Montgomery County, maryland and the region, and that consists of Living your Truth, trans Maryland, montgomery County Pride in the Plaza, moco Pride Prom, the Coalition for Inclusive Schools and Communities and Drag Story Hour. Dc. Maryland and Virginia alongside Maryland Trans Unity.
Speaker 2:Oh that is a lot. Yes, it is. So let's insert applause here later for all that good work.
Speaker 3:And then also so the people can keep track of all the consortium, is there a website that people can go to just to see all of the consortium and then from there you can each of the a lot of the consortium members have their own websites, their own homes, their own places that you can donate and really support the communities and the individuals and the initiatives that mean so much to you or that personally hit home All right fantastic.
Speaker 2:Now, one of the reasons I think you're so great at your job is that you are not only an ambassador, but not only are you a catalyst of hope and of resources for people, but you're also an educator. You're helping to educate not the people, necessarily, of the community, but also the people that love those people and the people that are in the community with those people and all those things. So let's do a quick one on one and you can help guide me through this process, because I don't know as much as I should know and I think at the end of this episode I will know as much as I should maybe know. I hope, right, all right. So let's start with LGBTQ. We hear the acronym all the time. I think I butchered it several times, trying to practice and remember for this episode. What does that acronym mean, and could you break down each function or each asset of that?
Speaker 3:Yes, so the LGBTQIA plus community. Lgbtq are acronyms that stand for the first letter of the identity that some people you know identify with in the community. So L, lesbian, g, gay, b, bisexual, LGBTQ, t, transgender LGBTQ, q for queer or questioning, I for intersex and A for ally, and asexual and aromantic. So ace folks is the A sometimes, but then there's also 2SLGBTQIA, which means two-spirit. So two-spirit is it is traditional to Native culture, and there I'm first of all.
Speaker 3:This is something that I should tell everyone. No one knows everything. So in communities are always evolving, and so are folks, and so is terminology. But there is historic terminology and in terms of like, two spirit, that is a term that's existed within so many communities for so long, especially in our indigenous populations, and so it means exactly what it's two spirit, meaning that you have both the feminine the masculine inside of you, and so that's for some. For some people, they consider two spirit as a part of the gender expansive community, and some people view like or or a part of the gender binary and some people view it outside of.
Speaker 3:So it really, when you're talking to every individual, what's good for one individual is not always good for everyone else, and something that people are allowed to make mistakes. It's really about the intentionality and how we talk to people and respect them. So if I didn't know your name or your gender, I would call you, but if I would call you, perhaps they or use or use genderless pronouns when I'm speaking about you, and so we're just asking that, whenever someone is approaching someone new, that you do the exact same thing. You know, there's so many unique names that are cultural and sometimes you may not be able to read it, or even names that in the United States that are genderless, like Leslie, and so you speak to someone and you're like oh, I'm so sorry, leslie, when I was reading your email, I thought you were a woman, it's like. But you know we're just trying to teach people not to make those assumptions and that then we can just simply ask like hey, what are your pronouns, right?
Speaker 2:And and no, that was the question. What are your pronouns? My pronouns he him. And is there another one of his?
Speaker 2:No, he, him, his, but he's, he's perfectly fine and and that's and I think that's a good conversation to have, and for some of us that are older and I'll say I'm one of those people because I'm now 50 plus, so it's now, I think, a better environment, an environment where I think everyone in the community is embracing all of us and we want to learn more. But it's kind of awkward to have the conversation. But what you're saying is it's okay to ask, right, and it's okay to share your pronouns or to get one wrong and be corrected. Now, what do you see or what would you desire from a person that you first meet, that we're meeting? I think you've shared this already. What would you want from them? Anyone you're talking to, if you're saying you meet for the first time and they want to know more about you?
Speaker 3:Yeah, treat me or anyone you meet just with kindness and respect and don't go into any conversation with assumptions about who somebody may be. So I like to give this example, especially when I'm talking with black folks in. I'm in communities and in spaces. Think about when you were going to a cookout at a family that you are not familiar with at all. Right, how are you going to approach the individuals that you go into, how are you going to approach the space? How are you even going to approach the food? And so you know, when you walk in, you use greet people and you introduce yourself, and then exactly that's all we're asking for Just be regular.
Speaker 3:Exactly Be a regular kind, genuine person.
Speaker 2:Now I think it's wonderful that you broke the ice for us. I mean, a lot of times we may put too much weight on ourselves because we want to be a positive part of the community and the community is so diverse and wonderful um and and when parts of our communities have challenges, we want to be there as well. What are some of the challenges that um people from the lgbtq and etc. Um community? Because you've enlightened me with the ia and the 2s um, what are some of the challenges that um part of the community faces and how can we help them or how are they being helped? Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 3:So queer people, lgbtqia plus people, two-spirit folks we exist in every facet of society, in every single religion, in every place since humanity's beginnings. Okay and so like. When you talk about problems specific to, to LGBTQ plus populations, they are compiled by the intersectionality of the, or intersections of, the communities that you already exist in. Okay and so when you're talking about measurable outcomes for for queer, transgender, expansive folks, uh, for for all of my LGBTQ plus siblings, um, unfortunately, they are almost going to be worse in every single measurable category of wellness, specifically because if you think about the people who have it worse off than add a like being gender, expansive or a or sexuality difference onto there, and then there the oppression is compiled and the increasing the statistics and the disparity rates and how we are treated in healthcare systems and spaces like that, then we are. Now, if you compile being queer or trans on top of those identities, you're still facing all of the discrimination of being black or being a woman, but then you're adding the other barriers and the other intersections on top.
Speaker 3:If you talk about a religious minority, so like, imagine being a trans woman who is in a predominantly white English speaking space, who speaks Farsi and who also wears a hijab. You know what I mean. So you're talking about discriminating against them. And then who also is visibly brown or black? And you're being discriminated against not only because of your head covering, not only because you might appear to be visibly trans, not only because you might appear to be a woman or someone who looks, but wearing a hijab and because you're a religious minority, and then you have an accent on top of it. So all of those places we're saying that, like you know what, everyone is just human and the way that we would approach, like having a conversation with any individual, is the way that we should approach how we talk to queer, trans, gender expansive folks, our entire LGBTQIA plus community, because the same exact compassion is needed when you are speaking to any individual or any person. And you know, with our aging communities, like, think about being older on top and not and feeling more invisible.
Speaker 4:And.
Speaker 3:I and I get stories from from queer as from, especially from older trans folks who might have to go into a conservative assisted living facility and then they have to go back in the closet because they don't have support. So imagine living your life for, like you know, you're like, oh, I'm finally able to retire, and then you can't even be who you want to be or love who you want to love at the part of your life that's supposed to really belong to you really belong to you.
Speaker 2:What type of resources are available for people in that type of situation and for families that are embracing someone that has either come out or needs to come out or whatever? What type of resources or counseling or guidelines or whatever are out there for people not only that are LGBTQ, but the people that love them as well, to help them through transitional stages from not necessarily being aware, but being aware and supportive?
Speaker 3:So, of course, talking to your family member and providing space for them, you were the first resource. Like you're the first line of defense against the outside world and just making sure that your family members, your loved one, your community members, has a safe space and a home with you, that you're an ally, and I often tell people that being an ally is unlearning so much more than you are learning because it's like we have to break down what we thought we knew and go into it with like, hey, I want to uplift your voice and really hear what you have to say.
Speaker 3:Um, and then from there, um, of course, local community resources like the Montgomery County pride family and MoCo pride center are always available. Um, local health departments, if you have a friendly government. Um, protections in Montgomery County are strong for LGBTQIA plus folks, but unfortunately, we live in a changing landscape and that isn't the case for everyone around the United States and it certainly isn't the case for everyone even in Maryland. And so, when we want to talk about resources, of course, mental health services support like HHS is amazing Behavioral health and crisis management support. And then, of course, ensuring that those hey ask for culturally, ask for cultural competency training from your employer or from your supervisor to ensure that you're able to provide the necessary tools and resources and so that, like you know, people who look different from you or who seem different from you don't have to go through a minefield in order to access services that should be available to everyone. Wow, that's fantastic.
Speaker 2:There's a lot to think about. It's not as simple as one thing, even in the acronym that we discussed, and it is broad. There's individual needs and each of those individuals that are described in one of those letters, right, yes, how did you bring because this is, I'm thinking about, the diversity part of it how do you bring all of these people together under one coalition, through the MoCo Pride Center and provide services and information?
Speaker 3:Well, so we work together in a few different ways.
Speaker 3:I mean, I took that living your truth model where we wanted to connect as many folks as possible to wellness services that were absolutely accessible.
Speaker 3:So from like onsite testing, opioid overdose prevention resources, food insecurity resources, housing insecurity resources, substance use disorder resources, like just literally everything that you could possibly provide or do we're like, if we you know, mental health resources as well.
Speaker 3:And so when we brought together the Pride family, we knew that there was a need. We kind of already worked together, of course, one year at every once. Every year we're all together at Pride trying to provide all of these resources and saying, hey, we're all together at pride trying to provide all of these resources and saying, hey, we're all here. But then we took that model and we turned it into monthly and monthly program series, weekly support groups and things like that that were already happening within the organizations, but then we could link people with more resources because we were all working together. And so it's like having Trans Maryland as a partner, like they are the largest gender marker and name change program in the state, and so it is so like I know the professionals to send folks to if you are having certain issues, Our amazing LGBTQ plus county liaison, dr Amina Johnson, if you are, if we will put together like we will fix that puzzle and make the pieces fit, even if we're missing a couple of them.
Speaker 2:There you are, and I'm definitely a jigsaw person too, so I understand when you have that piece missing or that one piece. It's going to work. It's going to work Because, ultimately, what we're going to look at is a beautiful picture and that's what we want to strive for Now, and thank you for your organization and all they do so far. Gosh, let's talk about some of the events you talked about. There's events happening every month and, of course, there's MoCo Pride, the celebration, I think, in June. Let's talk about that celebration and what it entails, and then some of the other opportunities to come out and fellowship or to learn, I guess in person or virtually, for people, either directly or indirectly, or family or friends or allies, to come together and be part of the community.
Speaker 3:Absolutely so with our. So there are, there's a few different spaces. I was like, where do we go with this? So our Live In your Truth Night, which is a great program that happens in downtown Silver Spring. We always try and make our in-person programs accessible on the Metro, all of that good stuff. So people can, you know, can travel there and get there very easily. Those happen April through June. You can visit liveinyourtruthorg forward slash events for our programs, along with mocopridecenterorg forward slash events. And then we're also building. We're working on opening two pride resource centers that will house our organizations for more consistent services as well.
Speaker 3:And so we are working right now with the county government. I don't know how much I can say about the space that we have chosen, but we're working with general services and folks. Make sure you share the good news.
Speaker 2:Oh, we definitely will. Fantastic. Well, I'm excited because of the resources available. Residents have access to a warm environment and a community of people to embrace them and help to uplift us all with all the diversity and the latest diversity that I didn't consider, because you're not only talking about being African-American or being an immigrant or having different religious beliefs or all those things. Complexity is there and you're addressing all those things as well, but when it comes to being good allies and being partners and being a community, it all starts with a conversation. Yes, hey, how are you today? I'm Derek and you'll say I'm Phillip. And then at what point do I need to share? Or is it appropriate to share my pronouns if ever, or just with my emails? Or is that showing that I'm an ally, if I do have those pronouns, or just makes it easier for other people to communicate with me?
Speaker 3:It is an easy first step. I encourage you to share your pronouns all the time because you know, even if someone asks you like, hey, why are you sharing your pronouns, we know you're a man, does not matter Like you're like. First of all, no, everyone does not like someone may see you, may not see you, who has a vision impairment, and the only time that they speak with you is through a computer and they they're like oh you know, derek, who knows Somebody?
Speaker 2:could have been like I want to be Derek with a woman.
Speaker 3:You know, it's just it's just making sure that people you can also provide that atmosphere where it's like you sometimes queer people don't feel comfortable correcting folks, but like it's our job in spaces to show up for people. You know, if you ever see something that's happening wrong, you're not going to be, you're not going to just stand by and let it happen. You know what I mean, and that goes in our social spaces as well. If somebody is being attacked, harassed, misgendered, anything like that and it's malicious and intentful.
Speaker 3:You know, even when I'm with my queer siblings and community members in spaces, sometimes people's pronouns and things they evolve and so like, and sometimes I forget and I don't know all of the information and I get corrected and it's like thank you. Or sometimes I'll correct folks when I'm having a conversation because no one knows everything. And even if you do, it's always good to just not assume and then to go in with like sometimes we do a check-in, like one of my team members the other day we were talking I said let me just check in on your pronouns and then we checked in on them and you know I have them written down like and they're already in their signature and everything. So introducing your pronouns on in your profile wearing pronoun pins like that is just a very easy and simple way to show that you are an ally and that you're a safe space for transgender, expansive and queer folks. Fantastic.
Speaker 2:And speaking of transgender, we're going to talk about that in a little bit. We have the wonderful Mia here and we'll talk with her in just a moment, but before we go, you've shared a lot of great information, so let's share the website again in different ways that people can connect with you and your organization, as well as other organizations that make sense. Um, and then, uh, maybe share one last word of wisdom, um, that you would share with the? Um Montgomery County at large. Um, whatever you want to share.
Speaker 3:Okay, absolutely so. Uh, please visit um mocopridecenterorg. Forward slash, donate. Donating dollars is a great way to contribute. Visit our website, mocopridecenterorg. Of course, to get involved, to volunteer, and volunteering your time is another way to contribute and, of course, being an ally in a safe space, wherever you are, is the best way to contribute to community efforts. And then, what was the last thing I was supposed to? Oh, a little tidbit of wisdom. You know, I said at the beginning, but I'll say it again, that you belong, you absolutely belong, to always, always, living your truth, and you have not met all of the people who are going to love you yet.
Speaker 2:All right, wonderful. You haven't met all the people who are going to love you yet. That's what's happening, moco. Up next we'll be talking to Mia with Trans Maryland. Thank you so much, derek. Thank you and welcome back. We are here with the fantabulous Mia Gordon. She's a volunteer with Trans Maryland. Welcome, mia, how are you today?
Speaker 4:I'm good. How are you?
Speaker 2:I'm pretty good. I'm pretty good, I'm feeling empowered for the conversation with Phillip and I want to introduce myself to you. I'm Derek he him is. It's a pleasure meeting you, mia.
Speaker 4:Awesome, nice to meet you. I'm Mia Gordon. She or they, either one doesn't matter.
Speaker 2:All right, well, pleasure meeting you. And you're with Trans Maryland and for those that aren't familiar, I think we talked about it a little bit in the last segment. What does trans reference? What does the reference mean, trans?
Speaker 4:Trans, as in transgender. It's an abbreviation. It means you have changed something about your gender. Either you don't present exactly as other people would associate with your gender. You can identify as non-binary. You can identify as a different gender than what you were born as. You can just say I don't have a gender, I don't, that's not me. You can say that your gender changes. You know based on the day. You know all sorts of other variations within gender.
Speaker 2:Wow, that's powerful. That's very an empowering statement that you, you are free and I think we all are free within our community and collective community in Montgomery County, where we're so diverse and a lot of us are now free to express our truths, and I think what we just learned just recently from Phillip is that it's important that we all are in a safe place to express our truths. What does Trans Maryland do for individuals of the trans nature?
Speaker 4:Well, so we have several resources. We do a name and gender change program. This helps people update their IDs at the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration. What else Legal paperwork passports, birth certificates Trans Maryland also does a virtual support group, t4t transgender people, for other transgender people.
Speaker 2:Let's stop right there, though, because I don't think. I think that's great, that's awesome. Number one I think there's a significant part in someone's life where they're they're shaping their identity to be more accurate, and you're helping them when you say change their names. What does that mean for a person that may not get it that they're changing their name from their birth name to something more appropriate to who they are?
Speaker 4:Right. Some people's names are associated with genders and you may associate a given name with a given gender and sometimes you get it right. Sometimes you get it wrong, because sometimes there's not exactly a rhyme or a reason to it. When someone else names you, when you name yourself, you can shape it a little more if that's appropriate or if you've never.
Speaker 2:There are a lot of people who don't really go by their birth names, but you're actually helping go through the process to legally change the name so that, in the eyes of the eyes of the government, in the eyes of anyone, um, and legally you sign your checks, um, you sign your name, you, um, whatever based off of this new, and you guys help with that process, which can be a challenging process, because if you didn't know, I don't know, I didn't know you can, you can do that easily, and then it may not be an easy process. So what? What are some of the other things that your organization provides?
Speaker 4:Well, the T4T weekly virtual support group is to help trans people share tips and advice and vent and support with each other. That's a virtual group every Wednesday and weekly. We also on our website, transmarylandorg. We offer info on local resources for gender affirming care and Trans Maryland also tries to go to a lot of events.
Speaker 2:Oh, wow, okay.
Speaker 4:And when we're there, we try and provide information, answer people's questions that they may have about what trans maryland, what do we have, you know? What do they know about montgomery county resources? It's. It's really useful when we meet people, and I've met people who have come up and been like, oh yeah, you guys helped me change my name, and that's, it's so cool I can imagine that being a significant moment in someone's life, like a like, a like.
Speaker 2:If you're reading a book. There's like a, a moment in the book where, like, something significant happens and nothing's ever the same again. It's like the sun is shining. You know, there's a cloud separate. The sun is shining. Is that one of those moments? Are there other moments like that for um, someone in their um, last part of their, their lives, being a trans person?
Speaker 4:I think some people have this sort of light bulb moment where it's sort of like oh, all these things you know added up to oh, I guess I am transgender, I think for other people it's just sort of a progressive, you know, like it's just built up and it's kind of uneventful. But I think, sorry, like it's just built up and it's kind of uneventful, but I think sorry, I'm forgetting the question.
Speaker 2:I think I think you answered it very well. I think you answered it very well. It was just that breakthrough moment I don't think I want to call it the tipping point where everything just floods in and you become who you are, like a flower having this, petals evolve, things of that nature. So, um, what, what do you? Uh, what, what, what do you, as a volunteer, do with trans maryland? Do you work? Um, how do you work, with individuals and families?
Speaker 4:so I I was actually at philip's event the pride in the plaza in june of this year where I tabled it. I had a great time time I've tabled at other events where it's you know, people come up and ask sort of hey, what's your group, what do you offer? I've, and you get to go around too and meet other groups and learn about their resources and it. It just builds a bunch of camaraderie within the community. I've met people and, yeah, I've made some good friends along the way too. It's it's really nice meeting all these like-minded people who are really supportive, because we're all different but we all live here and it's all our community.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, it is. What are some of the things that you have advice for the person that is maybe evolving to understanding who they are as a trans person or potentially trans person? What advice do you have for a young person or older person and what are the next steps through Trans Maryland? How can you guys help that person?
Speaker 4:Right. I think 2024 is a great time to be trans. I realize we have the election and there's some pessimism, but I think the communities evolved so much over even a decade where it seems much more safer safer not totally safe, but safer to explore your own gender, and I think there were people who put it off, and there are people who are never quite figured it out and or are young and they're at a point where they're allowed or they feel more capable and empowered in order to explore their own gender. I think it's awesome that we live in a time where people can explore their gender and sort of find out where they want to fit in within the gender spectrum, how they'd like to label themselves and just how they'd like to be seen by others and communicate that outwards. I think once you apply a label to yourself and other people are familiar with your label, they can help see literally see you Right.
Speaker 2:So what advice do you have for families of a trans person that has now embraced who they are, they have their new name and they introduce themselves to the family. Or maybe a younger person who's not fully able to totally transition with the name etc. But they've identified that they themselves as now being trans. How should families react and what are some of the best practices for families to show support for that person at that time?
Speaker 4:I would say be supportive. I mean, if these are your family members, if you loved them before, I would hope you would still love them after. You're better. Okay, there you go, Right right, and if you had issues before, I don't think this will solve your issues, but I hope it doesn't exacerbate them either. Families are complex. Yes, they are. But I would say be supportive, Ask people what they need. I think sometimes trans needs aren't always as obvious as other people's needs is as obvious as other people's needs. Yes, some people are very much. I'm trans, but I want to live a very you know, picket, fence, chicken in every pot, TV in every room lifestyle kids you know, and others are just like no, I'm abandoning all of that.
Speaker 4:This is what I want to do. I'm not going to have kids. Maybe I'll settle down when I'm 40 or 50 or never, and you just kind of have to support everyone what they want to do. I think it's not that much different than just having a kid who's different from you, or having a parent who you don't quite relate to, or a sibling that you're not very close to.
Speaker 2:How about that yeah?
Speaker 4:But you support them. You say, hey, you found that thing that you like Good for you. You're doing this, that's awesome. I support you.
Speaker 2:Well, Mia, good for you and good for Trans Maryland for all that you're doing for families and individuals in Montgomery County, but also in the greater state of Maryland, and I'm sure that you guys are helping to influence things nationwide as well. What are the contact information or how do you want people to reach out to Trans Maryland If they have questions, if they need resources? What's the best first step?
Speaker 4:Transmarylandorg is our website. If you want, you can go. There's a mailing list option on there. There's also a fundraising option.
Speaker 2:Oh, okay, you can't do anything without money, right?
Speaker 4:Someone has to provide the money.
Speaker 4:And if you have money, we would like it. If you're interested in our resources, the website has them. We have some upcoming name and gender marker change clinics, so if you need to update one of those, we also do that virtually because I know I know we have some upcoming events in Baltimore but you may not have access to get to Baltimore and we're currently in Montgomery County. The virtual stuff definitely covers Montgomery County and, yeah, I think just trying to bring people together and really support the trans community, I think that's what Trans Maryland does really well.
Speaker 2:Fantastic and thank you so much for volunteering. Thank you, it's one thing to serve because that's your calling, and then that's kind of your role. It becomes your occupation. But when you're serving out of love and out of compassion and help and hope for your fellow person, that means quite a lot. Well, thank you so much, mia, she. They All right. I got that right Perfect.
Speaker 2:And that's what's happening in MoCo. We're striving to be a better, more understanding, a more loving county, and that's what's happening. Thank you so much me for being here. Do you have anything else you want to add before we go?
Speaker 4:Be kind to each other.
Speaker 2:Of course, be kind to one another, and that's a good way to close out this year. Be kind to one another, each other. Be kind to yourselves. Enjoy yourselves at the close of this year, because this is going to come out in late December. I this year, because this is going to come out in late December. I'm wishing all of you a happy happy new year full of love, understanding and peace, thank you, thank you.
Speaker 1:Thanks for listening to what's Happening MoCo. Please subscribe via your favorite podcasting platform and follow us on Facebook. This podcast is brought to you by County Cable Montgomery, your source for news and information from the Montgomery County Government. Connect with us via cable, Facebook, Instagram or YouTube by searching for County Cable MoCo.