Think past the slate of Stonewall Celebration events next month and focus instead on the big, gay Pride parade on Oct. 9: It needs some grand marshals, y’all. The Atlanta Pride Committee is asking for your help in picking them, announcing on Monday that it’s opened the nomination process. In other words, stop bitching after-the-fact about their choices and take a little proactive action to ensure that your favorite person – LGBT or not – has a shot at riding along Peachtree Street in a convertible they otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford. Pride always finds itself in a pickle with their grand marshals. Either it’s a cop just days after the police raid a gay bar, or it’s for a shotgun approach that includes 120 parade leaders. Or they are too white. Or too transgender. Or not gay enough. Or too leathery. Below are the few requirements for the nominations; the rest of what you need, including the form, is online. Get to it – though it’s entertaining to listen to you whine after Pride announces its grand marshals every year, consider for a moment just how rewarding it would be to see your favorite person right up there at the front of this year’s parade. Oh, and you can’t nominate yourself. Really, girl. That’s a bit much.

• Nominees do not have to identity as Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, or Queer. We welcome Straight Allies as nominees. • Nominees are not required to be political in nature. • Nominees of all gender identities/expressions are welcome. • While Nominees do not have to reside in Georgia, The Atlanta Pride Committee (APC) encourages the nomination of individuals or groups that have ties to our local state communities. • While it is not required that you personally know the individual you are nominating, we encourage it. An inability to provide contact information about the nominee may make it difficult for APC to get in touch with the nominee if they are selected to serve.