MEET THE MARSHALS
GRAND MARSHAL:
BRADLEY NELSON
It’s “always a good
time at Bradley’s on 7th,”
the Ybor hotspot’s tagline
reads, and owner Bradley
Nelson says that’s
because of the people it
serves. The LGBTQ staple
is celebrating nine years.
Nelson opened Bradley’s after retiring
from corporate America and hasn’t looked
back. “It’s exceeded my expectations,” he
reflects. “People ask me all the time, ‘what’s
my secret?’ and it’s the community. I did
something for them and they latched onto it.
It’s been amazing.”
Nelson sees Pride as a day of
freedom, dedicated to expressing our
community. “I really appreciate representing
everyone,” he says.
GRAND COUPLE:
SALLY PHILLIPS &
ERCILIA ALBISTU
The personal is political,
Sally Phillips and Ercilia
Albistu can attest. Since
meeting more than 30
years ago, they have
dedicated themselves to
proving love is love.
Phillips is the
president emeritus of the Florida LGBTQ+
Democratic Caucus, an arm of the state’s
Democratic Party which represents LGBTQ
Floridians. She’s also the vice president of
the Hillsborough County LGBTA Democratic
Caucus, its chartered chapter.
Albistu serves the two organizations as
well, as Tampa’s regional director for the
LGBTQ+ Caucus and as the communications
chair for the LGBTA Caucus. The two have
long advocated for equality in the city, state
and nation, thankful to do so arm in arm.
GRAND MARSHAL:
RENEE COSSETTE
Renee Cossette has
proudly worked with the
Tampa Bay International
Gay & Lesbian Film
Festival (TIGLFF) for
half of its 30 years. Her
role as festival director
is critical in ensuring
TIGLFF entertains, empowers and enlightens
audiences year after year.
The festival showcases the best in film by
and for the LGBTQ community. Last year’s
outing presented 97 films from 25 different
countries, screening five collections of short
films, holding live events and welcoming local
officials and national celebrities to locations in
Tampa and St. Petersburg. “We do it because
we love the community,” Cossette says. “I’m
really honored.”
COMMUNITY SUPPORTER:
CAROL “MAMA” STEEN
Carol Steen is known
as Mama for a simple
reason: she’s family. The
lifelong ally has worked
to better the lives of
Tampa Bay’s LGBTQ
community for 18 years,
bartending at Hamburger
Mary’s Tampa, Bradley’s on 7th, Reservoir
Bar and The Castle.
“I got the nickname because if someone
was displaced from their family, I would
become a part of their life,” she reflects.
“The community has accepted me and
I accept them.”
Steen has retired from the bar scene but
still hosts an annual community Thanksgiving,
the largest of which welcomed more than 100
people. “Come as you are,” she says. “Just
come hungry.”
| | Grand Marshals CONT. PG.28
23