Ilitch Companies, Detroit Tigers Celebrate Pride Month

Anchored by the Detroit Tigers annual Pride Night celebration on June 11, Ilitch Companies are commemorating Pride Month throughout June with a series of activities for fans and colleagues.

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Pride Night at Comerica Park began with a reception honoring this year’s Game Changers honorees for Pride Month. The Game Changers program, presented by Comerica Bank, celebrates individuals who have made a significant impact on local families, businesses and communities. Each honoree receives a $1,000 donation to the charity of their choice, allowing them to further their philanthropic efforts and continue making a difference.

This year’s honorees are:

Reid Beyerlein – Co-Founder, Ties Like Me!

Ties Like Me! was created for the professional gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community to network, creating an environment to meet new friends, engage in casual conversation and build strong business ties. Beyerlein is also a past President and Board member for Metro Detroit Youth Clubs.

Jay Kaplan – LGBTQ+ Rights Project Staff Attorney, ACLU of Michigan

Kaplan has worked on cases including challenging undercover sting operations targeting gay men, fighting Michigan’s constitutional amendment prohibiting same-sex couples from marrying, defending the validity of second parent adoptions granted in Michigan and civil rights protections for LGBTQ+ employees.

Brandon Shamoun – Vice Chair, Michigan LGBTQ+ Commission / Commissioner, Stonewall Sports Detroit

Shamoun is currently the Assistant Dean of Students for Student Involvement, Activities and Organizations at Wayne State University. Additionally, he is the co-chair of the Queer Employee Engagement Group (QWSU) at WSU. He also serves as the Commissioner and President of Stonewall Sports Detroit, a local non-profit chapter to increase awareness of the LGBTQ+ community through sporting leagues.

Emme Zanotti – Director of Advocacy and Civic Engagement, Equality Michigan

At Equality Michigan, Michigan’s statewide LGBTQ+ advocacy organization, Zanotti ensures the LGBTQ+ community is engaged in elections and in the policy work that will impact their lives and wellbeing.

“There’s a lot of trailblazers, the activists and the artists, what I call unsung heroes every day that go out and have changed the world to make events like this happen so that we can wear rainbow colors with pride in June every single day and not have an issue,” said Beyerlein.

In addition to celebrating the Game Changers during the Tigers’ game against the Washington Nationals, Pride Night featured a pre-game Street Fair on Columbia Street with information booths, giveaways, food, shopping and music from a local DJ.

Throughout the month of June, colleagues at the Ilitch Companies’ family of businesses also had the opportunity to attend panel discussions and lunch-and-learns as well as play Pride Jeopardy.

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