it's always fun when you're downe!

Downe Girl - Vicky DeMercer

Vicky DeMercer, who goes by Vicky Dora, knows how to engage a crowd. Most probably recognize her from the DowneTowne parties with a mic in hand, but DeMercer is more than DowneTowne's resident emcee. She is a board member for HGLCF (Honolulu Gay and Lesbian Cultural Foundation), volunteers regularly, and is a strong voice in the LGBT community. She's intelligent and engaging, and after chatting with her I was sharply reminded of how lucky the LGBT community is to have her in our corner.

[DT] Tell me about HGLCF and how you got involved with it. How long have you been a board member?

[VD] I kind of stumbled across it in 2008-ish. I volunteered and helped a little with the Honolulu Rainbow Film Festival and I met Brent through my friend Lisa. I think he thought I was cool, so he asked me to come to a board meeting and see how I liked it. I've been on the board ever since. I've learned so many new things like coordinating media, how to make a successful event, and how to roll with the punches. I love being in the Programming committee. It can be tasking, watching over 100 films of all different lengths and then helping to decide which ones make the cut, but each year I'm more and more impressed with the quality of the films being made and the messages they send out about the LGBT community. In the off season, you can usually find me at the HGLCF booth at PRIDE or the AIDS Walk or at an HGLCF fundraiser.

[DT] The HGLCF puts on the Rainbow Film Festival every year. What can you tell us about this year's event? Anything in particular you're looking forward to?

[VD] There is some talk, but I can't disclose it right now. But every year, I can't help but be excited for the next HRFF. More people are learning about it and more people want to be involved! That really excites me. Like the more people want to help, volunteer, participate or whatever, the bigger my ego gets. But in a good way. Kinda like, "It's shake & bake..and I helped!" You know? Aside from helping with programming, I love to get people involved. I have chaired the Gala event since 2009. It's fun because I get to work with the talent, I get to play with the volunteers and get to hear about how much fun (or sometimes not fun) the party is. Again, the ego thing. For this year, I really looking forward to setting into motion the new ideas and concepts that will come up. It sounds like I'm a nerd getting all excited over people helping and the possibility of new ideas... but if I'm going to be a nerd or a geek or anything with a label, I prefer Harry Potter FREAK! :P Or volunteer-a-holic. I love to volunteer with HGLCF, Hands in Helping Out, & The Still & Moving Center. But, I'll get into that later.

[DT] Harry Potter Freak? This you need to tell me about!

[VD] I really believe that the Harry Potter books by JK Rowling changed my life. Not in a freak "I believe that HP is a real person" kind of way. But rather, the stories drove me. They drove me to do something more. I mean, I'm one part Hermione, advocate for rights; one part Luna Lovegood, always somewhere between here and a dream; one part Neville Longbottom, the unexpected person who helps bring it all together; and one part Fred Weasley, always got some form of a joke up my sleeve.

I know totally obscure things about the books. I wrote a thesis and several papers during my undergrad at UH on the HP books, the journey of the hero, and the importance of complex literature for young adults. Ask me anything. If I can't answer you, I can at least tell you which book to look in and who probably said it. I listen to Hogwarts Radio. It's an HP podcast. I LOVE it! I'm also going to the Harry Potter Celebration in November. I totally love HP!

There's a new book out called Thank You, Mister Potter. It has letters from people who have been touched by the writings of JKR & how they decided to make a change for better in their life, community and the world. There's a legit non-profit that was founded by people who really want the world to be a better place. I'm a total Potter FREAK, but I do what I do because I've been inspired by the books too. Becoming active in my community, pursuing education, & being a good person are all things I do because I love doing them. This is how HP has inspired me.

[DT] Tell me more about your other volunteer gigs - Hands in Helping Out, and the Still & Moving Center. How and why did you get involved with these particular programs?

[VD] In 2009 I was looking for something new. Eric and I had just come back from the brink of our relationship and we both needed space to gather up the pieces of ourselves. So I started looking. In January I went to a New Year's Day Party. What I found was Nia. It was love at first dance! By March I was a regular to the Nia class in Manoa. By October, I completed the first level of teacher training, White Belt. It was through Nia that I was able to meet Renee Tillotson. At the time the Still & Moving Center wasn't even on our radar. But around this time last year, Renee said she wanted to start a new kind of center for people to find physical fitness, piece of mind, and joy (joy in the universal in sense of the word rather than the pleasing sense). Since it opened in March of this year, I've been teaching Nia on Saturday mornings. First with Shar and now with Goldyn. They're great mentors and I have a lot to learn, but I'm very thankful for the Still & Moving Center. It makes learning new things that much easier, since it's all in one place.

Going back to 2009, it's April now. A friend emailed me and said he and a group of his friends were getting together to volunteer...at 8am on a Saturday. Well being that I was still looking for "something," I told him I would go, so I went. That day was my first day working with Hands In Helping Out. We worked way in the back of Kalihi Valley, helping to restore the land. Then I helped with this, then with that, then more and more, I began to find real Joy in giving. Real Joy in dancing. Real Joy in me! If there's any advice I can give, it's this: you never know until you do it. Don't Try it. Do it. Do it with all your heart, soul, might, and love. Then no matter what the outcome, you will always come out on top. HIHO is a 501(c)3. Its purpose is to help people find a volunteer opportunity & to keep them coming back.

I could go on. But I'm seriously on the verge of tears right now. These are things that are very special to me. HP, Nia, & HIHO are all things that will continue to shape the person I am and who I will grow to be.

[DT] What's one of your favorite memories from the Rainbow Film Festival so far?

[VD] My favorite memory was...there are so many! Meeting Dustin Lance Black. I love saying I've met an OSCAR winner. Watching Bruce Vilanch pick-up on my husband was pretty fun too. Making gift baskets with my Justin. It's partly his fault I got involved. Having the support of friends near and far is great too. One of my favorite moments this year was sitting at the bar in Hula's talking with JC Caliano's mother. Think her name is .... ahhhh... I can't remember, but she is a cool old bird. Another time I got to just sit and take a breath and watch all these cool people and know that I helped get them all together.

[DT] If being part of HGLCF and emceeing the monthly DowneTowne parties weren't enough, you are also very active in the LGBT community. What made you decide to be an advocate for the community?

[VD] My mom was greatly influenced by JFK. The whole "And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country, " thing. It really moved her. Halfway across a continent and across an ocean. My mom is from St. Paul, MN. She came here in '69 with the Peace CORPS or something. She met my dad, fell in love, got married, and had four kids by August of 1980. By October of the same year, she was a widow. Dad died in a car accident. All she could do was pull herself up by her boot-straps and press forward. I have three older sisters and I know this was much harder on them than me. I was two months old. They were eight, five, and two. Therefore, my mom and my sisters partly influenced me to be strong and to hold fast to what I believe. But I didn't start to realize that until after I got married in 2006. His name is Eric Cordeiro and I love him very much.

I've always had a loose affiliation with my gay and lesbian friends. I sometimes knew so-n-so was gay before their family did. Eric and I joke that if I was a superhero, my power would be outing people 'cause my gaydar is just that good. :P Anyway, I was in a weird place in 2008. I was turning 28 and took too long to get a BA from UH. I was married, but I didn't really understand what that meant and I felt unaccomplished. I want to do good. Like real good for my community. That's when I met Brent. He helped get me on the board for HGLCF. I testified in support of HB-444 in 2009. I spent all 18 hours at that hearing. That's when it really clicked.

I'm standing here advocating for equal rights because I firmly believe that it is the right thing to do. Remember I mentioned Justin, he's my friend. In HS it was weird 'cause he wasn't out yet. Even now, it's still a hushed topic in certain circles. I'm standing up for equal rights because why should he have to hide? Why should anyone have to hide? At the risk of sounding a bit like Jane Addams, I have to stand for equal rights for the LGBT community because I can. Unfortunately, I'm not gay. But when I was a lost little college kid, I found out that some of the most accepting people in this great world happen to be gay or trans-gender, or whatever they want to be. They don't hide it. They own it. I see it as me helping to bridge the gap. Some people help at soup kitchens. I raise awareness about the LBGT community.