Granite RockOUT Celebrates Pride Month with Pride Flag Raisings and $5,600 Donation to Ryan O'Callaghan Foundation for LGBTQA+ Athletes

Granite to Announce Recipient of Inaugural Allison Ordway Pride Leadership Award

QUINCY, Mass., June 8, 2022 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Granite Telecommunications, a $1.75 billion provider of communications services to multilocation businesses and government agencies, announced today that the company will celebrate Pride Month by displaying Pride flags at each of Granite's 12 locations around the U.S. and will donate $5,600 to the Ryan O'Callaghan Foundation, which provides scholarships, support and mentorship programs for LGBTQA+ athletes.

Granite also will announce the first recipient of the Allison Ordway Pride Leadership Award as part of planned Pride Month activities organized by the Granite RockOUT internal resource group for diversity and inclusion.

Pride Month, celebrated each June, is when the world's lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and asexual (LGBTQA+) communities celebrate the freedom to be themselves and commemorate the Stonewall uprising in June 1969 in New York City, which is considered a spark of the modern gay rights movement.

Pride flags will be on display at Granite's headquarters in Massachusetts, two locations in Florida, and at locations in Rhode Island, New York City, Georgia, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, Tennessee and California.

"The response from our Granite team members around the country has been enthusiastic and open," said Raul Medina, RockOUT Committee Chair and National Relationship Development Manager at Granite. "We're grateful to Granite's leadership for setting the tone of inclusion and positivity."

Allison Ordway Pride Leadership Award

In June Granite RockOUT also will announce the first recipient of the Allison Ordway Pride Leadership Award, which will be given out monthly to a nominated Granite team member. The award is given in memory of Allison Ordway, a talented salesperson and longtime member of Granite's Relationship Development team, who passed in 2021 after a long battle with cancer.

"Allie was a proud member of the LGBTQA+ community and was generous with her time and her earnings, supporting causes close to her and helping her Granite teammates," said Medina. "She was energetic, smart, playful and amazingly talented. We miss her terribly and are proud to dedicate this award in her memory."

Ryan O'Callaghan Keynote, Virtual LGBTQA+ Panel & Other Pride Month Activities

As part of Pride Month activities, Granite RockOUT will host several events for Granite teammates, including:

• June 10: Keynote Address by Ryan O'Callaghan, founder of the Ryan O'Callaghan Foundation for LGBTQA+ athletes. The former NFL Offensive Tackle for the New England Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs came out as gay in 2017 following struggles with self-acceptance and suicidal thoughts. His story is detailed in the 2019 autobiography, "My Life on the Line: How the NFL Damn Near Killed Me and Ended Up Saving My Life."
• June 17: A virtual panel on "How to Succeed in Corporate America as an OUT LGBTQA+ Professional." Scheduled panelists include:
• Colby Clark, Enterprise Solution Consultant at Five9
• Trevor Boylston, CPSM, CPSD, Sourcing and Supplier Diversity Professional at Boston Scientific
• R. Mitchell Thomas, Senior Analyst at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts
• Peg McDermott, President, COGO Interactive
• Other Pride Month activities include wellness and self-care events.

About Granite RockOUT
At Granite, diversity and inclusion are business priorities and integral to the company's culture. Granite RockOUT was formed in 2019 to support Granite's LGBTQA+ community and their allies. Its mission is to create a culture of positivity and acceptance within the Granite workplace so that all teammates feel welcome and enjoy their work environment.

About Granite
Granite delivers advanced communications solutions to businesses and government agencies throughout the United States and Canada. The $1.75 billion company serves more than two-thirds of Fortune 100 companies and has 1.75 million voice and data lines under management, supporting more than 650,000 locations. Founded in 2002, Granite has grown to be one of the largest independent telecommunications providers in the U.S. by simplifying sourcing and management of voice, data and cellular service with a single point of contact and consolidated invoicing for all locations nationwide. Today, Granite supports customers with a wide range of advanced business communications services, including access, UCaaS, mobile voice and data, and MSP solutions for SD-WAN, monitoring and network management. Granite employs more than 2,250 people at its headquarters in Quincy, Mass. and 11 regional offices nationwide. For more information, visit granitenet.com.

Media Contact

Lauren Grenier Cheney, Granite, 781.884.5290, [email protected]

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SOURCE Granite