Candidate Criteria

Thank you for taking the time to nominate an LGBT Veteran for induction onto the Benjamin Dillingham III and Bridget K. Wilson Veterans Wall of Honor for service to the San Diego area LGBT Community. Please read the information below for guidelines on how to complete and write up your nominee’s contributions to our community and San Diego.

How nominations are evaluated

All Veterans Wall of Honor nominations will be examined for merit based upon how well the written nomination demonstrates the veteran’s contributions to serving the LGBTQ community. All nominations will be evaluated using four major categories. Those categories are:

Military Service (20%): Nominations should at a minimum contain the military job the service member did and the rank that they attained. This is where awards are to be mentioned, service schools attended, and tours of duty articulated. Please mention any combat related tours of duty in this section as well.
Service to the local LBGTQ community (40%): List in this section any volunteer activities the nominee contributes to area LGBTQ service organizations or community groups. Also please mention financial contributions, or personal sacrifices made to ensure an organization or meeting group’s continuity of operations. Board membership, club memberships, hours of service donated should be included here.
Service to other local or national LGBTQ organizations (20%): List in this section any volunteer activities contributed by the nominee to other LGBTQ organizations such as; volunteer group leader at another city’s LGBTQ Center (e.g. Pittsburgh, PA LGBT Center or to Little Apple LGBT Pride in Manhattan, KS.) List here also contributions of a financial nature to other locales. Board membership on national or other locales should be mentioned here. Examples can be board membership with Equality California, Human Rights Campaign, Modern Military Association of America, etc.
Service to the greater San Diego area (20%): Please list here membership on other boards of service or other charitable or civic organizations (e.g. Rotary International, Kiwanis, ACLU, or NAACP.) This is also a very good section to list the contributions a nominee may have made to the local economy by employing others as a business manager, Chief Executive Officer, or a business owner.

Extra Points: Based on the approval of the Advisory Council in 2021 any nominee with a record of service that occurred before and during Don’t Ask Don’t Tell (DADT) will receive extra points for their service as a way to recognize the commendable nature of that service during a personally trying time. Up to two extra points can be awarded depending upon the circumstances of the nominee’s service. (Example: Veterans serving before and during DADT will receive a point. If active measures were being taken against a service member during their service such as a command investigation, it is advised that the veteran receive an extra point for a total of two).

How to nominate a lgbtq veteran

Candidate must:

Be nominated by someone other than themselves.
Meet the definition of a veteran.
Have taken the Oath of Enlistment or commission.
Embody the Core Values of their respective service branch.
Be a member of the LGBTQ community in the San Diego region.
Honorably discharged or retired from the US Army, US Marine Corps, US Coast Guard, US Navy, US Air Force, US Space Force. Active Duty, National Guard, Reserve Component veterans are eligible.
Provide a copy of each candidates DD214 to confirm service. Click here to request a DD214 from the National Archives Veterans’ Records Service if needed.
Candidate may be living or deceased.
Served in the years before, during, and after Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT).
Have made positive contributions to the well being of members of the LGBTQ Community in the San Diego region.

Positive Contributions Defined

A substantial record of volunteering for any number of San Diego LGBTQ Service organizations. Examples are: The San Diego LGBT Community Center, San Diego Pride, San Diego Gay Men’s Chorus, San Diego’s Women’s Chorus, The Neutral Corner Inc., Mama’s Kitchen, The North County LGBT Center, and others.
A substantial record of volunteering for any number of other community LGBTQ Service organizations in other states throughout the nation.
Individuals who financially support community LGBTQ Service Organizations.
LGBTQ members of the community who have made positive contributions to the greater San Diego region through membership, engagement, or management of civic service organizations, through their employer, or by being an employer. Examples are: Active member of San Diego Friends of the Library, Modern Military Association of America, a civic theater, Board Member of Father Joe’s Village (e.g.) or others.

Nominations

Must be nominated by someone other than themselves, with a sponsor who reside within the County of San Diego. The nominator need not be from the County of San Diego. Sponsor must be from the County of San Diego and need not know the candidate personally, but must support the candidate’s nomination. Nomination instructions and links are below.

To submit a nomination:

Please fill out the nomination form by June 30 of the year you wish consideration for induction be made.

Application Checklist:

Nominator (Name, Pronouns, Contact Info, Relationship to Nominee)
Name and contact info of the Sponsor
Nominee (Pronouns, Branch of Service, Years in Service, Type of Discharge, Time Lived in or served in San Diego, Demographic Information, Contact Info, Copy of DD214)
Supplemental Question: Please describe how the nominee meets the nomination requirements, listed above. Please write this section as if the Advisory Council knows nothing about the candidate, with a focus on the candidate’s contributions in the following areas: military service, local LGBTQ community, LGBTQ community beyond San Diego, and local civic engagement.

Back-up documentation can be hand delivered to The Center, 3909 Centre St., San Diego, CA 92103.

Appeal: Anyone wishing to appeal the decision of The LGBT Veteran’s Wall of Honor Advisory Council may do so in writing to The San Diego LGBT Community Center.