LGBTQ+ advocacy organization PFLAG of Morris/Grundy Area has been named the Grundy County Chamber of Commerce Organization of the Year.

Christina Van Yperen, the president and CEO of the Grundy County Chamber of Commerce, said the organization was founded in 2024 to fill a critical need for compassion and support within the local LGBTQ+ community.

Chapter President Jen Knudson said she’s honored and humbled to receive the award, and she said the organization’s board works with compassion and drive, creativity, and generosity.

“Don’t even try to tell them something might be too difficult to pull off, because they’ll just prove you wrong,” Knudson said.

Knudson said PFLAG’s meetings are a safe space where people can feel respectful and like they belong. She said the presence of organizations like PFLAG has grown even more important with every day.

“Just last week in Kansas, a whole group of people had their driver’s licenses revoked not because they had committed a crime, but just because they’re transgender,” Knudson said. “Last month in Tennessee, a bill was passed allowing banks, hospitals, and insurance companies to refuse to recognize same-sex marriages. The time is now to join us in leading in love.”

Knudson shared a few ways people could identify themselves as a safe and welcoming ally: wear a pride pin or a rainbow, add pronouns to email signatures and biographies, and respect other people’s pronouns, and join the local PFLAG chapter.

“The education we provide can help you learn ways to be more welcoming and inclusive in your business and personal lives,” Knudson said. “You will learn that we are all just people trying to do our best and be accepted for who we are while we strive to accept others. We are parents, siblings, children, friends, and coworkers, and we are all valuable.”