By Aaron Boot-Haury –
As 2025 quickly draws to a close, it is hard to believe how fast this year has gone by. The months seem to have blurred together, and suddenly we find ourselves preparing to turn the calendar to a new year. Before we do, we want to pause and express our sincere gratitude to everyone who joined us for our recent holiday party, co-hosted with the San Francisco Bay Times.
The evening was a wonderful success, welcoming more than 200 guests and bringing together a vibrant mix of familiar faces and new members of our community. It was an exciting night of connection, celebration, and shared purpose, made even more meaningful by our silent auction fundraiser, which featured an incredible array of prizes and generated important support for both organizations.
We are deeply thankful to the many individuals and businesses who donated food, beverages, and auction items. Your generosity made the night possible and truly reflected the spirit of collaboration that defines our LGBTQ+ business community. A special and heartfelt thank you goes to Dr. Betty Sullivan, Jen Viegas, Juan Torres, and the entire GGBA Board of Directors for their dedication and hard work behind the scenes. Their planning, preparation, flexibility, and commitment ensured the evening was both memorable and impactful.
As I have shared previously, much of 2025 was a year of significant behind the scenes work by the GGBA Board of Directors. As we move into 2026, we are excited to begin bringing more of that work forward in visible and meaningful ways for our members and the broader community.
We are currently finalizing a refreshed GGBA brand and look forward to launching an updated mission and vision statement, logo, and website in the first quarter of the new year. This refresh will align closely with three key pillars of focus and a set of updated programs designed to better serve our membership.
Our first pillar centers on creating business opportunities for our members. This includes an enhanced business directory, strategic matchmaking opportunities that intentionally connect businesses and corporate partners who can benefit from each other’s goods and services, and the launch of a large LGBTQ+ Business Expo during Pride Month.
Our second pillar focuses on education and professional development. Beginning in February, we will introduce a bi-monthly GGBA Education Series, open to all members and designed to build essential skills for business success. Planned topics include branding and strategic messaging, accessing capital to scale a business, managing cash flow, leveraging AI for operational efficiency, identifying security risks, and more. In addition to our own programming, GGBA will continue to serve as a connector by highlighting other valuable learning resources across our community through a revamped newsletter.
Our third pillar emphasizes fostering a strong sense of community, something that feels especially important in today’s political landscape. Our Monthly Make Contact events will continue as our flagship gathering, with thoughtful updates to introduce more structured networking activities. We are also exploring additional ways to bring members together, including smaller industry focused groups and targeted opportunities for connection.
As we close out the year, I want to express my sincere appreciation to our members, corporate sponsors, and partner organizations. Your continued support, engagement, and belief in the mission of GGBA are what make our work possible and meaningful. It is because of this collective commitment that GGBA remains an organization I am deeply proud to volunteer my time to lead.
On behalf of the GGBA Board of Directors, I wish you a safe, relaxing, and joyous holiday season, and a happy and healthy new year.
Warmly,
Aaron Boot-Haury (he/him) President/CEO of the Golden Gate Business Association
GGBA Message from Leadership
Published on December 18, 2025
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