For almost one year, we have been working with the Cleveland Synergy Foundation to try and bring the Gay Games to Cleveland in 2014.

And, on September 29 at 12:30 ET, the work paid off…in dividends.

At an exciting press conference in Cologne, Germany, we learned that Cleveland– yes Cleveland– would be the next host of the Gay Games. The emotions I felt, along with all of my colleagues in Germany, were insane.

First, tears of joy– OMG, we won!

Then, tears of fright– OMG, we won, can we do this?

Next, laughter– mostly because I was lifted off of the floor and onto the stage. Literally.

After that, pride. Pride in our community– both Cleveland + Akron and the LGBT/FGG community, for giving us a chance.

Following next, guilt. Why hadn't I called my boyfriend or mother yet? (in no particular order, depending on who reads this first).

Finally, serenity and peace. This is what we worked for. Now it's here. And it's the biggest accomplishment in my professional (and personal) life. Time to enjoy it.

The competition was fierce. Both Boston and D.C. had amazing bid packages and amazing reasons to choose each as the host in 2014.

What Cleveland had was heart. We focused our 45 minute presentation to the delegates on the concept of "change." If the FGG selected Cleveland as the host, they would be voting to take the powerful FGG movement to the Midwest and affirm a place for the LGBT community in the Heartland.

Each of the 11 presenters from Cleveland had heart. Doug Anderson, the founder of the Cleveland Synergy Foundation, talked about the theme of "My Games Rock" and why he and his partner Jeff call Cleveland home. Sharon Gronowski of Positively Cleveland and Dirk Brieding of Akron Summit County CVB discussed why Cleveland + Akron is a region like no other. Mike Readinger, Bob Vinkler, Hollie M. Ksieyzk and Jeff Axberg (all from Synergy) showcased the outstanding athletic and cultural venues that would house the Gay Games in 2014. Brian Tavolier and I talked about our outstanding partners, including Continental Airlines, our official airlines for the 2014 Gay Games.

But the showstoppers? Governor Ted Strickland and Mayor Frank Jackson (both by video) and Cleveland City Councilman Joe Cimperman and Cleveland Chief of Government Affairs Valarie McCall, both of whom traveled to Germany to be a part of the presentation. Governor Ted Strickland discussed what the Gay Games will mean to Ohio– change. Mayor Frank Jackson reminded the FGG that if you come to Cleveland, you'll be with family. And Valarie and Joe talked about the change that has already taken place, from the passage of the domestic partner registry to raising more than $4.5 million in support of the 2014 Gay Games.

And let me tell you, we rocked the joint. We brought Cleveland + Akron to Germany by literally building a 20-foot wall on the stage that was our cityscape, and surrounding the entire room with iconic images of our region and our LGBT community. And, as soon as the doors opened and the delegates came back in to hear our presentation, they were blown away (literally) by our rock music, bring home the concept of Rock and Roll. Basically, we had fun, and it showed.

We presented on Monday, September 28, then faced 90 minutes of questions on Tuesday, September 29 before finally hearing the vote. We were confident that we did a great job, but we also knew that our competition did a great job as well. When the FGG finally said the word, "Cleveland," you couldn't hear anything but the sound of joy and screaming.

And the joyous screaming wasn't just happening in Germany. More than 600 people turned out to Twist, a local GLBT social club, to catch the event from Germany via the web. When the news broke, people rushed out into the streets and celebrated.

The joyous screaming took place among our local business community, who began to flood our inboxes with congratulatory e-mails. Especially from the Cleveland office of FH

The joyous screaming took place among our families. My mother, who was the reason Fleishman-Hillard got involved, jumped for joy when I finally called her to tell her the good news.

We're still screaming for joy– as is the media. I'm talking Time Magazine, folks. More than 90 broadcast hits, countless newspaper and blog mentions, and even late-night monologues on mainstream TV.

Sunday we are planning a welcome home party for our team that is returning from Germany (I am writing this jet-lagged in Cleveland). That will be quite the party, where we will show the world that "My Games Rock."

Our work is just beginning. We have five years (or 250 weeks as Joe Cimperman calls it) to pull this off. But our first focus will be to help our sister city Cologne pull off the 2010 Gay Games, which will be a beautiful event in a beautiful city.

Thank you to all who followed our journey on this blog. I'll continue to keep you posted, and I thank you for the support. I'll resume pop culture musings next week

P.S.– just to put it out there, check out this link of how delirious I was waiting for the vote to be read… you're welcome for that little Friday treat…