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August 12, 2015 // vol. 6 // issue 32
Trumped! The search for a sane republican nominee continues SOUTHFLORIDAGAYNEWS
pages 14 - 20
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THE OPENING LINE Photos: Facebook.
ISIS Accuses Another Man Of Being Gay Throws Him Off Building
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AUGUST 12, 2015 • VOLUME 6 • ISSUE 32
Compiled by John McDonald
2520 N. DIXIE HIGHWAY • WILTON MANORS, FL 33305 PHONE: 954-530-4970 FAX: 954-530-7943
Oakland Park Walmart
PUBLISHER • NORM KENT NORM.KENT@SFGN.COM
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER • PIER ANGELO GUIDUGLI
Worries Wilton Manors Commission Noah Kitty –
Require Walmart to pay its employees $15 for a minimum wage, and watch them back out of the deal.
ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER / EXECUTIVE EDITOR • JASON PARSLEY JASON.PARSLEY@SFGN.COM
Editorial
Ed Gillis –
ART DIRECTOR • BRENDON LIES ARTWORK@SFGN.COM DESIGNER • MARTIN GOULD FOCALIZENOW@GMAIL.COM INTERNET DIRECTOR • DENNIS JOZEFOWICZ DENNIS.JOZEFOWICZ@SFGN.COM EDITORIAL ASSISTANT • JILLIAN MELERO JILLIANMELERO@GMAIL.COM ARTS/ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR • JW ARNOLD JW@PRDCONLINE.COM NEWS EDITOR • JOHN MCDONALD JOHN.MCDONALD@SFGN.COM
Yeah, blame "The Walmart," that'll work every time. They have nothing to do with it.
Byron Richardson –
Frank Zurek –
Not even sure he was gay, they just thought he was gay. This must have a lot of men brushing up on their swaggers and lowering their voices an octave or two. How disgusting is this group?
Businesses on Wilton drive are suffering because the people aren't going out as much locally. Perhaps Walmart will drive more people to stop by the businesses on the drive either before or after Walmart shopping and give the local economy a bit of a much needed boost.
Senior Features Correspondents
JESSE MONTEAGUDO • TONY ADAMS
Food/Travel Editor RICK KARLIN
Correspondents
DORI ZINN • ANDREA RICHARD • DONALD CAVANAUGH CHRISTIANA LILLY • DENISE ROYAL • SEAN MCSHEE GARY KRAMER • DAVID-ELIJAH NAHMOD
Contributing Columnists
BRIAN MCNAUGHT • DANA RUDOLPH • WAYNE BESEN RIC REILY • STEVE SILER • BIL BROWNING TERRI SCHLICHENMEYER
Staff Photographers
Porn director Chi Chi LaRue
Rj Petrucci – Sick
J.R. DAVIS • POMPANO BILL • STEVEN SHIRES
Sales & Marketing
Launches GoFundMe.com Account To Pay For Rehab
DIRECTOR OF SALES & MARKETING • MIKE TROTTIER MIKE.TROTTIER@SFGN.COM SALES MANAGER • JUSTIN WYSE JUSTIN.WYSE@SFGN.COM ADVERTISING SALES ASSOCIATE • EDWIN NEIMANN EDWIN.NEIMANN@SFGN.COM ADVERTISING SALES ASSOCIATE • CINDY CURTIS CINDY.CURTIS@SFGN.COM ADVERTISING SALES ASSOCIATE • JIM ALBRIGHT JIM.ALBRIGHT@SFGN.COM SALES ASSISTANT • DEVON WOODS DEVON.WOODS@SFGN.COM DISTRIBUTION SERVICES • BRIAN SWINFORD
Jamie Blood – Mark Ebenhoch –
If I ever get the chance, I'll throw as many ISIS assholes off the empire state building ensuring the splat.
Seriously? What's next? Paying for her groceries? Rent? Toilet paper? No sympathy here.
Carl Szulczynski –
MEMBER
As someone who has previously been directed by this druggie, I say, let her fund her own failed rehab attempts. Ain't she got Obamacare?
Lots of young LGBT youth dealing with the same issue that don't have a "go fund me" to go to passages Malibu with Lindsey Lohan. Shameshameshameshame
MEMBER
Out Now! MEMBER
PICK UP YOUR COPY ON A STAND NEAR YOU!
THEMIRRORMAG.COM 2
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Associated Press
Photo: Wiki user RanZag.
Greg Yeager –
NATIONAL ADVERTISING RIVENDELL MEDIA 212-242-6863 SALES@RIVENDELLMEDIA.COM ACCOUNTING SERVICES BY CG BOOKKEEPING
Covers: The Republican candidates are at the media's mercy. Photo credit: Flickr user DonkeyHotey. South Florida Gay News is published weekly. The opinions expressed in columns, stories, and letters to the editor do not represent the opinions of SFGN, or the Publisher. You should not presume the sexual orientation of individuals based on their names or pictorial representations. Furthermore the word “gay” in SFGN should be interpreted to be inclusive of the entire LGBT community. All of the material/columns that appears in print and online, including articles used in conjunction with the AP, is protected under federal copyright and intellectual property laws, and is jealously guarded by the newspaper. Nothing published may be reprinted in whole or part without getting written consent from the Publisher, at his law office, at Norm@NormKent.com. SFGN, as a private corporation, reserves the right to enforce its own standards regarding the suitability of advertising copy, illustrations and photographs. Copyright © 2015 South Florida Gay News.com, Inc.
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news local
SAVE Celebrates Young LGBT
Advocates at the Luminary Awards Nicole Wiesenthal
Father Grey Maggiano
Submitted photos.
A religious leader and republican are two of four people who will receive recognition for their efforts in support of the LGBT community at the third annual Luminary Awards. The South Florida LGBT advocacy group SAVE (Safeguarding American Values for Everyone) will be holding a reception to honor these young leaders on August 20 at the Bacardi headquarter building in Coral Gables from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., celebrating their accomplishments. “We wanted to select people doing things out of the ordinary, not simply sitting on a board or part of a committee,” said Tony Lima, the Executive Director of SAVE. “They’re becoming champions and heroes for the equality movement.” Lima said the event is unique in that the recipient doesn’t need to identify as LGBT. In fact, he said he thinks only one of the honorees actually identifies as LGBT and the rest identify as straight. “We’re not looking for LGBTQ people or gay people,” he said. “We’re looking for people advocating as a whole. All that matters is you’re doing the work and putting your heart behind the work.” The event, which presales at $60 a ticket, will be a “sleek and very fun and relaxed cocktail party,” Lima said. There will be time to mingle and connect and a short program to honor each of the Luminaries. The recipients are A.J. Blechner, Father Grey Maggiano, Jessica Fernandez and Nadege Green. Blechner is being awarded a Luminary for his volunteering with SAVE, canvassing, phone banking, training canvassers and
assisting with quality control, according to the press release. He has worked with organizations such as Mass Equality and Long Island Gay and is part of the University of Miami School of Law. Father Grey Maggiano is the Associate Rector at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in downtown Miami. He has spoken in support of trans equality and advocated on various levels for marriage equality. “He has been an amazing ally for SAVE and the LGBTQ community, especially in being inclusive in all of their programming,” Lima said. Jessica Fernandez, the president of the Miami-Dade Young Republicans, has worked to advocate for human rights. She was a member of the Log Cabin Republicans of Miami where she lobbied on issues of workplace, marriage and social equality. Nadege Green is being awarded for coverage of the developments in the local LGBT equality movement. She is an award-winning journalist and producer for the Miami Herald and WLRN. “She’s a really spectacular ally of the community, telling stories that focus on the life of transgender people, the need for equal rights for all and really touching on queer issues as a whole,” Lima said. Lima said marriage equality was just the tip of the iceberg, and now there are many more issues still to focus on dealing with discrimination. “We need to really highlight the people at the forefront,” he said. “We want to highlight the young people that will continue to do amazing things throughout the trajectory of their careers.” soflagaynews //
A.J. Blechner
Jessica Fernandez
Nadege Green
To buy tickets, go to SAVE.lgbt/luminaries.
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news local
Entrepreneurs to Face Off In
NGLCC’s Shark Tank NGLCC comes to Fort Lauderdale
John McDonald
As gay business leaders gather in South Florida this week there is a lot of talk of competition. One of the promoted aspects to this year’s National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce’s International Business and Leadership Conference is the entrepreneur battle. Three companies will vie for valuable feedback from angel investors, business experts and venture capitalists during a three-day affair at the Fort Lauderdale Marriott Harbor Beach Resort & Spa. “Looking beyond domestic issues, NGLCC is committed to fostering the growth of LGBT entrepreneurs and business organizations around the world,” said co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, Chance Mitchell. During the conference’s “Biz Competition,” three companies are selected to give a 15-minute speech. The three spokespeople then attempt to compel investors as to why their company is a success. The “Biz Competition” is part of a conference that features high profile personalities and top corporate brands. “We are honored to welcome attendees, keynote speakers and top Corporate America brands to our welcoming community and to host the largest LGBT business development event in the world,” said Richard Gray, LGBTQ Managing Director for the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau. Leading the way is personal finance expert and New York Times best-selling author Suze Orman. Orman, host of her own cable network television show and author of multiple best-selling books, is scheduled to speak during the conference, Aug. 1114. Earlier this year, she was in Boca Raton, Florida with her wife Kathy Travis. Joining Orman at the conference is CNN international business correspondent Richard Quest and Washington Post columnist Jonathan Capeheart. Quest, who
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Photo: Facebook.
has traveled to southeast Asia extensively to report on the missing Malaysia 370 jetliner, most recently put together a piece on how corporate office air conditioning standards are suited for men. “Dress sensibly,” Quest told a female guest on his CNN program. “Keep a wardrobe allyear round and you won’t be cold.” Capeheart, meanwhile, also provides commentary for the cable television network MSNBC. He is quite outspoken on the U.S. Republican Party’s Presidential campaign. On his personal Facebook page, Capeheart blasted GOP frontrunner Donald J. Trump for being “crass” and “unpresidential” at last week’s debate in Cleveland. Capeheart, a black gay man, is advocating for former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina to join the lead pack at the next debate. “Fiorina should have been on the main stage,” Capeheart posted on Facebook. “My fervent hope is that field will winnow enough to allow her to take her rightful place on that stage at the next debate. Republicans could start by draining Trump of his unbelievably high support.” Fiorina and Trump both have well documented business experience. How to reach their level is what is attracting a soldout conference this week in Fort Lauderdale. “Due to overwhelming interest from the LGBT business community, NGLCC’s 2015 conference is sold out,” said NGLCC president Justin Nelson. “Once again, we’ve shattered attendance records and are already expecting nearly 1,000 attendees at our 2016 Conference.” Nelson encourages those who cannot attend the conference to follow updates on various social networks by tracking the hashtag #NGLCC15 where he says many inspiring stories will be shared and conference updates posted.
highlight
We SELLING Are. & MARKETING
Yachting Comes To
White Party
REALTORS
John McDonald
Tickets are now on sale for this year's White Party Week, a star-studded event that includes a moonlit cruise aboard a luxury yacht off the shores of Miami. Buzz is already being created for this Saturday evening nautical soiree in November, part of a week-long celebration in the color of white. Presented by Care Resource, White Party has grown into an important event on the LGBT calendar. "White Party was created by a wonderful group of altruistic and compassionate people drawn together -- responding to a dreadful disease that had caused tragic losses and much personal grief. With the ever-changing landscape of this pandemic, the White Party finds itself in the midst of change to fit today's growing needs while catering to a more diverse crowd. I encourage all of Miami to come out and celebrate!," said Care Resource CEO Rick Siclari, a news release announcing the 2015 event. Bringing attendees on board a luxury
Our Locations:
yacht, billed as the largest and most elegant in Florida, is a new venture for the White Party, said Jon Welsh, Care Resource Marketing and Development Director. "The choice of moving the White Party onto a yacht this year reflects the deep and critical thinking process of what my team has experienced in regards to planning, learning and staying innovative," Welsh said.
Tickets are now on sale at WhiteParty.org
401 E Las Olas Blvd, Ft Lauderdale 119 Washington Ave, Miami Beach
Henri Vezie, Realtor
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Frank Vigliotti, Realtor
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news local Hunters Nightclub Hosts Legends of Vinyl to Award Numerous DJs Natalya Jones
Henry Stone and Clarence Reid, AKA Blowfly.
The Legends of Vinyl for the DJ Hall of Fame will take place Wednesday, August 19 at Hunters Nightclub in Wilton Manors. The 4-hour seminar and forum will feature a panel of those in the music industry, including record company owners, producers and DJs. Also included will be a live performance by Ray Martinez of Amant and a tribute to Mr. Henry Stone and T.K. Records. Stone was an American record company executive and producer who started T.K. Records, an independent record label. He worked with numerous artists, most famously with Ray Charles and James Brown with their early works. Stone was in the Miami music business for over 65 years and is said to be very influential in forming numerous musical sounds such as disco, southern soul, and the Miami Sound. He also had a big impact in blues, gospel, R&B and even the beginning of electronic music. Stone passed away August 7 in 2014. Honorees of the musical event include DJ Robbie Leslie, DJ Bob Miro, DJ Jimmy Yu, DJ Ellen Bogen and more. Awards will be presented to various DJs, artists, producers, and recording engineers. Luis Mario, founder of the Legends of Vinyl, will be presenting the awards the Legends of Vinyl Board of Directors. There will be two panels attendees can view. The first is more so categorized as a "technical" panel featuring Mark Zimmer from the first generation Hall of Fame DJ, "new" generation mobile DJ Freddy Lopez, owner of Internet radio station EAGLEradio. PRO Jimmy Perign, and owner of Fort Lauderdale record store We Got The Beats Anthony Cicalese. Zimmer’s presentation will
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be focused on polyrhythms, rhythm patterns and triplets, Lopez will be talking about music production with Ableton Live and Perign will give an overview of radio stations in general. In addition, Perign and Cicalese will talk about the resurrection of the vinyl record business and its coexistence with MP3s. The second panel is titled "The Past, The Present, and The Future of the Music Industry." This will be moderated by Bill Kelly, DJ who is the co-founder of the Winter Music Conference. Joining him on the panel will be promoter of product Ray Caviano of Warner Brothers/RFC and T.K. Records, Bo Crane, a DJ and founder of the Florida Music Pool and John Luongo, a DJ, producer, remixer and CEO/President at JL Management LLC. Guests can partake in the question and answer sessions. But the fun doesn’t stop at the forum. There will also be an after party featuring DJs Jellybean Benitez, Luis Mario and Frank Corr. “The Legends of Vinyl will be hosting one of the most unique events in South Florida,” said Mario. “We are planning on touring across the country as well. The first event was held in Philadelphia in April; it was a huge success. The next stops will be Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, New York, and possibly Atlanta. At each event we will be acknowledging approximately 25 individuals. We also plan on adding new categories, such as dancers, in the future. As a national institution, we will continue to represent and acknowledge the individuals who have contributed since the beginning.” Added Mario, "I am so grateful to everyone who has helped and encouraged us."
The Legends of Vinyl takes place at Hunters Nightclub located at 2232 Wilton Drive in Wilton Manors. Call (954) 630-3556. Doors will open at 4 p.m. Admission is free and open to the public.
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news local
#StandwithPP
Local and national LGBT groups support Planned Parenthood
Nicole Wiesenthal
Photo: Facebook.
Local groups, following national trends, have come out in support of Planned Parenthood. The Area Resource and Referral Organization for Women (ARROW LGBT), Equality Florida and the Compass Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Lake Worth and Palm Beach have released statements in support of Planned Parenthood, a non-profit organization that provides reproductive health and maternal and child health services. While the organization has consistently been under fire by Republicans for offering abortions legally, the new support comes after recent attacks and allegations by the Republican Party claiming that the organization has been selling fetal body parts for profit, according to Politico. According to Politico, over the past three weeks, various graphic video clips showed the non-profit trading the body parts for profit in graphic scenes with fetuses. Now, Republican hopefuls are hoping to shut the organization down. While the organization does transfer tissues, Planned Parenthood obtains consent from patients, transfers tissues at cost, and works with organizations concerned with advancing human health and research, according to Politico. In a Politifact article, they explain that women can donate their fetuses and organizations can accept a fee for their efforts, making the exchange perfectly legal. With the heat surrounding Planned Parenthood, LGBT organizations have come out expressing support for the non-profit and the services they provide. The Human Rights Campaign was one of Photo by By S. MiRK, Flickr.
the first organizations to express support for Planned Parenthood. “While some opponents of women’s rights and LGBT rights in Congress gear up again to try and defund this vital organization, we stand with PPFA,” JoDee Winterhof, vice president for Policy and Political Affairs announced in an HRC Blog post. She pointed out that they offer an abundance of services including routine examinations, pre-natal care, cancer screenings, HIV and STI testing and contraceptive services and have been strong allies for the LGBT community, even supporting the recent Equality Act. The National Center for Lesbian Rights has also released a statement backing Planned Parenthood. “NCLR stands with Planned Parenthood at this time of unrelenting assaults,” said Kate Kendell, executive director. “The specious allegations being leveled against this critical network of health centers are nothing more than a transparent attack on the ability of all people to receive compassionate, nonjudgmental reproductive and preventive health care.” ARROW LGBT’s president Cindy Brown recently released a statement. “I think we should say that as an organization committed to the health of the LBT community we support Planned Parenthood and all the services they provide to women,” she said. “Access to healthcare and family planning is essential to the health of all families.” Compass revealed their support in their newsletter. “False allegations are being used to attack Planned Parenthood & harm women,” the statement read. “Compass proudly fights for women's health and rights, and we #StandwithPP. We encourage you to show your support for Planned Parenthood.” On Equality Florida’s blog, they also expressed their support, expressing the idea that the Reproductive Justice and LGBT Movements are connected in their mission. “As a pro-choice organization, Equality Florida recognizes that the term pro-choice is not limited to a position on abortion access, but encompasses a much broader advocacy of sexual life liberated from reproductive function,” the blog read. More LGBT organizations continue to stand with Planned Parenthood on a national and local level to protect women’s rights to choose.
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News Briefs
Alan Wilson.
Compiled by Jillian Melero
S.C. State Shouldn't Pay Gay Marriage Lawyer Fees (AP) South Carolina's chief prosecutor says the state shouldn't have to pay legal fees for a couple who challenged the state's gay marriage ban. Attorney General Alan Wilson says in papers filed Wednesday he was merely defending the law of the land as it stood before the U.S. Supreme Court issued its ruling on gay marriage in late June. Attorneys for Colleen Condon and her partner
Mia Henderson. Facebook.
B
altimore Police Make Arrest In Murder Of Trans Woman
The Washington Blade reports that Baltimore police made an arrest in connection with the murder of Mia Henderson last summer. Shawn Oliver, 44 was charged with first and seconddegree murder and first-degree assault in the death of Mia Henderson. The Baltimore Sun cites documents alleging that Oliver stabbed Henderson in the chest arms and back in July of 2014, leaving her body in an alley in the 3400 block of Piedmont Avenue near Lake Ashburton. Oliver was connected to the murder through DNA evidence found under Henderson’s fingernails, said Interim Baltimore Police Commissioner Kevin Davis in a conference. Representatives of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center of Baltimore and Central Maryland and Sistas of the “T” attended the press conference alongside Davis. Henderson’s murder comes a few weeks after the body of another trans woman, Kandy Hall, was found in a field in Northeast Baltimore. Police have not yet made any arrests in Hall’s murder.
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governing boards - could use a new religious objections law as a defense if they refuse to perform gay weddings. But Rutledge said it's unclear whether courts would agree with that defense. "The threshold question would be whether a JP in this circumstance could successfully show that requiring him or her to solemnize a same-sex marriage would be a 'substantial burden' on the JP's religious exercise," Rutledge wrote. Under Arkansas law, justices of the peace- along with other elected officials such as judges, the governor and mayors - are allowed to officiate over weddings but it's not a required part of their official duties. Rutledge noted that JPs can decide to not perform weddings at all. Rutledge in June told county clerks they were required to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples who requested them after the U.S. Supreme Court legalized gay marriage nationwide. Arkansas lawmakers earlier this year approved a law that prevents the government from infringing on someone's religious beliefs without a compelling interest, a measure that was rewritten in the final days of the legislative session over concerns that an initial version was anti-gay. Holly Dickson, legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas, said JPs who don't want to perform samesex weddings shouldn't officiate any since it's not a required part of their job. "But if they choose to perform marriages, they can't refuse to perform marriages for same-sex couples because it would violate equal protection," she said.
H
ate Group Files Suit in Support of Ky. Clerk
(EDGE) The Kentucky County Clerk who made headlines last month for being filmed denying to allow a gay couple to file an application for a marriage license is suing Governor Steve Beshear for what she alleges is unconstitutional discrimination. The lawsuit was filed on her behalf by the Liberty Counsel, which has been designated by the Southern Poverty Law Center as an active anti-gay hate group.
rkansas AG: Unclear Whether JPs Must Officiate Gay Weddings
(AP) It's unclear whether courts would require a justice of the peace to officiate over a same-sex wedding, even though clerks are required to issue licenses to gay couples, Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge said Wednesday. The Republican attorney general said in a non-binding advisory opinion that JPs - who are elected on counties'
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Nichols Bleckley sued last year to get a marriage license. They have asked to be reimbursed $153,000 in legal costs. Wilson's response pertains only to Condon and Bleckley. Lawyers for another couple who sued over the ban are also seeking almost $92,000 in attorney fees and court costs. Judges can order losing parties to pay opponents' fees, especially in civil rights cases.
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Liberty Counsel. Facebook.
soflagaynews //
SouthFloridaGayNews
Liberty Counsel is accusing the governor of "unlawfully picking and choosing the conscience-based exemptions to marriage that he deems acceptable." "The plaintiffs in this case only sought licenses from Ms. Davis after learning of her religious objections to same-sex 'marriage,' and they refuse to obtain a license elsewhere," Liberty Counsel's Founder and Director Mat Staver said in a statement released by his group Monday. "Just as Justice Alito predicted in his dissent in Obergfell, secularists are trying to 'stamp out every vestige of dissent' by targeting people of faith who do not agree with same-sex 'marriage.'" The Liberty Counsel has been designated an anti-gay hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. In addition to fighting marriage equality and hate crime legislation, they have been active proponents of reparative therapy practices, and run the "Change is Possible" campaign with Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays who say they've changed from gay to straight.
Ken Paxton.
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exas AG Faces Contempt Hearing Over Gay Marriage Rights
(AP) A federal judge has ordered Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to explain why he should not be held in contempt for enforcing state laws that impede gay marriage rights. Paxton has been ordered to appear in a federal court Wednesday after a Houston gay man was not provided an amended death certificate for his husband. The hearing is to determine whether Paxton and a top Texas Department of State Health Services official should be held in contempt after potentially disobeying a July 7 court order barring the state from enforcing any laws that impede the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark decision recognizing gay marriage. The court order comes two days after Paxton was booked on securities fraud charges.
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news briefs
Your Smile ile Should ul Leave a Gre Gre reat Impre pres resssio sion!
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10,000 Cal Humanities Grant Funds Stories from WeHo's AIDS Epidemic
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(EDGE) With a $10,000 Cal Humanities' Community Stories grant, matched by $10,000 from the City of West Hollywood, THE LAVENDER EFFECT® will create "YOUNG CITY AT WAR: Stories from West Hollywood During the AIDS Epidemic," a continuation of its groundbreaking Oral History Project. Aiming to launch on December 1, National AIDS Awareness Day, THE LAVENDER EFFECT® Oral History Project will feature the dramatic and poignant story of West Hollywood's response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic in its early days. Through indepth interviews an important chapter of community history will be preserved and made available online for current residents, LGBTQ youth, and the broader public. Educational materials (standards-aligned) will be developed to support use by teachers and student organizations at LAUSD middle and high schools. "I think it is really important for people today to hear the stories from the mid '80s, stories like mine, because first of all it's our
S
history. And it's important to remember the holocaust that the gay community and their straight allies went through in the '80s and early '90s" -- Steve Pieters, Former Global Field Director, AIDS Ministry, Metropolitan Community Church. THE LAVENDER EFFECT® is a 501(c)3 nonprofit project of Community Partners that is Advancing the Future of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer (LGBTQ) Heritage and Culture. Their Oral History Project captures video testimonies from members of the LGBTQ community and supportive allies who were integral participants or witnesses to a historic event or movement. These recordings are being produced at the highest standards possible (I.E. USC Shoah Foundation's guidelines). Go to www.thelavendereffect.org/ projects/ohp/ to view 15 interview segments with Southern California Pioneers and to contribute to their movement. For more information on Cal Humanities, visit www.calhum.org.
econd Northern Indiana City Drops Gay Protection Proposals
Elkhart, Indiana.
(Associated Press) Officials in a second northern Indiana city have backed off expanding anti-discrimination protections to include sexual orientation and gender identity following a push by opponents against the proposals. Goshen Mayor Allan Kauffman said he and City Council members agreed a vote wouldn't be taken on the proposed ordinance during a council meeting Tuesday night and that any action would be delayed until at least next year. The mayor in the nearby city of Elkhart last week asked for council members there to withdraw a similar ordinance drafted following the national uproar this spring over Indiana's new religious objections law, which critics maintained was anti-gay. Kauffman, a Democrat who has been mayor since 1997, blamed "misinformation
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and confusion" from opponents over the proposal's impact. "Based on the tone of many emails and phone calls received, there is concern that public input based on misinformation will be unduly negative and paint Goshen as less welcoming than it really is," Kauffman said in a statement. The campaign against the Goshen and Elkhart proposals was sparked a few weeks ago by Eric Miller, executive director of Indianapolis-based Advance America and a leading supporter of the religious objection law. Miller urged those at an Elkhart church gathering last month to work against the proposals, saying their defeat would hurt a push for the General Assembly to adopt similar statewide sexual orientation protections.
news briefs
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PA Adopts Guidelines for Working with Trans People
(APA) The American Psychological Association adopted new guidelines on working with the trans community during their 123rd annual convention. In a statement, the APA announced: The "Guidelines for Psychological Practice with Transgender and Gender Nonconforming People" were drafted by an APA task force in the wake of an APA survey in 2009 that found less than 30 percent of psychologist and graduate student respondents were familiar with the issues that transgender and gender nonconforming people face. "These guidelines are especially timely in light of the media coverage of recent completed suicides by transgender teens and murders across the country of transgender people, especially people of color,� said lore m. dickey, PhD, task force co-chair. "While these guidelines are aimed at psychologists who provide care, conduct research or engage in education or training focused on transgender and gender nonconforming people, we believe
they will also be useful to any psychologist or educator." The document lays out 16 guidelines aimed at helping professionals better understand the lifespan development, stigma, discrimination and barriers to care faced by this population, as well as the state of research surrounding transgender and gender nonconforming people. "We hope that these guidelines provide useful information that will enable psychologists to provide competent, sensitive and well-informed care and research," said Anneliese A. Singh, PhD, the task force's other co-chair. "It is critically important that psychologists are informed about how to not only work with transgender people across the lifespan, but also understand that transgender people have existed in multiple cultures and countries around the world for hundreds of years." A copy of the guidelines can be found at http://bit.ly/1MWo3db.
epublican Nat’l Committee Nixes Two Anti-Gay Resolutions
Members of the Republican National Committee rejected two anti-gay resolutions Wednesday, according to Time magazine. The first resolution was intruded by the controversial Michigan national committeeman Dave Agema, who came under fire last year for making racist and antigay remarks on Facebook and was asked by fellow GOPers to step down from his position. Agema's resolution wants "schools that are teaching the homosexual lifestyle in their sexual education class to also include the harmful physical aspects of the lifestyle." The second resolution was introduced by Louisiana national committeeman Ross Little Jr. and aims to encourage Congress and states to pass laws to nullify the landmark Supreme Court's June ruling that made same-sex
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marriage legal in all 50 states. Time magazine writes the measures "threatened to cast a shadow on the first GOP presidential debate Thursday in Cleveland, as the party looks toward expanding its base in the key swing state." The measures gained the attention of members from the Democratic National Committee and same-sex marriage activists. The Human Rights Campaign launched an online ad campaign Wednesday to support the plaintiff in SCOTUS' marriage case, Jim Obergfell, who resides in Ohio. Time notes the RNC's resolution committee failed to approve a counterproposal that would call for the GOP to respect differing views on the high court's ruling on the case among its presidential candidates.
SouthFloridaGayNews // SFGN.com // 8.12.2015 //
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news bites
Compiled by Jillian Melero
lesbian
Lesbian Journalist tries Tinder in Pakistan
Journalist Natasha Noman moved to Pakistan from New York in 2013 after taking a job with the Friday Times. Same-sex relationships are outlawed in Pakistan, but Norman found she was able to work around the authorities through Tinder, according to a story in the UK’s Independent. (http://ind.pn/1EjLc17 ) “In fact there was an ironic safety to Tinder. The authorities were monitoring all of us, reading our emails and texts, listening to our phone calls. But they did not know what Tinder was,” Norman told the Independent. “Unfortunately, despite the freedom offered by the app, at the moment there is hardly much choice. There are only three other women looking for women in all of Pakistan, Noman said, “and two looked suspiciously like men.” Noman relates her experiences from Pakistan in a one-woman show “Noman’s Land” at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Natasha Noman. Facebook.
gay
Former Mr. Gay World Loses to Cancer
(EDGE) Charl van den Berg, a winner of the international proLGBT competition Mr. Gay World, died on August 6, losing the battle with lymphatic cancer, the Mirror reported Sunday. He was 33. The South African native won the Mr. Gay South Africa title in 2009 and was named Mr. Gay World at the 2010 finals in Oslo. van den Berg was praised for his activism and became involved in an HIV campaign, saying he "made friends around the world," according to the Mirror. Van den Berg also worked in Namibia in order to reach out to African countries where homosexuality is illegal. He also worked with the It Gets Better campaign in America to help LGBT youth come out. Officials of Mr. Gay World released a statement van den Berg via the competition's website at (http://bit.ly/1gXNiPB ).
Charl van den Berg. Facebook.
bisexual
Cruz Talks Bi Erasure and Misorientation
Bisexual speaker and writer Eliel Cruz talks about the assumptions that people make about the sexual orientation of femme men in an article on Slate.com. (http://slate.me/1MOvxOm) “Here’s the trouble: While femininity can be dangerous for gay men, it is somewhat expected of them—a form of behavior or mode of selfpresentation they are “allowed.” For bi guys like me, even a little femininity threatens to erase our entire identity,” Cruz says. “Just being bi is already hard enough. Both the straight and LGBTQ community regularly speculate on the veracity of my sexuality. I am told I don’t exist or that I’m going through a phase. Or I just get placed in the gay or straight box against my will… the invalidation of our sexualities only grows when bisexual individuals don’t express their gender identities in conventional ways.” Eliel Cruz is a speaker and writer on religion, (bi)sexuality, media, and culture at The Advocate, Mic, and Religion News Service.
F
Eliel Cruz. Facebook.
transgender
ort Lau Hosts Southern Comfort Conference
The 25th Annual Southern Comfort Conference will be held at the Bonaventure Resort & Spa from September 29 through October 3, 2015.The four-day conference anticipates 1,000 attendees including the partners, spouses and family members of trans individuals. Keynote speakers will include local teen trans activist Jazz Jennings, and Zackary Drucker, associate producer of the Emmy-nominated TV series “Transparent.” Southern Comfort is one of the largest trans gatherings in the world, and Bonaventure has agreed to host the conference for the next three years. “I look forward to our conference and partnership growing over the next three years with the help and dedication of the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau, which has led the way for the trans community and helps to deliver an authentic and welcoming experience for transgender visitors,” said Lexi Dee, President of the Southern Comfort Conference. For more information please visit (SouthernComfortConference.org).
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SouthFloridaGayNews
Photo: Lexi Dee, Facebook.
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news national
Photo credit: Flickr user DonkeyHotey.
White House Watch: Expanded Edition Lisa Keen/Keen News Service Studies have shown that only about onethird of LGBT Americans vote Republican, but there’s realistic chance a Republican will win the White House in 2016, so LGBT people need to pay attention to who might take the GOP nomination. The first debates among Republican presidential candidates hoping to win that nomination took place last week: in New Hampshire Monday, August 3, live streamed at 7 p.m. on CSPAN, and in Cleveland Thursday, August 6, broadcast live at 9 p.m. on Fox News. While pro-gay Republican groups have yet to take a stand behind any one candidate, individual gay Republicans and conservatives are beginning to sort the
Jeb Bush Current odds of winning the nomination:
45% Occupational experience: Former governor Florida
Age: 62 Main asset:
Father was president
Main liability:
His brother was president
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candidates into two basic categories: Maybe supportable and definitely not. For now, among the maybes, to varying degrees, are: Jeb Bush, Donald Trump, Scott Walker, Marco Rubio, Rand Paul, Ben Carson, Chris Christie, Carly Fiorina, John Kasich, Lindsey Graham, James Gilmore, and George Pataki. Among the definitely not are: Ted Cruz, Mike Huckabee, Rick Perry, Rick Santorum, and Bobby Jindal. Mimi Planas, president of Log Cabin Republicans of Miami, said she hasn’t decided who to back yet but considers Rubio, Fiorina, and Paul among her “top three.” Jimmy LaSalvia, who founded the now defunct GOProud organization, dings Fiorina, noting that she chaired the American Conservative Union Foundation, part of
the organization, American Conservative Union, “that kicked out GOProud from the Conservative Political Action Conference in 2011 because we were gay.” Donald Trump, on the other hand, accepted GOProud’s invitation to speak at that 2011 CPAC conference, said LaSalvia, even as many conservatives attending the conference raised objections to GOProud’s participation. LaSalvia notes that Christie, Kasich, and Pataki have all “demonstrated in the past a willingness to include LGBT voters in their outreach.” Log Cabin Republicans, the national gay Republican group, won’t make an endorsement during the primaries, said its national executive director, Gregory Angelo. But the candidates this time – with
Scott Walker
Response to Obergefell: Issued statement saying the Court should have let states decide the issue, urging the country protect “religious freedom” and “not discriminate.”
Current odds of winning the nomination:
LGBT Record: Supported Florida constitutional amendment against same-sex marriage; penned a 1994 op-ed in Miami Herald saying “Homosexuality is wrong;” and wrote in a 1995 book that he opposed protections for LGBT people because, “We have enough special categories, enough victims, without creating even more.” In a January 2015 article on BuzzFeed, Bush spokeswoman Kristy Campbell said: “Gov. Bush believes that our society should have a culture of respect for all people, regardless of their differences, and that begins with preventing discrimination, including when it comes to sexual orientation. This [1994] opinion editorial from 20 years ago does not reflect Gov. Bush’s views now, nor would he use this terminology today.” soflagaynews //
16% Occupational experience: Current Governor of Wisconsin
Age: 47 Main asset:
His wife, Tonette, who comes from a Democratic family, told the Washington Post she and Walker’s sons had difficulty with Walker’s position against same-sex marriage.
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the exception of Cruz, Huckabee, and Santorum – do not exhibit the same “strident opposition to LGBT equality that marked campaigns in the past,” Angelo said. “A number of the candidates are trying to thread the needle,” he said, hoping to please both the evangelical base and the voters needed to win the New Hampshire primary and the general election. “It’s like the GOP strategy on LGBT issues is to confuse everybody.” With 17 announced candidates, the Republican field is already confusing to many people. Below is a quick look at each, with some highlights of their records or remarks on LGBT issues, and a ranking by their odds of winning the nomination as calculated by the research project PredictWise.com (as of August 3):
Main liability:
No foreign policy experience
Response to Obergefell:
Issued a statement, calling it a “grave mistake” and saying the “only alternative left” is to amend the U.S. Constitution to “reaffirm the ability of the states to continue to define marriage.”
LGBT Record:
Said he supported keeping the Boy Scout ban on gay leaders because it “protected children.” He later tried to back off the comment, and deflected a question about whether sexual orientation is a choice by saying, “I’m going to work hard for every American.” He supported the ban on same-sex marriage in Wisconsin and, as governor, tried to stop hospital visitation and domestic partner registries. Said he has attended the wedding reception of a gay family member.
Marco Rubio Current odds of winning the nomination:
8% Occupational experience:
U.S. Senator from Florida (first term)
Age: 44 Main asset:
He’s a fresh face in Republican field
4% Occupational experience: Former governor Arkansas
Age: 59 Main asset:
8% Occupational experience: Real estate tycoon
Age: 69 Main asset:
Personal wealth he estimates at $10 billion
John Kasich
Response to Obergefell: Issued a statement saying he would “not acquiesce” to the Supreme Court, an over-the-top response that calls into question his willingness to abide by the U.S. Constitution generally.
Current odds of winning the nomination:
LGBT Record: Says gays worked for his administration and he has “friends who are gay” but thinks gays are trying to shut down businesses of those who disagree with them, and initiated a “Chick-Fil-A Appreciation Day” to show support for CEO’s anti-same-sex marriage comments. Has said same-sex marriage will lead to the “criminalization of Christianity.” And, as governor, opposed gays as foster or adoptive parents.
3% Occupational experience: Current Governor of Ohio
Age: 63
Main liability: Fondness for employing extreme metaphors to express a point (Example: Peace plan with Iran equals marching Israelis “to the door of the oven.”)
Main liability:
3% Occupational experience: Current Governor of New Jersey
Age: 52
Main liability:
LGBT Record:
Scored between zero and 30 on Human Rights Campaign scorecard while in Congress. Said the state didn’t need an Indiana style law to protect religious freedom. Issued an executive order prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation but not gender identity. Attended wedding of gay friend. In House, voted for the Defense of Marriage Act
Abrasive personality
Rand Paul
Response to Obergefell:
At a press conference, said he doesn’t agree with the decision and thinks the issue should have been left to “the people,” but that he would “support the law of the land.”
Current odds of winning the nomination:
2%
LGBT Record:
Vetoed a marriage equality bill to allow samesex couples to marry but then dropped an appeal challenging a court ruling that found the state’s ban unconstitutional. Appointed an openly gay man to the state supreme court. Signed a law prohibiting conversion therapy. Said he believes people are born gay and that he doesn’t look at gays as sinners.
Response to Obergefell:
Wrote op-ed piece in Time magazine, saying he disagreed with the ruling but thinks all Americans should be able to enter into a “contract” and suggests the government shouldn’t be in the business of granting these contracts because they are an “intrusion of government into the religious sphere.”
LGBT Record:
Occupational experience:
J.S. Senator from Kentucky (First Term)
Age: 52
Main asset:
Willing to ignore party lines when necessary
Response to Obergefell:
On CBS Face the Nation, he said, “it's the law of the land and we'll abide by it," adding, “it’s time to move on” and “strike a balance” with religious institutions.
Main asset:
Popular governor of a big swing state
Current odds of winning the nomination:
LGBT Record:
Accepted GOProud’s invitation to speak at CPAC conference in 2011. Eliminated a beauty pageant rule requiring contestants be “naturally born female.” He said he has “many fabulous friends who happen to be gay,” but thinks same-sex marriage is “weird” and doesn’t support it. He accepted gay actor George Takei’s invitation to lunch to discuss same-sex marriage and attended the wedding of a gay couple.
Proposes unrealistic solutions
Folksy
Chris Christie
Response to Obergefell:
Told CNN “I don’t say anything. I’m just for traditional marriage.”
Main liability:
Main liability:
Current odds of winning the nomination:
Current odds of winning the nomination:
LGBT Record:
Asked if he’d attend the wedding of a gay family member or staffer, he said: “If there’s somebody in my life that I love and care for, of course I would. I’m not going to hurt them simply because I disagree with a choice they’ve made,” said Rubio. But he said he does support the so-called “religious freedom” laws because he doesn’t think business vendors should have to service “a specific event that violates the tenets of [their] faith.” Earned a 22 (out of 100) on Human Right Campaign’s Congressional Scorecard last session. Voted against ENDA in 2013.
“imprudent” personal financial decisions
Mike Huckabee
Donald Trump
Response to Obergefell:
Issued a statement, saying the issue should be left to the people of each state and he would appoint judges who would apply the constitution “as written and originally understood.”
Main asset:
Provides free ophthalmologic surgery to poor Guatemalans
Perceived as vindictive
Earned a 20 (on a scale of 100) from Human Rights Campaign for his Senate voting record on LGBT issues, including a vote against ENDA. Voted against amendment to allow benefits for same-sex spouses of veterans. Said his office has a “zero tolerance policy for anybody who displays discriminatory behavior or belief…based on…sexual orientation…..”
Main liability:
Perceived as isolationist soflagaynews //
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Ted Cruz Current odds of winning the nomination:
3% Occupational experience: U.S. Senator from Texas (first term)
Age: 44 Main asset:
Of Cuban descent
Main liability:
Cruz alienated many of his GOP Senate peers in 2013 when he filibustered to oppose any bill that would keep the government funded as a means of gutting the
Rick Santorum Current odds of winning the nomination:
1% Occupational experience:
Former U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania
Age: 57 Main asset: Persistence
Affordable Care Act. As he did so, he derided many of these same peers as being soft on the ACA. And many of those peers are reluctant to help him out now. Staged a Senate subcommittee hearing to air grievances against the Supreme Court majority that struck down state bans on same-sex marriage and to urge that the justices be subject to “retention elections.”
LGBT Record:
Led a brief supporting state bans on same-sex marriage in Obergefell case. Earned a 20 (on a scale of 100) from Human Rights Campaign for his Senate voting record on LGBT issues, including a vote against ENDA. Met with small gay political gathering. Attempting to deflect questions about his positions on gay issues, he expressed concern for gays being executed by ISIS in Iraq and Syria. Praised legislation in some states that sought to allow businesses to refuse service to same-sex couples by claiming a religious objection.
1% Occupational experience:
U.S. Senator from South Carolina (2nd term)
Age: 55
Former neurosurgeon and author
Age: 63 Main asset:
Relatively new to national political scene
Response to Obergefell:
Issued a statement, saying he “strongly disagrees” with the ruling, saying marriage is a “religious service, not a government form.” Called on Congress to “make sure deeply held religious views are respected and protected.”
LGBT Record:
Lumped same-sex couples with NAMBLA and bestiality while explaining why he doesn’t support allowing same-sex couples to marry, then apologized for the remarks. Said prison proves sexual orientation is a choice, then apologized for those remarks, too, and, according to CNN, “said he won’t be addressing gay rights issues for the duration of his presidential campaign.”
Main liability:
Never run for office before
Carly Fiorina Current odds of winning the nomination:
LGBT Record:
As U.S. Senator, scored zero on Human Rights Campaign’s Congressional Scorecard. During campaign for GOP presidential nomination in 2012, Santorum said he wanted to reinstate the ban on gays in the military, characterized the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” as “tragic,” and boasted of his active campaign to oust three Iowa state supreme court justices who had ruled that the state constitution guaranteed gay couples the same rights as heterosexual couples seeking marriage licenses.
1% Occupational experience: Former chairman of Hewlett-Packard
Response to Obergefell:
Posted a statement on Facebook, saying the decision “usurps the constitutional right of the people to decide” but urge Americans to find “a way to respect one another and to celebrate a culture that protects religious freedom while promoting equality under the law.”
LGBT Record:
Said she voted for California’s Proposition 8. Supported civil unions for same-sex couples, but not marriage. And said she did not support ENDA.
Age: 60 Main asset: Only woman in the field
Main liability:
Less than stellar business success
Bobby Jindal
Response to Obergefell:
Issued statement saying, he respects the court’s decision, would not support a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage, but would “staunchly defend religious liberty.”
Current odds of winning the nomination:
0%
LGBT Record:
Earned a zero on Human Rights Campaign’s latest Congressional Scorecard. Supported federal constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage and voted for amendment to ban adoptions by gays in District of Columbia.
Occupational experience: U.S. Senator from Texas (first term)
Age: 44 Main asset:
Former assistant secretary HHS and U.S. House Rep.
High profile in key Senate proceedings
Main liability:
Main liability:
Low favorability rating in home state
Not married
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Occupational experience:
Response to Obergefell:
Main asset:
16
2%
Said the court “got it wrong,” and that, as president, he would issue an executive order “to ensure no agency of the federal government will interfere with the religious liberty rights of faith-based organizations who oppose same-sex marriage.”
Main liability:
Current odds of winning the nomination:
Current odds of winning the nomination:
Response to Obergefell:
Failed to gain traction in 2012 bid
Lindsey Graham
Ben Carson
soflagaynews //
SouthFloridaGayNews
Response to Obergefell:
Issued statement saying God made marriage one man and one woman and that this ruling would trigger an “all out assault against religious freedom rights of Christians who disagree” with it.
LGBT Record:
Issued an executive order allowing businesses to refuse service to gay couples and is seeking a state bill to do so.
Rick Perry Current odds of winning the nomination:
0%
Out Now!
Response to Obergefell:
Issued a statement, saying the decision was an “assault” on the 10th Amendment and an effort to “legislate” from the bench. (10th amendment says states have powers not reserved to the federal government or prohibited by the constitution.)
LGBT Record:
Occupational experience: Former governor of Texas
Age: 65
As a GOP presidential candidate in 2012, he signed a pledge to the National Organization of Marriage to vigorously oppose same-sex marriage. Opposed gays in the military.
Main asset:
Former governor of a large state
THEMIRRORMAG.COM
Main liability:
Perceived as not particularly bright
George Pataki Current odds of winning the nomination:
0% Occupational experience:
PICK UP YOUR COPY ON A STAND NEAR YOU!
Response to Obergefell:
Told the Washington Blade he thinks states should have decided the issue but that he accepts the ruling and would not support effort to pass a constitutional amendment to ban marriage for same-sex couples.
LGBT Record:
Signed a state law prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation. Said the marriage issue should be left up to the states. Early campaign ad characterizes LGBT issues as a “distraction.”
Former Governor of New York
Age: 70 Main asset:
Former three-term GOP governor of large Democratic state
Main liability:
Relative lack of name recognition nationally
Jim Gilmore Current odds of winning the nomination:
0% Occupational experience:
Response to Obergefell: None Provided
LGBT Record:
Told the National Review that the GOP keeps “projecting anger at the gay community and the Hispanic community, even though they’re open to many of our ideas.”
Former Governor of Virginia
Age: 65 Main asset:
Thinks the party must become more accepting of gays
Main liability:
Couldn’t muster the funds to run in 2008
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news national
The First GOP Debate
A look at what the candidates said on LGBT issues Lisa Keen/Keen News Service
Republican presidential hopeful Rand Paul singled out Houston’s lesbian mayor for criticism, saying she had tried to “invade the church to enforce [her] own opinion on marriage.” Candidate Bobby Jindal said he’d sign an executive order on Day One to ensure that “Christian business owners and individuals don’t face discrimination for having a traditional view of marriage.” And Mike Huckabee suggested that allowing transgender people to serve openly in the military would mean the government would have to pay for their gender change surgery. In short: There were no surprises on LGBT issues from the 17 Republican presidential hopefuls who took part in one of two debates sponsored and broadcast by Fox News last Thursday (August 6). Only six of the candidates fielded a question that hit upon an LGBT issue. And only one of those six --Ohio Governor John Kasich— answered in a way that suggested a measure of respect for LGBT people.
Only six of the candidates fielded a question that hit upon an LGBT issue. And only one ...Ohio Governor John Kasich— answered in a way that suggested a measure of respect for LGBT people. Kasich said he would love his own child even if she was gay. But his wording walked a delicate line between noble father and tolerant tongue-biter. “Kasich’s answer was far from perfect—the phrasing ‘if one of my daughters happened to be that’ was unfortunate, and in noting
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that he would love his daughters ‘no matter what they do,’ he indicated that he thought being lesbian was something that requires forbearance,” wrote June Thomas, editor of Slate.com’s LGBTQ section. “Nevertheless, his response was loving and humane….” The mainstream media and the audience in Cleveland reacted favorably to Kasich’s comments. But other candidates showed no interest in walking a line between flat out opposition and respect for anything LGBT. At best, some Republican candidates participating in the debates just seemed eager to slide off the topic whenever asked to elaborate on their views against equal rights to LGBT people. When a Fox News moderator asked former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum whether the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision striking state bans on same-sex marriage is “settled law,” Santorum said no and likened his response to that of President Lincoln to the Supreme Court’s 1857 decision in Dred Scott. In Dred Scott v. Sanford, the Supreme Court ruled that slaves were not citizens of the United States and could not sue and that Congress didn’t have authority to prohibit slavery. While Lincoln made clear he thought the Dred Scott decision was “erroneous” and hoped it would be overturned, he urged “respect for the judicial department.”Santorum did not urge respect for the judicial department. “This is a rogue Supreme Court decision,” said Santorum. “Just like [Chief] Justice [John] Roberts said, there is no constitutional basis for the Supreme Court’s decision.” But then he spent the rest of his time talking about the Supreme Court’s rulings upholding the right of women to have an abortion. Fox News panelist Chris Wallace asked former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee how he thinks he can elected president given that some of his positions –such as wanting soflagaynews //
constitutional amendments to ban samesex marriage and abortions— are positions opposed by a majority of Americans. Huckabee completely ignored the question’s reference to same-sex marriage and talked exclusively about his opposition to abortion. When Fox News panelist Bret Baier asked Huckabee how he would “handle” Defense Secretary Ashton Carter’s recent directives “to prepare for a moment” when the military might welcome transgender persons to serve openly, Huckabee did not attempt to answer that question. Instead, he said, “The is not a social “Look, I don’t military experiment” and “It’s want my not to transform the culture by trying out marriage some ideas that some or my guns people think would registered in make [us] a different Washington.” country and more diverse.” “The purpose is to protect America,” said Rand Paul Huckabee. “I’m not sure how paying for transgender surgery for soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines makes our country safer.” Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal brought up the issue of same-sex marriage himself. When asked during the 5 o’clock debate (for candidates with low polling numbers) what his first executive order would be, if elected president, Jindal said he would “sign an executive order protecting religious liberty, our first amendment rights so Christian business owners and individuals don’t face discrimination for having a traditional view of marriage.” Santorum then jumped in, echoing that response. “I will institute an executive order to make sure that people of faith are not being harassed and persecuted by the federal government for standing up for their religious beliefs.” Both remarks were apparent references to reactions of many opponents of same-sex marriage who have been promoting new state laws attempting to carve out a religious exception to human rights ordinances
SouthFloridaGayNews
prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. U.S. Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky picked up on the religious freedom theme during the 9 p.m. debate (for the 10 candidates with the highest polling numbers). Fox News panelist Megyn Kelly directed a question from a viewer who asked (via Facebook): “What would you do to ensure Christians are not prosecuted for speaking out against gay marriage and will Christians be forced to conduct business that conflicts with their religious beliefs?” “Look, I don’t want my marriage or my guns registered in Washington,” said Paul. “And if people have an opinion, it’s a religious opinion that’s heartily felt, obviously they should be allowed to practice that, and no government should interfere with that.” From there, Paul launched into an attack on Houston’s openly lesbian mayor, Annise Parker, though he did not mention her by name. “One of the things that really got to me was the thing in Houston, where you had the government, the mayor actually trying to get the sermons of ministers,” said Paul. “When the government tries to invade the church to enforce its own opinion on marriage, that’s when it’s time to resist.”
“The military is not a social experiment” MIKE HUCKABEE
It was not Parker, but the city’s legal department that subpoenaed the “sermons” of five Houston pastors, while preparing its defense against a lawsuit against the city’s human rights ordinance protecting LGBT people. Parker met with pastors and then
directed the legal department to withdraw the subpoenas last fall, saying the subpoenas were “inadvertently” being associated with and escalating a religious freedom debate nationally. That nuance was almost certainly lost on most of Thursday night’s 24 million viewers –a record for a presidential primary debate. But nuance was not in play when Kelly asked real estate mogul Donald Trump how he could be considered electable given his sometimes crude remarks about women. She quoted him as calling some “fat pigs, dogs, slobs, and disgusting animals.”
“You once told a contestant on Celebrity Apprentice it would be a pretty picture to see her on her knees. Does that sound to you like the temperament of a man we should elect as president?” Megyn Kelly Fox News Moderator Trump tried to deflect the question by suggesting he had made those remarks about “only Rosie O’Donnell.” O’Donnell, a lesbian actor and talk show host, has had a public feud with Trump since 2006, when, on The View, O’Donnell mocked Trump’s hair, his bankruptcies, and multiple marriages, and said he was like “a snake oil salesman.” Trump responded, calling O’Donnell “a loser” who is “unattractive inside and out” and saying he was going to “send one of my friends to pick up her girlfriend –and I think it’ll be very easy.” Kelly stopped Trump cold: “For the record, it was well beyond Rosie O’Donnell.” “Your Twitter account has several disparaging comments about women’s looks,” continued Kelly. “You once told a contestant on Celebrity Apprentice it would be a pretty picture to see her on her knees. Does that sound to you like the temperament of a man we should elect as president? And how will you answer the charge from Hillary Clinton, who is likely to be the Democratic nominee, that you are part of the war on women?” “I think the big problem this country has,” said Trump, “is being politically correct. I’ve been challenged by so many people, I don’t frankly have time for total political
correctness. And to be honest with you, this country doesn’t have time either….” Kelly asked Ohio Governor John Kasich a question that combined religious freedom and “gay marriage.” She asked: “If you had a son or daughter who was gay or lesbian, how would you explain to them your opposition to samesex marriage?” (Kasich has twin teenaged daughters from his second marriage.) “I’m an old-fashioned person here and I happen to believe in traditional marriage, but I’ve also said the court has ruled and I said we’ll accept it,” said Kasich, who then noted he had just attended the wedding of a gay friend. Kelly tried to press him to answer the question –how would you explain your opposition. “Just because someone doesn’t think the way I do doesn’t mean I can’t care about them or can’t love them,” said Kasich. “So, if one of my daughters happened to be that, of course I would love them and I’d accept them because you know what, that’s what we’re taught when we have strong faith (lots of applause). So if she’s like that --This is where I would agree with JEB and I’ve been saying it all along: We need to give everybody a chance, treat everybody with respect and let them share in this great American dream that we have. I’m gonna love my daughters no matter what they do. Because you know what: God gives me unconditional love; I’m going to give it to my family and my friends and the people around me.”
“I think the big problem this country has is being politically correct. I don’t frankly have time for total political correctness.” Donald Trump Jimmy LaSalvia, former executive of the now defunct national gay group GOProud, was underwhelmed by Kasich’s remarks. “Governor Kasich was the only one who got a question about marriage equality because FOX knew that his answer was the most palatable for most Americans because he recognized the reality that civil marriage for gay couples is legal now,” said LaSalvia. “But they also knew that he wouldn’t go so far as to offend their viewers and socially conservative GOP base by endorsing marriage equality.” “I think the whole thing was a carefully orchestrated and ‘scripted’ program designed to further FOX News Channel executive’s goal of electing a Republican president in 2016,” said LaSalvia. “They carefully chose the questions to ask each of the candidates that would help further that goal.” soflagaynews //
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column publisher’s editorial
Dump Trump Now Norm Kent
Voted No. 1 Dry Cleaners in South Florida
Free Pick Up & Delivery (Home / Office)
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norm.kent@sfgn.com
Once and for all, will America please stand up to the bully that is @realDonaldTrump? The man isn't fit to be your local dogcatcher, let alone the next president of the United States. Wait, that isn't fair to dog catchers. Has this man shown that he has the character to lead this nation into anything but a catastrophic conflict with another world leader? Like a second grader in a sandbox, he demeans and denigrates anyone that dares to question him, call him out or challenge his arrogance of power. This has nothing to do with him trying not to be ‘politically correct.’ He has shown himself to be fundamentally indecent and personally offensive; crude, rude, and lewd. Like a forgotten basketball team owner last year, Donald Trump has spent a month and a half this year on the world stage proving money in your pocket does not lend gravity to your brain- maybe garbage, but surely not gravamen. Like an out of shape marathon runner destined to collapse before in business and politics, censure him for being the bantamweight the race ends, Trump is spewing out venomous thoughts as rapidly bully he has become? as hot air shooting out of a balloon certain to soon fall limp to the Ironically, as you search the political landscape, the only national ground. commentator to censure him is Roger Stone, whose own reputation Media personalities seeking to challenge him are berated, belittled as a ‘bad boy’ makes you wonder how ballistic-ally bad Trump must and beaten back. They should not be giving him the time of day. They really be. should be uniformly and collectively censuring and condemning him. Exposed to the light of a presidential campaign, Trump has proved The draft-dodging, deferment-seeking Donald Trump has himself to be an intellectual featherweight who uses a loud mouth demeaned veterans and soldiers who have served as prisoners of war. and large pocketbook to push around the people he disagrees with. The misogynistic three times divorced billionaire has said he only The thought of having Donald Trump enter into a sophisticated believes in heterosexual marriages when he could not sustain one dialogue with another world leader should spin your head sideways. himself. Men like Vladimir Putin command respect because they know the The crude and condescending businessman who playing field and act with deliberate precision. has himself filed for bankruptcy for his companies no Trump acts like the spoiled brat who owns the less than four times says only he can handle America’s bats and balls and goes home crying with them if he Trump has proved doesn’t get to play his way. trade. Well, America can’t afford to go broke four times under his supposed leadership. Trump says he would be a world leader. He would himself to be His remarks about Megyn Kelly bleeding from be, like Saddam Hussein and Moammar Gadhafi, a ‘wherever’ were not just ungracious, not just offensive, reckless self-destructive leader who disrespected an intellectual and not just wrong. It was morally unconscionable their people and poisoned their populations, and politically unacceptable. featherweight insuring their annihilation and their own selfTrump? He should not be allowed out in public, let destruction. who uses a loud alone hold political office. He wants to be crowned. Trump has already had his 15 minutes of fame. He Hell, he should be castrated – politically, of course. has humiliated himself and disgraced his nation. He mouth and large has reduced the Republican presidential campaign Only a deviant would think anything else. Of course, only a deviant would say what Donald Trump said in to rubbish, reducing credible voices to hollow pocketbook to the first place. messages distorted by his self-aggrandizing sham. His remarks about Rosie O’Donnell he himself has How long will commentators treat him with push around celebrated as drawing “more applause than anything respect? How long will they give him airtime? How in the debate.” It did, but when is someone going to the people he long will they continue to defer to his filth and remind him that he is running for commander in fortune? This isn’t about political correctness. It’s disagrees with. chief, not comedian in chief? about personal decency. Trump brags how could he will be for ‘women;’ Excuse me, Mr. Trump, but you don’t know it all. how he ‘will take care of them.’ Doesn’t this man You have no secret answers. You don’t know world understand no woman wants to be taken care of from the likes of leaders from milk prices. If you cared about America, you wouldn’t him? If anything, they want to be protected from men of his mettle. be making your ties in China and getting your laborers from abroad. His remarks disgracing Mexicans and immigrants dreaming of a You can take your Wharton School of Business degree and put it better life in the U.S. denies the dreams of millions of citizens who where the sun doesn’t shine. You are not so bright, despite what all can one day enhance all our lives. your lackeys tell you. In fact, you have proven yourself to be a fool who The same people he employs in the hotels he builds with cannot engage an adversary intelligently, only belittle them abusively. government tax credits he wants to lock up in Mexican jails. These That’s not debate or discussion. It’s derision and defeat. are also the employees of his multiple business failures left homeless We don’t need a campaign to ‘make America great again.’ We need and unemployed. to make it decent, and the quickest way to do that is to stand up to and How long will it be before a collection of world and national leaders, dump Trump, once and for all. soflagaynews //
SouthFloridaGayNews
SUMMER 2015
www.PrideCenterFlorida.org
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Inside This Issue:
Founders Circle Reception by Iberia Bank
It’s Playtime!
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PG. 8
PG. 9
verywhere we turn, our LGBT friends are having kids. Imagine a colorful, safe space where these families can swing, slide, climb, laugh and play together safely! This dream will soon become a reality. On Friday, October 16, hundreds of volunteers will build a playground for LGBT families, local children and allies on the campus of The Pride Center at Equality Park in Wilton Manors. You could play a part. “As a gay parent, I am frequently reminded that my child’s family is not the norm,” says Rob Lamarche, local father, attorney, social worker and adoption specialist. “No doubt she is quite aware as well. But on a playground at The Pride Center, she will be surrounded by other children with families just like hers. Our kids can meet other kids with families like theirs. It’s also a great way to bring gay parents together to support one another, make play dates, exchange resources and
The Pride Center, JetBlue and KaBOOM! Team Up to Build New Playground for LGBT families
share parenting advise.” The LGBT and Wilton Manors communities will work together to raise funds, recruit volunteers and gather supplies to build the playground. Donors and volunteers are needed to ensure the project is successful. The Pride Center will
VOICE Summer 2015
Black Gay Lives Matter
@PrideCenterFL
VOICE
become the first LGBTQ Center to have a playground on its campus. “The incorporation of a safe play space for children at Equality park shows a significant shift in our community,” says Heidi Siegel, local mom, Village Manager +Continued on pg. 4
Take a Chance, Make a Choice and Change Will Come CHOICES graduate shares his truth Diversity Honors
Tools For School
PG. 16
PG. 18
by Ralph Caraglia
A
fter 18 years of living with HIV medication-free, I became seriously ill and needed help. My support came mostly from friends who were sympathetic and reliable but were not experiencing the same challenge. Friends and family needed to know what I knew: my health had deteriorated to a point where it was possible that I would not make it. Having been a healthy, functioning HIV positive
man since 1989, surviving the years where no medication was available and the loss of my partner of 10 years, I found myself in a new environment. I moved to South Florida from the Northeast, unaware of what medical assistance was available to me and who, if anyone, could help me. Then I remembered I met an HIVpositive guy on the beach in Fort Lauderdale months before. He told me +Continued on pg. 5
Come Out and Play
The Pride Center 2040 N. Dixie Highway Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33305
Mail Correspondence to: P.O. Box 70518 Fort Lauderdale, FL 33307-0518 (954) 463-9005 Fax (954) 764-6522 Email: info@PrideCenterFlorida.org Website: www.PrideCenterFlorida.org
A letter from Robert Boo, C.E.O. of The Pride Center at Equality Park
VOICE Summer 2015
I
recently attended a panel discussion where three South Florida Federal judges talked about being gay and the effects on their career paths. None felt that their careers were hindered by being openly gay. They suggested that their authenticity in showing who they are set an example for others, reminding young people that they can achieve anything. They all did admit that being in South Florida has its advantages. For example, Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange still thinks that citizens should overrule the Supreme Court on marriage equality. Mr. Strange might not be as welcoming to three openly gay Federal judges. Social media continues to have a huge impact on people coming out. YouTube has seen a surge in coming-out videos by celebrities and regular people like you and me. The number one, most watched coming-out video is by the Rhodes twins and has been viewed almost 20 million times. So why is this important? Because we still have a way to go for equality. The Equality Act of 2015 aims to amend the 1964 Civil Rights Act to include sexual orientation and gender identity among the other protected classes. Thirty-one states do not have laws that explicitly prohibit discrimination based upon these areas. Whether you like reality TV or not, Caitlyn Jenner is helping to shine a bright light on the transgender world. The TLC documentary on local Jazz Jennings, I Am Jazz, is teaching the world about transgender youth. The more mainstream these shows become, the more conversations launch around the dinner table about coming out. When I was younger, many of my straight friends would invite me over to their parents’ house for dinner. They wanted their parents to meet and get to know someone who was gay, removing the fear of the unknown. It’s harder to hate a group of people once you get to know one of them. Have I always been stereotypically gay? Wait, don’t answer that question!
About The Pride Center
T
2
he Pride Center celebrates 22 years of service in 2015. Our mission is: “We provide a welcoming, safe space--an inclusive home--that celebrates, nurtures and empowers the LGBTQ communities and our friends and neighbors in South Florida.” The Center’s programs and services meet the distinct cultural, health, educational, economic, social and safety needs of the LGBT community. More than 30,000 adult and youth attended activities at The Center over the past year. We host more than 65 regularly-meeting groups each month. Support, social and educational groups focus on women, seniors, youth, men, transgender, recovery, health, the arts, athletics, spirituality, games and more. Outreach activities over the past year directly impacted over 50,000 residents and visitors to South Florida. The Pride Center is a major site for HIV testing, prevention, outreach, education, healthcare linkage, support, holistic health
Board of Directors
The Pride Center works daily to provide a safe, welcoming, inclusive home where people can be themselves. One of our long-time allies in the community has recently been voted onto The Center’s Board of Directors. Read the article introducing Deanna Sylvestri. She has been an active member on our Development Committee for many years and is very involved in the local business community. She will be a great addition to our governing team. Deanna also will serve as our Board representative for a new grant that we received from KaBOOM, the nation’s largest funder for play areas. The Board of Directors made the decision several years ago that Equality Park needed to become family friendly. Our cover story of this issue talks about how developmentally important “play” is for children. We’re excited to provide more opportunities for underserved LGBTQ families and youth in our community. Interested in contributing to this fundraising project? Contact me today at RBoo@PrideCenterFlorida.org In this issue we also talk about our expanding relationship with Walgreens regarding HIV testing. I love Walgreens for working so closely with us and allowing us to provide HIV testing inside so many of its stores. I hope you also read the client testimonials from two of our Prevention for Positives programs: LIFE and CHOICES. Their stories remind me why our work is important, and how we can impact the lives of people in our community. Finally, Wicked Manors approaches quickly. Our theme this year, Once Upon A Drive, was unveiled at the Stonewall Parade this summer. You better get busy on your costume so you too can look as gorgeous as Ursula the Sea Witch did on our float! Adults need to play as well. and counseling. Our popular Senior Services activities include: weekly Coffee and Conversation events with over 200 LGBTQ Seniors; individual linkage services; wellness workshops; daily Enhance Fitness senior exercise classes; SAGEWorks technology and job skills courses; a speaker series; recreational activities; healthy aging seminars; cultural events; and our annual Senior Health Expo. Stop in and learn about all we do: a community Flea Market; women’s health initiatives; family outreach days; Bingo; unique exercise classes; financial investment series with OurFund; art gallery openings; adult educational opportunities through Pride University; education for prospective and current LGBT parents; music, movies and live theater presentations; a variety of health fairs; and a spectrum of creative symposiums, speakers, forums and events for the entire community. We own five-and-a-half acres of property with 30,000 square feet of office space that provide homes for programs and services, as well as synergy among organizations. Our Vision is to be the premier point of connection for our community.
Ilene Berliner, Chair Mark Budwig, Vice Chair Chris Caputo, Secretary Craig Engel, CPA, Treasurer Ted Adcock Mitchell Bloom Mark Budwig Brenda Hartley
George Kling Dr. Leslie Leip Juliette Love Ernest Olivas Richard Safaty Paul Smith Deanna Sylvestri Jim Walker
Pride Center Staff
Robert Boo, CEO, rboo@PrideCenterFlorida.org Kristofer Fegenbush, MSW, COO, kfegenbush@PrideCenterFlorida.org Janet Weissman, Business Manager, jweissman@PrideCenterFlorida.org Roger Roa, Director of Development, rroa@PrideCenterFlorida.org Samantha McCoy, Customer Service Coordinator, smccoy@PrideCenterFlorida.org Dr. Listron Mannix, MSW, HIV Testing Manager, bmannix@PrideCenterFlorida.org Bruce Williams, Senior Services Coordinator, bwilliams@PrideCenterFlorida.org Shanna Ratliff, Prevention Outreach Coordinator, sratliff@PrideCenterFlorida.org Lorenzo Robertson, Emerging Interventions Coordinator, lrobertson@PrideCenterFlorida.org Roya Amirniroumand, Women with Pride Coordinator, WomenWithPride@PrideCenterFlorida.org Manuel Leon, Social Media and Marketing Coordinator, mleon@PrideCenterFlorida.org Jeff Grigsby, LIFE Coordinator, jgrigsby@PrideCenterFlorida.org Magno Morales, CHOICES Coordinator, mmorales@PrideCenterFlorida.org Rafael Reyes, Healthcare Navigator, rreyes@PrideCenterFlorida.org Ebony Wilson, ETI Outreach Coordinator, ewilson@PrideCenterFlorida.org Oscar Caballero, Linkage and Testing Specialist, ocaballero@PrideCenterFlorida.org Edgardo Medina, VOICES and Outreach Specialist, emedina@PrideCenterFlorida.org Jakari Roundtree, Kiki Outreach and Testing Specialist, jroundtree@PrideCenterFlorida.org S.F. Makalani-Mahee, Outreach and Testing Specialist, smakalani-mahee@PrideCenterFlorida.org Charles Bowers, Outreach and Testing Specialist, cdickey@PrideCenterFlorida.org Daniel Dardenne, Testing Specialist, ddardenne@PrideCenterFlorida.org Norris Wildhagen, Facilities Specialist, facilities@PrideCenterFlorida.org William “Billy” Gall, Testing Specialist, bgall@PrideCenterFlorida.org Bryon Bowlby, Executive Assistant, bbowlby@PrideCenterFlorida.org Robert Cullen, Information Analyst, rcullen@PrideCenterFlorida.org Julian Alterman, Outreach and Testing Specialist, jalternman@PrideCenterFlorida.org Kenedy Alves, Outreach and Testing Specialist, kalves@PrideCenterFlorida.org Dr. Robert Shore, PrEP Specialist, PrEP@PrideCenterFlorida.org Anthony Brautigam, Outreach and Testing Specialist, ABrautigam@PrideCenterFlorida.org Clarence Collins, Facilities Assistant, ccollins@PrideCenterFlorida.org Robert Bryant , Facilities Assistant, rbryant@PrideCenterFlorida.org Stephen Kosiorek, Facilities Assistant, skosiorek@pridecenterflorida.org
The Pride Center Voice
Production Managers: Chris Caputo, Kristofer Fegenbush Creative Director: Brendon Lies Contributing Writers: Robert Saunders, Jeff Grigsby, Listron Mannix, Magno Morales, Samantha McCoy, Shanna Ratliff, Roger Roa, Robert Boo and Kristofer Fegenbush. Photographers: Steven Shires, Stephen Lang, Pompano Bill, Dennis Dean, Coco Alarcon Acosta, Anthony Brautigam, Ebony Wilson, Manuel Leon and Kristofer Fegenbush.
The VOICE newsletter is published in the memory and through the donation of the Robert S. Kecskemety Trust.
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VOICE Summer 2015
$749 p.p.
Thursday Feb. 25th thru Monday Feb. 29th 2016
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Pride Center Cruise
4 Day Cruise Itinerary includes a Full Day in Key West and a Full Day in Nassau in the Bahamas
For two, per cabin.
Stay in touch with family and friends!
Only a $100 deposit required to reserve your Room & Perk! The Pride Cruise is a fundraiser to benefit
Call Freedom Travel Today
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Over $25,000 has been raised from this program over the past four years
3
VOICE Summer 2015
It’s Playtime!
4
+Continued from pg. 1
at Biscayne Park and Construction Cochair of the playground build project. “Our children are embraced and we, as parents, can fully participate in our queer community.” JetBlue is generously donating the majority of funds and significant volunteer support to make this project possible. JetBlue’s support has inspired our community to make this project top notch. Therefore, in addition to raising the required funds for site preparation, The Pride Center has embraced the challenge to raise $75,000. This will not only allow the community to prepare for Build Day, but enhance the site with a permanent fence, lighting, and a water fountain, as well as ensure funds for playground maintenance down the road. “A playground is more than a playground; it’s a brain-expander, a friend-maker, a mentor-connector and a muscle-builder,” says Robert Boo, The Pride Center CEO. “Although we are partnered with JetBlue and KaBOOM! our desired playspace requires additional financial support. The ‘community build’ process calls on our entire community to participate in the planning, funding, organizing and building. This will unite our community in a common goal, forging connections
between youth and adults, businesses and families.” The playground is the culmination of a more than three-year process for The Pride Center. Consistent feedback from LGBT families indicated the need for playspace on campus. Community parents suggested reaching out to KaBOOM! An extended application process ensued. KaBOOM! is a national non-profit organization that works to bring balanced and active play into the daily lives of children, particularly those growing up in poverty. Since 1996, KaBOOM! has collaborated with partners to build, improve and open nearly 16,300 playgrounds, engaged more than one million volunteers and served 8.1 million kids. Play helps children develop the ability to overcome challenges and adversity. When children’s lives are filled with play, communities are healthier and happier today; society is stronger and more resilient tomorrow. “The Pride Center consistently has served as advocate, collaborator and supporter for local LGBT parents, families and children,” says Richard Alalouf, President of South Florida Family Pride. SFFP is a volunteerbased organization providing support,
advocacy and socialization to more than 350 LGBT families in South Florida. “They listen and respond to the needs of our families. This playground has been a dream that many of us have worked on with The Center for years. We’re so excited this is happening. We know that friends, family members and the broad community will step us to help finance and organize the build.” Alalouf has been a leader in the playground project since its inception. As an employee of JetBlue, he knew of KaBOOM! and suggested their involvement. He and Center staff were amazed when JetBlue ended up choosing to be the corporate sponsor for the build project at The Pride Center. “It’s obvious this was meant to be,” says Alalouf. During Design Day on August 18, local children submit dream playground drawings to a playground designer for the new structure to built on the Equality Park campus. Adults have the opportunity to ask questions and volunteer to play an integral part in the build process. Parents, friends and local leaders form committees to oversee fundraising, recruitment, marketing, construction and play activities. The Center then will seek 30 volunteers for Prep Days on Wednesday and Thursday, October 14 and 15 to unload trucks, inventory supplies and saw wood. Over 200 volunteers will gather on Friday, October 16 for Build Day. After a one-day construction blitz, the colorful new playground will offer safe, interactive structures for children to play. “Surveys of local LGBTQ parents at The Center over the past few years indicate that parenting presents unique challenges to LGBTQ individuals, and that there are insufficient resources and services locally,” says Kristofer Fegenbush, The Pride Center COO. “They’ve asked us to target specific funds to construct family play areas on our campus. Families have expressed a desire and need for designated play structures. They’re looking for safe, welcoming places where they can bring their families for social support,
mentoring and connection. They seek culturally-competent, affirming, creative social, educational and networking events and resources.” According to U.S. Census numbers, about one-fifth of same-sex couples in Broward County, Florida are raising children. These numbers do not capture additional, local LGBTQ single parents. More than 9,000 Broward County couples self-reported as same-sex in the 2010 Census. Williams Institute estimates that the actual number of Broward couples may be as high as 24,500, due to stigma respondents may feel in reporting. Urban Institute and Williams Institute report that 40% of same sex couples between the ages of 22 and 55 currently are raising children, about 5% of whom are adopted. LGBTQ parents are raising about 2 million children nationwide, 65,500 of whom are adopted. In addition, the Urban Institute and Williams Institute report that more than 50% of gay men and 41% of lesbians want to have a child. Creating family-friendly play spaces on the Equality Park campus meets rapidly growing needs among the LGBTQ communities and our allies. “A playground at Equality Park welcomes ALL families,” says Lamarche. “It creates a safe space for kids in LGBTheaded families, their parents and allies to have fun, be healthy and develop new friendships. We can’t wait.”
Donors and volunteers are needed for the project. For more information, please contact COO Kristofer Fegenbush at 954.463.9005.
Change Will Come +Continued from pg. 1
he attended a support program at the GLCC, now The Pride Center, that welcomed HIV/AIDS men. So I inquired, was interviewed, and became a participant in the LIFE program. There I met the most incredible staff, volunteers and other participants who guided me towards what I desperately needed - the tools to enhance my immune system. However, later on that year I attended the CHOICES program offered by the PALS Project that provided me with a terrific template of social coping skills. CHOICES encouraged me to change what was not working in the way I communicated my truth by employing a respectful, honest and assertive speaking manner with the courage and strength to communicate and disclose my condition to those I loved. During
the 5 week program, the evening presentations were informative, fun and enjoyable. Topics enabled thought provoking conversation and opportunity for deeply felt expression. I learned quickly that my hesitation and anxiousness about HIV/AIDS disclosure was shared by many in the small, intimate group of men led by two well prepared and informed facilitators. An added bonus from attending both programs was the cultivation of new friendships that I still enjoy today. Now I choose whether or not to disclose my HIV/AIDS status with a deeper understanding of how, when
+ The Pride Center will launch a weekly Farmer’s Market on Wednesday, September 23
To enroll in CHOICES, please contact Magno Morales at MMorales@PrideCenterFlorida.org or 954.46.9011.
VOICE Summer 2015
Did you know?
a sense of respect for myself and others with thoughtful, patient decisionmaking. CHOICES is an intimate, relaxed, safe and focused environment that encourages you to express yourself in a confident, truthful and respectful manner with all your relationships. I recommend that anyone who is newly diagnosed or a long term thriver still challenged by disclosure join CHOICES. It stands alone as an important step in retooling oneself for the challenges of living with HIV. And, if you decide to embark and join in the longer committment of the LIFE program, it prepares you for that larger group experience. I took a chance at a vulnerable time, choosing to participate in CHOICES where I was encouraged and supported to change what was not working in the way I communicated my truth. Take a chance, make a choice and change will come.
www.PrideCenterFlorida.org
Take a Chance, Make a Choice and
and why to disclose. I’ve also improved my ability in negotiating sexual practices with potential partners. A thoughtful pause and mental assessment of what’s inside and around me helps activate the listening skills needed for a truthful response instead of reacting in an emotional, inaccurate and unbalanced manner. As a graduate and facilitator of both the CHOICES and LIFE programs, my immune system is functioning much better than before, and the coping skills discussed and practiced in CHOICES are ones that I continue to utilize. I recognize how I am feeling, what options are available and make better decisions when it comes to disclosure and navigating relationships. Coping with the rigors of health maintenance and handling issues with family members, friends and acquaintances seem easier and less stressful than before. I approach situations with a clear confidence and
+ Our PrEP Specialist helps people get information, education and access assistance for Pre Exposure Prophylaxis. Email prep@PrideCenterFlorida.org for more info. + The online LBT Health Directory at LBTHealth.org receives more than 1,000 unique visits each month. Many LBT women are linked to culturally competent healthcare providers because of this resource + Our CouplesSpeak program builds relationship skills, improves communication, lowers risks, and enhances sex
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Storytime
National LGBT Storytelling Project Launched
by Rob Saunders
VOICE Summer 2015
A
lmost every older LGBT person, it’s probably safe to say, has quite a story to tell. Now a project is underway to have those stories told in the most engaging way possible, and to get them out to global audience. SAGE Story is a nationwide digital storytelling program that aims not only to draw on the unique life experiences of LGBT elders, but also to strengthen and enhance their storytelling skills. The Pride Center has been chosen as one of six national centers for the project, and will hold a series of four workshops this Fall. SAGE Story hosts workshops that teach effective storytelling through essays, videos, podcasts and photography. LGBT seniors who go through these workshops become storytellers in modern media, and more broadly, they become spokespeople on larger social issues such as aging, long-term care and LGBT rights. Their narratives may tell of a lifetime of discrimination, of long-held secrets, a festering grievance or regret for a road once taken. The
telling may also be cathartic, fulfilling a need to seek forgiveness or to honor someone who made a difference. The stories all reflect the human condition -- frailty and courage, hardship and resilience -and have the potential to improve the lives and representations of older people, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. The SAGE Story project dovetails the power of storytelling with the rise of global connectivity, to
create compelling stories in multimedia formats that can reach people everywhere.
The Pride Center is working with SAGE (Services & Advocacy for GLBT Elders) USA and funding from The Gill Foundation. For further information, contact Bruce Williams at 954-463-9005 ext. 109, or bwilliams@ pridecenterflorida.org.
Did you know? + Breast Fest 2015 will occur at The Pride Center on Wednesday evening, October 7 and will raise awareness about breast health and breast cancer + The Center regularly hosts art gallery openings, films, music and live theater presentations + The Pride Center has provided more than 4,200 HIV tests so far this year + Over 200 people attended our last Founders Circle reception. Founders donate at least $100 monthly to support our vital programs and services.
6
Straight Allies Make a Difference By Samantha McCoy
M
Center at Equality Park provides. “We offer so many great things here at The Center. The Center is just a wonderful, safe space for everyone.” As the Customer Service Coordinator at The Pride Center, I can say this about Sabrina and her volunteer efforts: Sabrina is a pleasure to work alongside. What she won’t tell you is that she recently received a phone call from a community member in crisis. This community member felt lonely, hopeless and questioned whether or not being bisexual was going to cause him to lose his family and friends. Without hesitation, Sabrina listened and lovingly spoke to this community member and connected him with local mental health resources and reassured him that there is nothing wrong with him and that he was brave and loved. The Pride Center at Equality Park is so lucky to have Sabrina Wilbanks as one of our Customer Service Volunteers. This will certainly not be the last time you hear about Sabrina. We look forward to seeing her smiling face and hearing her warm voice for years to come
If you’d like to learn more about volunteer opportunities at The Pride Center, please contact Samantha McCoy at smccoy@pridecenterflorida.org or 954.463.9011
VOICE Summer 2015
eet Sabrina Wilbanks, a vibrant, funloving, caring and dedicated Pride Center Volunteer! You can catch Sabrina volunteering as a Customer Service Volunteer, answering calls and directing community members on Tuesday evenings or just volunteering on random weekdays. Sabrina began volunteering with The Pride Center at Equality Park because of her love and desire to help the community. Sabrina was referred by a friend who just so happens to be a part of The Pride Center volunteer family. Sabrina welcomes each and every community member with a smile and goes above and way beyond to ensure that they feel safe and welcomed while on campus. When asked about her most memorable moment while volunteering at The Center, Sabrina replied, “Honestly, just having all of the community members welcome me with open arms. Everyone has been so nice to me and I have met some great people.” When not volunteering (which is almost never) Sabrina enjoys hanging out with her friends, horseback riding, spending time with her mom, movie watching and--believe it or not--helping people in need. Did we mention that Sabrina is one of our amazing straight allies? That’s right! Sabrina feels that as a straight ally, she can offer a lot of support to the LGBTQIA community. Sabrina proudly explains, “As a straight ally I try to let other straight people know that the LGBTQIA Community is just like all other communities and should be treated equally and with respect. I will always support this community.” Sabrina feels that most people have no idea about the wonderful free programs and services that The Pride
www.PrideCenterFlorida.org
Volunteer Spotlight
7
Stonewall Summer Pride Pride Center staff and volunteers participated in a packed-day of outreach at Stonewall Summer Pride. The Center’s popular float in the parade announced the them for Wicked Manors 2015 - Once Upon a Drive; staff and volunteers dressed as an array of fairy tale characters. The Center utilizes diverse events each week to educate the community on its vital resources, programs, services and opportunities.
Founders Circle Reception at Iberia Bank Iberia Bank hosted and sponsored a recent Founders Circle Reception overlooking downtown Fort Lauderdale. To learn more about becoming a member of the Founders Circle, contact Roger Roa at 954.463.9005. Photos by Stephen Lang
VOICE Summer 2015
Photos by JR Davis and Pride Center staff
Looking over the Rainbow The Center’s Kiki Project presented a community townhall on interracial dating. The Kiki Project regularly organizes events to give voice to the Black same-gender loving community addressing a wide array of topics that impact HIV prevention, testing and care. Photos by Manuel Leon
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Local, statewide and national leaders gathered at Equality Park for a townhall and in-depth, frank discussion on the impact of HIV on Black gay and bisexual men. Photos by Lorenzo Robertson
+ The Pride Center hosts regular Transgender Educational Series collaborative community workshops
VOICE Summer 2015
Did you know?
www.PrideCenterFlorida.org
Black Gay Lives Matter
+ More than 10,200 people like The Pride Center’s Facebook page. Have you? + Our Healthcare Navigator links people daily to vital medical care + More than 60 vendors have registered for our annual Senior Health Expo on Saturday, October 17 9
Dining with Pride
Joe’s Seafood Shack hosted a recent Dining with Pride event, with a portion of proceeds returning to The Center for use in vital programs and services. To learn more about a restaurant hosting Dining with Pride, contact Roger Roa at 954.463.9005
The Pride Center Founders Circle LIFETIME
Bob and Hal Bernier-Peterson Gil Corwin John C. Graves Charitable Fund Alan Schubert
PREMIER LEVEL ($20,000 – and above) Cox Media Group Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau / Richard Gray Hunters Nightclub
PLATINUM LEVEL ($10,000 - $19,999)
VOICE Summer 2015
Anonymous (2) AIDS Healthcare Foundation - Southern Bureau Aqua Foundation for Women Dr. James Doan Multimedia Platforms Worldwide / Bobby Blair Kenneth Goss Kenneth Hollander and John Kardos - KSH Charitable Foundation Hotspots Magazine and Mark’s List / Peter Clark LSeven Solutions / Scott Kean Panache Style / Bobby Kyser Robert S. Kecskemety Trust South Florida Gay News / Norm Kent Sunshine Athletic Association The Howard Greenfield Charitable Foundation The SMART Ride / Glen Weinzimer and John Rogatzki Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino – Hollywood Wells Fargo Foundation
DIAMOND LEVEL ($5,000 - $9,999)
United & Proud Opening Reception Art Exhibition
Arts United, Inc. presented their annual art show as part of Pride month at The Pride Center. Prizes were awarded for Best in Show and Best in Class. Photos by Jane Kreinberg
Anonymous (1) D.C. Allen and Ken Flick - No Hate Fund at Our Fund, Inc. Ilene Berliner (Board Chair) and Maura Lane Jared Falek and Don Chorpenning Freedom Travel /Richard Safaty (Board Member) and Omer Mizrachi Will Gibson and George William Rogers Serendipity Foundation Donald Green and Gene Ingledue Oliver Kamm Joseph Kraus Law Office Arthur B. Smith / Arthur B. Smith Liquid Radar / Ed Garcia and Charles Rube Periodic Products / David McLaren Pinnacle Housing Group / Michael Wohl Herb Reis and Dr William Coffey Dr. Dale Russell Wayne Schrebe and Roy J. Stegman Charitable Fund at Our Fund, Inc. Ted Schultz Selzer & Weiss, Attorneys / Jeffrey Selzer, Esq. and Ray Fennon Jim Stepp and Peter Zimmer Whole Foods Market
GOLD LEVEL ($2,500 - $4,999)
Alpine Jaguar Atlantic Surf Club Beach Bear Weekend Biehn & Associates, Inc. / Don Biehn Broward Health – Imperial Point M. Deric Bownds and Len Walker Michael Camardello Doug Candler Michael Dager and Harvey Shapiro FastPrintz / Victor Flores Andrew Fischman Robert Hubbard and Bill Greeves MetroMediaWorks / Chris Caputo (Board Member) Midland Medical Center / Steven Levin and Bradley Henkel David Moon and Eugene Smith Richard Nolan and Robert Pingpank Oakland Park Dental / Dr. Howard R. Cunningham Pallant Insurance Agency, Inc. / Joe Pallant Joe Pumphrey and Carl Whitley Natura Dermatology & Cosmetics / Dr. Will Richardson Paul Rolli and W. Bennett Quade Lee Rubin and Jim Walker (Board Member) Dr. Heidi Schaeffer
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Richard Schwarz and Tom Massey Tony Seguino and Dan Ayers Paul M. Smith (Board Member) and Gerald Kennedy The Law Offices of George Castrataro, PA / George Castrataro, Esq. Ultimate Smile / Dr. J. Heider and Thomas Carr We Florida Financial George Zuber and Anthony Snyder Charitable Fund at Our Fund, Inc.
SILVER LEVEL ($1,200 $2,499)
Anonymous (5) Adam’s Interiors Affordable Health Insurance / Sam Chalfant Allz Well Pharmacy / Wendell Locke and Ricky Babo Jack Almeleh Paul Alpert Chris Ambs and Scott Clearwater American Pain Experts / Neel Amin and Tom Macek American Tax and Insurance Services / Al Cicotte and Kevin Palombo Ameriprise Financial / Tracey Cramer Argenti Designer Jewelers / Mark Silver BankUnited / Brenda Hartley (Board Member) Don Barlow Steve Barnard Mark Barron and Joel Rubin Christopher Bates David Bebbington Tom and Steven Begert-Clark - Even As We Speak Dr. Louis Benevento and Patrick Duffy Scott L. Bennett Norman Berkowitz Leny Blicher Mitch Bloom (Board Member) and Paul Wardell Boardwalk / Victor Zepka Dan Bohanan and Guillermo Licea Bruce Bolton John Bolton Robert Boo Bove Dental / Al Bove, DMD and Coco Alarcon Bryon Bowlby and Robert Baldwin Broward Burial and Cremation Broward County Sheriff’s Office Gerald Byers and Rudy Wengenroth Tim Cabrey and Mark Sewell Charles V. Loring Charitable Fund at Our Fund Harvey Chasser Chic Optique / Karen Carroll and Julie Slater Church of the Holy Spirit Song / Pastor Leslie and Sandra Rutland-Tipton Ron Clark Cleanslate Recovery / Sophie Sputnik and Margurite Constellano Coach Bill for Life / Bill Gisclair and Brian Sullivan Coffee and Conversation Bob Collier and Chuck Hunziker Concept International Design / Daniel Wasinger Jimmy Cunningham and Jerson Velazquez Dancemoves / Danny Carter D’Angelo Realty Group / Michael Faerber Don D’Arminio and Marc Martorana Lyle Davis Decorating Den / Lance Hatch Dennis Dean Photography / Dennis Dean Philip Dearborn Dental Associates of Boca Raton / Dr. Michael Costabile William Desautels and Lee Moffitt Divers Direct - Dania Beach / Jay Little Dolphin Democratic Club / Ron Mills Stephen Draft and Allen Peterson Irwin Drucker Gregory Dudzek and Jayant Goyle Eden Funeral Services Edward Jones Investments / Darcy Beeman Michael Ekman Emerald Elite Home Health Care / Ernest Olivas (Board Member) Ted Emery Craig Engel (Board Member) and Greg Briche Brian Farley and Ron Alose Paul Fasana First Atlantic Realty / Joseph Grano and Wulliano Dias Stephen Fleishman Focalize Consulting / Martin Gould Kenneth Fountaine Futurity First Insurance Group – South Florida / Gary Kempler
Gables Wilton Park / Joe Markonic Gallery of Amazing Things GalleryONE Fort Lauderdale Joel Geils August Gold and Carol Logen Glenn L. Goldberg Steven Goldgram Goodman Public Relations / Michael Goodman Mark Gordon and Aldo Buono Marc Grossman Robert Grossman Joe Guerrero Robert Gunning Mark Halacy and Thomas Pollock Peter Hardy-Smith and Victor Soto Tyler Healis Richard Herman Lazaro Hernandez and Steve Figlmiller Hans Hochkamp and Joseph DeBacco Paul Holoweski Kenley Hoover and Tom Pflepsen Gary Hummel Paul Hyman and Bill Bracker iBeria Bank / Matthew Brennan italio Fort Lauderdale / David Hahn J.P.’s Chocolate Shoppe / J. P. Cobleigh and Barry Miller A.J. Jabre James Jagielski Paul Jennings Dr. Charmaine Johnson-Leong, DDS, PA and Warren Leong George Johnson James A. Johnson Fund for Giving at Our Fund, Inc. Robert Judd Esq. and Russell Neal Ken Kalenderian Ken Keechl and Ted Adcock (Board Member) Mark Ketcham and Werner Lutz Dr. George Kling (Board Member) Don Kocher and Jonathan Salt Maria Kondracki and Jim Dwyer Edwin Kowalski and Michael Donnan Robert Kuhn and Steven Geyer Anthony Kulp L’ hermitage Catering / Terri Beckard Julia Landis and Shawn Fanshier Bruce Lane Bernie Langeluttig and Dennis Fitzkee Las Orquideas Restaurant and Bakery / Fernado Gill John H. Le Blanc - The John H. Le Blanc Charitable Fund at Charles Schwab Charitable Fund Law Offices of Gregory W. Kabel, Esq. / Greg Kabel, Esq. Law Office of Robin L. Bodiford / Robin L. Bodiford, Esq. Dr. Leslie Leip (Board Member) and Fritz Leip John Leyden and Tom Valentine Francis Leynaert and Fritz Martinez Lifeway, Inc. / Dr. Marah J. Lee, DO Lightship Media / Andy Perrott Dewitte Loe Steve Lovci Juliette Love (Board Member) Norton Lyman and Kimio Sato Lloyd Marks Mayors Michael McArdle and Thomas Holland Joe McConnell and Michael Lennon Kent McIntyre and John Tambasco Charitable Fund at Our Fund, Inc. Ken Merrifield and Fred Berger Mind Your Manors / Bobby Delcampo Anthony Molluso and Bill Volbrecht Gregory Moore and Dr. Allan Barsky Most Life / Maureen Faul and Stacey Citrin Kevin Murdoch National Stonewall Democrats / Hon. Stephen Driscoll and Robert Tocci
New York Grilled Cheese / Leor Barak Newman Insurance / Lynn Corning Mark Turner and Chuck Nicholls Northern Trust Bank Charles Ohsiek Palm Beach County Human Rights Council / Rand Hoch Leonard Paoletti Douglas Pew and Donald Croxton Peter Pileski and Bob Avian Pinnacle Constructors, LLC / Doug Tinklepaugh and James Rickard Mona Pittenger Giving Fund at Our Fund Bob Poster and Carmine Martorilli Bruce Presley and Chris Hedlund R3 Accounting LLC / Timothy S. Hart RBC Wealth Management / Ellen Krider, CFP ReMax Consultants Realty / Scott Belding and Dr. Listron Mannix Rick Reddington Jessica Reyes Louis Rittmaster Barbara Robins-Matthewman and Virginia DiChiara Dr. G. J. Rockwell, Jr. Rosie’s Bar & Grill / John Zieba and Cliff Mulcahy Donn Rubin and Stephen Harmon Runyan Law Firm, PA / Tom Runyan, Esq. RWE Real Estate / Robert Eldredge S. Mark Graphics / Mark Budwig (Board Member) and Nick Scalzo Rick Salomon Lee Sathre Savvy Cleaning / Joshua Norris Scarr Insurance Group / Geph Scarr and Sergio Medina Quintina Jack Schlossberg and Greg Fineman Danny Selvin and Sidney Goldenberg James Senior Shawn and Nick’s Courtyard Café / Shawn Bombard and Nick Berry Sidecar Kitchen / Adam Irvin Some Men Like It Haute / Douglas Cureton Sonesta Hotel Tomas Soto and Frank Lefevre, M.D. Kimberly Sorondo Dominick De Stefano Steve Shires Photography / Steve Shires Sterling Tax / Jeffrey Sterling Terry Stone and Mike Bush Stork’s Bakery Café / Esmeralda and Peter Dekaj Dave Stubbins SunTrust Bank Suzanne Williams, P.A. / Cat Crusade Deanna Sylvestri (Board Member) Edward Temoyan The Bears of South Florida, Inc. The Historic Needham Estate / Drew and Sandy Romanovitz The Pink Submarine / Dawn Halloway The Restaurant People Tony Timiraos and Arthur Crispino Charitable Fund at Our Fund, Inc. Tom Jones - Tom Jones Charitable Fund Top Dog Mobile Grooming / Tomas Arias Tower Club Dean Trantalis, Esq. Treece Financial Group / David Treece Carl E. Trough Mark Turner and Chuck Nicholls Richard Vallari Ted Verdone and John Curtin Vincent Vigliotti W Fort Lauderdale James Wagner Steve Wetzler Norris Wildhagen and Dr. Troy Robinson C. Theodore Wolf and Frank Decolator Tom Wolf and Fernando Rodrigues
Join the Pride Center Founders Circle! Support the programs and services of The Pride Center. Founders Circle memberships begin at $100 per month. For more information, please contact CEO Robert Boo, Director of Development. RBoo@PrideCenterFlorida.org
Holistic groups help mind, body and spirit by Samantha McCoy
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imaginebalance.biz Are you more of a daytime person? You can attend a meditation group each Tuesday at noon. This group is lead by a well known spiritual counselor, August Gold. A renowned teacher of stories, Soul Work and the Tao Te Ching, August Gold served as a New York City spiritual counselor for twenty-five years, working with Manhattan Center for Living, Gay Men’s Health Crisis and Samaritans Suicide Center. August’s philosophy is “everything you want is already inside of you.” Translated into 15 languages, her books include the Family Circle Book of the Month The Prayer Chest, as well as Multiply Your Blessings, Think & Grow Rich Workbook Series, and the award-winning children’s book, Where Does God Live? Every Saturday at 3:30 p.m. in Room 200, Mark Engebretson leads the Open Heart Meditation Group. Mark writes messages to his group regularly. Here’s an excerpt from one of his messages: “You are not your stories. You are not broken. You do not need fixing or healing. You are Divine. You are Love. You are the Light. Everything that has happened in your life has brought you to this moment. No experience is wasted. Trust in that and know that your perceived breakdowns are leading you to a breakthrough. Embrace everything as it is unfolding and see what happens.” The Pride Center is home to many groups. Every group is unique and offers something for the mind, body or spirit. Holistic groups will leave you with the “oms” and ahhs”. What are you waiting for? Try out a holistic group!
For more information on groups at The Pride Center, please contact Samantha McCoy at SMcCoy@PrideCenterFlorida.org
VOICE Summer 2015
here’s a warm and calming energy floating around the second floor at The Pride Center. Holistic groups now are part of the monthly group offerings and the community is responding with “oms” and “ahhs”. On Tuesday nights at 7 pm, Janet Weissman facilitates A Course in Miracles group. For those who are not familiar with ACIM, it is a spiritual path that teaches a way to retrain the “everyday monkey mind” and bring into awareness a better way to approach each day. Janet may be better known at the Business Manager of The Pride Center but has been facilitating this material since 1998. When asked about why anyone should follow a spiritual path, Janet replied, “A spiritual path is beneficial to relieve stress and give a new perspective of the world, especially in such volatile times. Each group becomes like a spiritual family. Many attendees bond through the material and have found support through the group. ” The suggested fee is $3.00 per class, but more will be accepted. You can check out Janet’s blog www. goodmorningdearhearts.com Just steps from ACIM, you will find yoga mats, soothing sounds and a Zen atmosphere in Room 204 as Drew Miller teaches Vinsaya yoga. Yoga attendees arrive a few minutes early to stretch and choose a nice spot on the floor to practice. Drew instructs this very beginner--friendly class, but all levels of proficiency are welcome to attend. Drew explains, “This amazing yoga class is geared to build strength, flexibility and learning the ins and outs of yoga”. Drew is also a Life/ Executive/Spiritual Coach and is accepting new clients. Drew’s reason for offering the class is simple, “Yoga is my hobby and I love it.” He has been a yoga instructor for two years and has been taking yoga for nine years. You can email Drew for more information at Drew@
www.PrideCenterFlorida.org
“Oms” and “Ahhs”
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Working the Corner of Happy and Healthy Pride Center Expands Testing Locations at Walgreens
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VOICE Summer 2015
he Pride Center is expanding HIV testing in Walgreens locations across Broward County. “I love that we provide HIV testing at Walgreens,” says Expanding Testing Initiative Coordinator Ebony Wilson. “It allows us to capture lots of community members in their natural environment of shopping.” The Pride Center first began collaborating with Walgreens, one of the largest drug retailing companies, over three years ago in HIV prevention. Dr. Listron Mannix, HIV Testing Manager, and Ebony very quickly built a relationship with George Kress, South Florida’s HIV Pharmacist and Patient Advocate for Walgreens. After the first testing event, Kress recruited The Pride Center Prevention
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Team to provide ongoing testing and outreach services in several stores. The Pride Center continues to work with the Walgreens corporate office to select new locations that can facilitate in-store testing. “Implementing these services allows the team to reach communities of high prevalence or to provide more accessibility to free testing services”, say Dr. Mannix. The Pride Center works regularly to expand HIV testing and outreach services in non-traditional settings such as bathhouses, rehab facilities and churches. With Walgreen’s catchy slogan “At the corner of happy and healthy”, The Pride Center Prevention Team is proud to be a service, dedicated to keeping clients healthy. “With over a thousand new HIV infections per year in both Broward and Miami-Dade counties, it’s important for everyone to know their status,” says Kress. “People should see HIV testing as a routine part of one’s healthcare. If one is positive, one should be able to access and remain in medical care. If negative, know about risk factors and options to protect yourself! It’s been important for Walgreens to be involved locally and nationally with HIV testing, not just for an individual’s health, but to help remove the stigma and fear of testing.” In 2014, Broward County was reported to be one the five leading counties in
Florida reporting the highest number of newly diagnosed HIV infection cases. In 2011, Broward County and Walgreens started a collaborative campaign known as We are Greater Than AIDS that has been implemented as an annual initiative for National HIV Testing Day, June 27, that progressed into National HIV Testing Week. Free HIV tests are available annually at select Walgreens locations nationwide. More than 140 cities, nearly 200 AIDS Services and Community Based organizations, unite to lead testing events and provide results onsite within minutes during that week. HIV Testing provided by The Pride Center always is free, including at community locations like Walgreens. As you approach “the corner of happy and healthy,” remember to visit us for your fast, free confidential HIV test. The Pride Center currently tests at the following Walgreens locations:
Walgreens – 1 West Sunrise Blvd, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33311-Wednesdays 6:00pm9:00pm Walgreens-3100 N. Andrews Ave, Fort Lauderdale FL 33309-Tuesdays 5pm-9pm Walgreens- 2104 W. Oakland Park Blvd, Oakland Park, FL 33311- Thursdays 3pm-7pm Walgreens-3000 N. State Road 7, Margate, FL 33063- Mondays 2 pm-6pm We encourage you to Take Responsibility. Get Tested Today!
Pride.
Take
www.PrideCenterFlorida.org
VOICE Summer 2015
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Facing Stigma Head-On
Beach Bear Weekend
The Pride Center provided outreach on HIV prevention, education, testing and linkage to care at the annual Beach Bear Weekend on Fort Lauderdale beach. Some proceeds from the event benefitted the vital programs and services of The Pride Center.
CHOICES graduate shares impact of program By Lorenzo Jones
VOICE Summer 2015
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Vision 2015 Contributors John Graves Society $500,000
John C. Graves Charitable Fund of the Community Foundation of Broward
Cornerstone Society $250,000 Gil Corwin
Pillar Society - $100,000 Anonymous Jan Carpenter & Dale Russell Mona Pittenger
Luminary Society $50,000
J. Michael Heider, DDS & Thom Carr Kenneth M. Goss Former Broward County Mayor Ken Keechl & Ted Adcock John Ramos Richard Schwarz & Tom Massey
Star League - $25,000 Doug Candler Estate of Clay Drexler
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Forest Trace Luxury Resort Adult Community James Jagielski George A. Kling, MD Estate of James Rampe Attorney Arthur B. Smith Jim Stepp & Peter Zimmer Sunshine Athletic Association Doug Tinklepaugh & James Rickard Estate of Lawrence Zinman
Equality League $10,000
D.C. Allen & Ken Flick Hansen Reality Vince Di Pietro Paul Galluccio Mark Gordon & Aldo Buono Estate of Charles Michael Johnson Ed Nicholas & Chris Griswold Chuck Nicholls & Mark Turner Coleman Prewitt
Visionary Circle - $5,000 Anonymous In Memory of Gilbert Anko Darcy Beeman Ilene Berliner & Maura Lane John Bowles
Mark Budwig & Nick Scalzo Michael Dager & Harvey Shapiro Chris Dunham & Joseph Dominguez Gay Bridge Cal Harrison Tyler Healis Kenneth Hollander Charitable Foundation Robert L. Hubbard & Bill Greeves Robert Joshua David Kyner & Richard Bray Dr. Christopher Manhon W. Lynn McLaughlin & David Webb Ken Merrifield & Fred Berger David Moon & Eugene Smith Douglas Pew & Donald Croxton Michael Preihs & Khoi Loung Herb Reis & William Coffey SAGE Men’s Drop In Donald Schultz Calvin Steinmetz & Brian Boyle Storks Bakery Dave Stubbins The Bears of South Florida, Inc. Dean Trantalis, Esq Ted Verdone & John Curtin Charles Walker Sumner T. White
Vision 2015 charts the course for The Pride Center to be mortgage-free on our 5.5 acre Equality Park campus. We seek 1,000 donors who will contribute $1,000 annually. To join Vision 2015, contact Roger Roa at RRoa@PrideCenterFlorida.org
just wanted to say a few words about the CHOICES Program that I was so pleasantly surprised to find when I transitioned from Pennsylvania to Fort Lauderdale. My name is Lorenzo Jones. I am 48 years old and living with HIV since 1993 when I was diagnosed. When I arrived here, I had been doing a lot over the years, working through challenges and health issues for quite some time. I thought I had overcome a lot of the basic challenges of living with HIV like disclosure and problem solving. I’m so glad that I came across a flyer in another community organization that had the CHOICES literature and decided to check it out. CHOICES is a program with The Pride Center’s PALS Project. After meeting with Magno Morales, CHOICES Coordinator, and the staff at the PALS office, I felt immediately comfortable and thought I might be in the right place. Being a long term survivor, I thought I knew plenty. But after what I thought was a short five weeks of classes, I realized how much I gained and how helpful it was for me to have that experience with others. I was able to see how some of my everyday challenges could be so much more improved since I went through the course. We have come a long way with treatment, care and knowledge about HIV, but stigma and ignorance about those of us living full lives
with this disease is still very present. I’m grateful for the work that organizations like The Pride Center are still doing to help us be more aware and prepared to face these stigma issues head on. I can truly say that I’m glad that I didn’t think I knew it all and allowed myself to be open to learn so much more about problem solving and communication skills. These skills continue to help me on this journey to not just be a long-term survivor but a long term thriver. This CHOICES course is not just about class experience, it’s about fellowship; it’s fun; and it’s very informative on so many levels. No matter how long we live with the virus, there always are new things coming up and each one teaches us how to continue to overcome everyday challenges. Thank you Magno and the entire PALS staff for all the dedication you guys give to this community for those of us who are either infected or affected with this disease.
CHOICES (Choosing Healthy Options, Improving Communication Effectiveness) is a five week small-group program that helps people living with HIV lower stress and improve their coping skills, including disclosure, relationship, problem-solving, communication and sexual negotiation skills. For more information, please contact Magno Morales at MMorales@PrideCenterFlorida.org or 954.463.9011.
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During that time, Bryan realized that he needed to become proficient in some essential computer programs. “One afternoon,” he recalled, “I just went to Pastor and said, I have got to find a computer class so I can learn how to operate here better … and that night, this is no kidding, I went home and saw the ad for the SAGEWorks classes.” He applied over the phone and was accepted with a slight caveat; he had to be at least 40. Well, Bryan sounds (and looks) to be in the first flush of youth, but he’s 44. He was in. He took the course in Microsoft Office programs. “Yes, it was PowerPoint, File Manager, and Excel and Word. It was wonderful. The instructor was amazing, it was a great class.” Basically, he came away with confidence in his computer skills. “I can now do PowerPoint for people, I can run different programs that people need. I am able to do double what I used to be able to do on a computer.” “Bryan’s services here are invaluable,” said Pastor Leslie Rutland-Tipton. “He was good with the computer before the class, but there’s a lot of things he has picked up on and doesn’t need my help at all.” That has freed up time to do more important things, she added, “like when I do outreach or go to visit people in the hospital.” It all seems like it was meant to be -- heaven sent, you might say. Bryan agreed. “God put me in line for this,” he said thoughtfully. “I do not believe in coincidences. The way it went down, it could not be anything but God.” Any Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday morning, you may see Bryan arriving for work on his spiffy blue scooter. Say hi! No point, though, in asking about his next modeling gig. “I really don’t have time anymore,” he grinned. Oh well, one door opens, another closes (sigh).
individuals 40 years of age and older who may be seeking to return to the workplace or who want to improve their job skills in order to get a promotion or find a new job. SAGEWorks is a program of The Pride Center, from a grant from SAGE USA with generous funding by The Walmart Foundation. Local organizations like SAGE of South Florida and AARP collaborate. The program offers a variety of skillsenhancing courses throughout the year. Locally, it is nearly at the end of its second year of providing job search
connections, computer classes, skillsbuilding seminars and a Jobs Board that lists area openings often before they are announced publicly.
If you’d like to know more about upcoming SAGEWork events and courses, check the Facebook page or website of The Pride Center. For further information, contact Bruce Williams, Senior Services Coordinator at the Pride Center: (954) 463-9005 Ext. 109 or bwilliams@pridecenterflorida.org.
VOICE Summer 2015
By Rob Saunders ryan Cadle is wreathed in smiles when we meet. The handsome and sunny guy is happier than ever these days, doing something he really loves with The Church of the Holy SpiritSong on The Equality Park campus. “I do the office administrative work and I’m the Pastor’s armor-bearer,” he said, going on to explain that armorbearer is an old biblical term for a trusted person appointed to carry the king’s armor and keep him safe. “Nowadays, it’s kinda like a personal assistant.” What he brings to the position is, at least in part, a testament to the value of the SAGEWorks program provided by The Pride Center. SAGEWorks is designed for mature LGBT adults who want to improve their competence with various computer-based resources and productivity tools, to stay competitive in the job market. In Bryan’s case, office work was a new career direction. Growing up in Kentucky, he started out as a plumbing apprentice, then went on to manage an optical lab, and taught competitive gymnastics for a few years. He also had quite a long stint as an artist’s model, and more than a few people in this town have seen a lot of Bryan. “Yep, I’ve done some very unique jobs,” he laughed. As for the job opening with The Church of the Holy SpiritSong, it all evolved out of Bryan’s long-time involvement in church activities. The spiritual side of life has always been important to him and his husband Chris. After an unhappy experience with one worship center that did not want to recognize their marriage, they cast about for a more compatible congregation and found the COHSS. “They welcomed us and we told them about what we had recently been through, and before you knew it, we were attending. After a while we decided to take their classes and we became members,” he said. Not long after, a volunteer position for an office assistant opened up at the Church and Bryan agreed to give it a shot. “I do all the administrative work, I’m their lead volunteer and the Pastor’s armor-bearer,” he smiled. “I absolutely love it!”
www.PrideCenterFlorida.org
SAGEWorks Alum Finds a Match Made in Heaven
More About SAGEWorks
Surveys have shown that ageism and discrimination begin in the workplace when employees turn 40, so SAGEWorks is designed to assist older workers in maintaining a competitive edge. The program is geared to LGBT
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Diversity Honors The Harvey Milk Foundation and The Pride Center collaborated on this inaugural gala, hosted by the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood. This milestone event recognized national honorees Judy and Dennis Shepard, co-founders of the Matthew Shepard Foundation, plus several South Florida leaders who have made a significant impact on improving the quality of life for the LGBT community.
VOICE Summer 2015
Photos by Photos by Steve Shires and Stephen Lang
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www.PrideCenterFlorida.org
Founders Circle Reception at Events by Grateful Palate Events by Grateful Palate and Shooters hosted and sponsored a recent Founders Reception along the water. Funds donated by Founders Circle underwrite life-enhancing programs and services to the community. Photos by Steve Shires
Friends, family members, staff, volunteers and community leaders gathered to celebrate the graduates of the 18-week LIFE Program. This holistic health program helps people living with HIV learn effective ways to leader healthier, richer lives. Graduates see their immune system strengthen and their viral load decrease. To enroll in the program, please contact Jeff Grigsby at 954.463.9011.
VOICE Summer 2015
LIFE Graduation
Photos by Manuel Leon
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Tools for School The Pride Center and GLBX once again hosted a successful kick-off to the annual Back to School Supply Drive. Each year, The Pride Center organizes diverse groups for school supply, food and holiday toy drives. Broward Education Foundation reports that our coalition of LGBT organizations provides more school supplies annually for local classrooms than any other group.
VOICE Summer 2015
Photos by Jorge Alarcon and Anthony Brautigam
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Groups at the Pride Center WEEKLY RECURRING MEETINGS
AA – Each Day a New Beginning, Recovery, Daily, 9-10a AA – Northeast Group, Recovery, Mon, 8:30-9:30p AA – Sober, Proud and Gay, Recovery, Fri, 8:30-10p AA – Pride 5:45 Meeting, Recovery, Daily, 5:45-6:45p A Course in Miracles, Social, Tues,07:00p-9p BrothasspeakFTL-Social, Wed, 7:00p-9:00p Coffee and Conversation – SAC, Social/Seniors, Tues, 10:30a-12noon Crystal Meth Anonymous, Recovery Mon 6p-7p, Wed, 6p-7p Cognitive Awareness Group-Wed, 7p-8p Games Day, Social, 2nd & 4th Tues, 1-4p Gay Bridge Club, Fun, Mon & Fri, 1-4p Gay Hearts, Social, Sun, 1-3:30p Gay Men’s Empowerment Group, Thurs 7p-8:30p High Noon Prosperity August Gold, Tues,Social,12-1p Island City Al-anon-Support, Thur, 7-8p Mahjong, Social, Wed, 1-5:00p Man2Man Talk, Social, Mon, 7-8:30p Monday Night Women’s Group, Social, Mon, 7:30-9p Narcotics Anonymous Rainbow Group, Recovery, Wed, 8-9p New Path Narcotics Anonymous Group, Recovery, Mon/Tue/Thu, 7-8p New Path Narcotics Anonymous Group, Recovery, Sat/Sun, 4-5p Open Hearts Meditation Group,Sat,3:30p-5p Overeaters Anonymous, Recovery, Sun, 12n-1:30p Overeaters Anonymous, Recovery, Fri, 7:30-9p POZ Attitudes Here and Now, HIV Support, Wed, 7-9p, Quit Smoking Now, Tues 7p-8:30p (Inquire for details) SAGE Men’s Social, Social/Seniors, Wed, 1-3p SAGE Computer Club, Wed 4p-6p SAGE CO-ED Discussion Group, Thurs, 1p-3p Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous (SLAA), Recovery, Fri, 7p-8p Senior Exercise Class YMCA Health, Senior, Mon-Fri, 10:10a-11:10a,11:15-12:15p,1:30-2:30p Senior Gay Men’s Support Group, Support, Mon, 11a-12p Smart Recovery, Recovery, Mon, 7:30-8:30p/Thur, 6:30p-8p The Healing Project Meeting,Tues 7:30p-9pm
Toastmasters, Educational, Mon, 7:15p-9:15p Women’s Non-Competitive Basketball, Social,Mon,Thur 5:30p, Sat 3p Pride Center Young Adult Group, (23-35 yoa), Support, Fri, 7-9p Yoga with Drew Miller, Social, Wed, 6p-7p
BI-WEEKLY RECURRING MEETINGS
Ballet & Opera Group, Educational, 2nd & 4th Sunday, 1-4p Sunserve POZ Long-Term Survivor, Gay Men/HIV Support, 1st & 3rd Tues, 6:30-8p Senior Games Day, Social, 2nd & 4th Tue, 1-4p
MONTHLY RECURRING MEETINGS/EVENTS
Pride Center BINGO, Open to Public, 2nd Sat, 7-10p and 4th Sun, 4p-7p Dolphin Democrats, Monthly Meeting, 2nd Wed, 7:30-9:30p Equality Park Garden Club, Educational, 3rd Wed, 7-9p Pride Center Flea Market, Open to Public, 1st Sat, 8a-2p Primetimers, Open to Public, 1st Sun, 2-4:30p SAGE Movie, Social, 3rd Mon, 4-6p Transgender Support Group, Support, 3rd Fri, 7-8:30p Women with Pride Book Club, 2nd Thur, 7-9p Women with Pride Game Night, 1st Tues, 7p-9p
For further information or to rent a room for your special event call: Samantha McCoy at 954-463-9005 ext. 101. Visit www.pridecenterflorida.org/calendar for meeting room assignments. Room days/times subject to change.
The Color Theory & Geometry Light Impression A packed crowd enjoyed the reception for this captivating exhibit by Venezuelan artist and Center Marketing and Social Media Coordinator Manuel Leon. To learn more about exhibiting in the art galleries at The Pride Center, contact Anthony Brautigam at 954.463.9005. Photos by Jorge Alarcon
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September 2015 Founders Circle Reception. She previously worked at the GALLERYone Doubletree and the Hampton Inn Downtown Fort Lauderdale. Her hotel career started in 2001 at the Holiday Inn Fort Lauderdale. She had worked previously as a travel agent for 16 years. She first got involved with serving the local LGBTQ community when she joined the GLBX Board for the Greater Fort Lauderdale Chamber of Commerce. “I have several dear friends and family members who are Photo by Jorge Alarcon part of the LGBTQ community and being involved makes me feel good,” says Deanna. Deanna moved to Florida in 1995 from New Jersey. She has a 15-year-old son, Max. “I think my passion is believing in having true equality in our community,” says Deanna. “I’m excited about the changes for marriage equality and look forward to new exciting progress to come. Being part of The Pride Center, I hope my drive to make a difference will help achieve that progress.”
VOICE Summer 2015
eanna Sylvestri knows how to use her skills, drive and passion to benefit The Pride Center and the LGBTQ communities. She now has a new platform to serve others. Deanna recently was voted onto the Board of Directors for The Pride Center. “I’m honored to be appointed to the Board of The Pride Center,” says Deanna. “I hope my fresh ideas and drive will make a difference with the upcoming Capital Campaign and the new playground that we’re building with KaBOOM and JetBlue. I am excited and look forward to being a part of the change and expansion at Equality Park.” She is passionate about the mission of The Center and its work each day in the community. “The outreach programs that The Pride Center has for the seniors and youth truly touch my heart,” says Deanna. “Both generation have such a difficult time within society and The Pride Center makes a difference in their lives.” Deanna started to support The Pride Center in 2011 when she hosted her first Founders Circle event at GALLERYone Doubletree. She was excited to see the attendance and support the LGBTQ community. “I’ve had the honor to host the December Founders Circle events for four consecutive years,” says Deanna. “It grew year after year. I truly believe the excitement of the location drove the attendance up and also made a difference in the Toy Drive for the holidays.” Deanna has actively served on The Center’s Development committee and volunteered for many events, including Wicked Manors, Evening in Paradise, Breast Fest, Dining with Pride and Tools for School. “Wicked Manors is always one of my favorites, and I love putting on my ‘sales face’ to raise money during the evening,” says Deanna. “I love being part of the Development Committee and coming up with new ideas to help raise money for The Center.” Deanna recently was promoted to the Director of Group Sales at The Westin Fort Lauderdale on Corporate Drive. The Westin will host the
www.PrideCenterFlorida.org
Putting on Her “Sales Face”
Sylvestri joins Board of Directors
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Sidestepping Discomfort,
Receiving Better Care
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ince its inception in 2013, the online LBT health directory has become a vital and growing resource. This initiative promotes preventive health among LBT women. LBThealth.org now links over 1,000 unique visitors each month to vetted, culturally competent healthcare providers throughout South Florida. Thanks to Aqua Foundation for Women, this past year Women with Pride has been able to focus on updating provider policies and improving website features. What seemed to be a daunting task at first soon became more manageable with a dedicated team of interns at The Pride Center. Cue Karissa Trombley. Native to Vermont, Karissa first moved to Florida in 2007 to begin her undergraduate studies at Eckerd College. Just last year, Karissa and her partner moved to Fort Lauderdale, and Karissa found herself interning with The Pride Center to complete her degree in Human Development. When I asked her why she chose The Pride
Intern shares impact of LBT Health Directory by Roya Amirniroumand, Women with Pride Coordinator
Center, she explained, “I have an interest in working for nonprofits in the future, so I thought I would gain a unique experience by interning at The Pride Center. The Center intrigued me because I knew it was a community center that had a focus on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender issues. I was also interested in their work with HIV prevention.” It was not long before Karissa began working more closely with Women with Pride and our efforts to update and improve the Directory. “I was interested in working on the Directory because it is an invaluable tool for lesbian, bisexual, and transgender women looking for a doctor who understands their unique health concerns. As a bisexual woman, I can relate to the challenges when looking for a culturally competent physician who has knowledge of the ways in which our sexuality and lifestyle may impact our health.” In fact, Karissa’s past experiences highlight the many fears LBT women have in seeking healthcare. “I know what it is like to feel uncomfortable. LBT women are faced with when talking to a physician about women’s health issues. I have learned that I receive better care and consequently have better health if I feel I can be open with my physician. It can be difficult to know if your doctor is comfortable with LGBT issues until you are already in the office with them. LBThealth. org allows us to completely sidestep that uncomfortable process and know that the provider is competent and comfortable with our needs before going through the process of calling and meeting with them.” The Directory can help put LBT women’s fear of
discrimination at ease when looking for healthcare because they will know for certain that the provider they are considering is trained to understand their health and wellness needs. “The Directory is great because it makes it easy for women to find a provider and know exactly what makes them qualify as being competently with LBT health and wellness,” says Karissa. For example, on the Directory, the provider’s profile will list which cultural competency criteria they fulfill, whether it is in their trainings or inclusive policies. “We are trying very hard to make sure that we have the best and most detailed information on the Directory. Therefore our biggest barrier right now is the time it can require to obtain information from the providers and update it in the Directory. We are going through the list of providers one by one and updating all of their information to ensure individuals looking for a provider on the Directory have the most comprehensive information. We want to make sure everyone can make an informed decision when choosing a provider.”
Karissa’s hard work has been invaluable to us at The Pride Center and our goal to bring attention to health and wellness issues in our community.
By Stephen J. Kosiorek
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long term survivor, and the world I now see through 50 year old eyes. This program sharpened my perspective and energized me: body, mind and soul. For that I will always be grateful. In closing, I’d say that the LIFE program is perfectly named--LIFE, as the dear friend who guided me to the program always believed. I now understand and believe the same. I would encourage anyone searching for answers or struggling to deal with their own HIV journey to consider this program with an open mind and a welcoming heart. I guarantee your expectations will also be blown away. To learn more about the 18-week LIFE Program, or to enroll in this holistic health program for people living with HIV, please contact Jeff Grigsby at JGrigsby@PrideCenterFlorida.org or 954.463.9011. This program helps people living with HIV learn effective ways to leader healthier, richer lives. LIFE is based on scientific research that connects’ participants performance on certain biological, psychological and social cofactors to immune system functioning, disease progression and overall health. Graduates see their immune system strengthen and their viral load decrease.
VOICE Summer 2015
his spring I completed the 20th cycle of the LIFE program and my expectations were blown away. I’ve been HIV-positive since January 2000 and have managed my life relatively well. My strong will and opinionated confidence is what I attribute to accepting my HIV as if it were just another something or just another day. However, now at 50 and a long term survivor, I wanted my life goals to evolve so I could strengthen my focus to face new challenges. The LIFE Program gave me a safe comfortable environment to share the experiences that shaped me without fear or consequence, all while learning the deeper truths about myself. Truths about how better to take care of my body through a smart balance of medicine, better nutrition, exercise and the power of sleep. Truths about how to limit risky behavior and avoid the triggers. Truths about nurturing a spirituality that until LIFE, I had rendered insignificant. The best gift the LIFE Program gave me is the network of friends that in a matter of 20 weeks became best friends. Friends who have helped me better connect with myself as that
www.PrideCenterFlorida.org
The LIFE Program And ME
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Going to the Chapel Bingo
VOICE Summer 2015
The Pride Center continues to provide a popular, irreverent Bingo the second Saturday night of each month. To learn more about Bingo, contact Janet at 954.463.9005.
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BBFs Today and “Bye Felicia� Tomorrow This community conversation explored the nature of friendships and how they impact the ability to maintain safer sex practices, share HIV status and be honest about identify among Black same-gender-loving men.
Wicked Manors 2015 Will Cast a Spell
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invites you to dress as your favorite fairy tale character--good or bad. Wilton Drive will be closed to all traffic from 5 Points to NE 21 Court in order to provide a safe and magical fun time for the 30,000 costumed revelers expected to have a magical fairy tale night. The Pride Center will have 10 beverage stations along Wilton Drive serving Ketel One Vodka and other premium liquors. “Every costume tells a story, so ‘Once Upon a Drive’ is the chance to tell yours,” says Doug Cureton, Wicked Manors Chair. “Think classic fairytales, your favorite bedtime stories or heroes, sheroes, villains, magical creatures from your favorite books, movies or shows! From the moment you arrive on Wilton Drive, you will be transported to a magical, storyland celebration with over-the-top costumes, décor, music, flash mobs and costume contests with
Next Magazine, She Magazine and South Florida Gay News. For more information on where to park, a list of all the costume contests or how to join the Flash Mob, visit our website – WICKEDMANORS. COM. Check out the Wicked Manors Facebook Page for some inspiration and all the latest updates and news! If you are interested in becoming a sponsor, contact Roger Roa, Director of Development at RRoa@ PrideCenterFlorida.org. All proceeds from Wicked Manors will benefit the vital programs and services of The Pride Center. Join us as we rip fairy tale characters out of books, TV and movies and place them on The Drive!
Did you know? + Center volunteers have provided more than 8,500 hours of service so far this year
VOICE Summer 2015
airytales do come true. This October 31st many of your favorite fairy tale characters will come to life on Wilton Drive. The Pride Center once again will create the largest Halloween Street Festival event of the year. Wicked Manors 2015 - Once Upon A Drive! will occur on Saturday, October 31st from 7:00 pm to 12 midnight. “The Pride Center is excited to put on this street festival for the third year as a fundraiser for our vital programs and services. Through this event, we are able to reach out to the tri-county area and help raise the awareness of The Center and all of the good work that we do,” said Robert Boo, CEO. The Pride Center produces Wicked Manors annually, in collaboration with The City of Wilton Manors. This year Wicked Manors 2015 - Once Upon a Drive, presented by Hunter’s Nightclub,
www.PrideCenterFlorida.org
Once Upon a Drive
our main stage Diva Emcee – Miss Misty Eyez!” Event planner phenomenon Bobby Kyser, of Panache Style, said, “We are planning to create a magical fairytale feeling on two stages. Get ready for the best year ever!” Patrick Volker and Mark Seymour, owners of Hunters Nightclub and this year’s Presenting Sponsor said, “We are proud to be the Presenting Sponsor for the second year and be a part of the largest Halloween event for South Florida. This event is putting South Florida on the national map making it a destination spot for Halloween. Hunters is proud to be a community partner of The Pride Center.” The Center would also like to recognize the following sponsors who will help make Wicked Manors a reality: VIP Sponsors - Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau; Stage Sponsor – Hits 97.3; General Sponsors – City of Oakland Park and Broward County Parks & Recreation, Village Pub and New York Grilled Cheese. We would also like to thank our media sponsors for their help in promoting this amazing event: Florida Agenda, Genre Latino, Guy Magazine, Hot Spots Magazine, Liquid Radar, Mark’s List,
+ Over 100 people play Bingo at The Pride Center on the second Saturday evening of every month. + The Pride Center has provided individualized HIV prevention outreach to more than 70,000 people since the beginning of 2015 + We hosted more than 1,500 group meetings at The Pride Center already in 2015
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Decision Day Rally A diverse community gathered at the Federal Courthouse to rally in celebration of the Supreme Court’s marriage equality decision. CEO Robert Boo and other leaders delivered passionate remarks to the crowd.
Sold-Out
Senior Health Expo Bigger and Better Than Ever
by Robert Saunders
Photos by JR Davis
VOICE Summer 2015
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oming in October: our sixth Senior Health Expo -- the most spectacular yet. Booths and display spaces at this year’s fair sold out in June to over sixty LGBT-friendly vendors, who will offer valuable information on senior living facilities, home healthcare agencies, legal issues and a wide assortment of other areas affecting the well-being of our senior community. These providers in the fields of healthcare, aging and geriatrics will showcase their services and products to an anticipated crowd of several hundred LGBT seniors, their families and friends. The Man-Van provided by Broward Health at Imperial Point will be on site for a full complement of testing opportunities. Other medical tests, along with flu shots, also will be available. Once again, the Expo will feature a variety of practical and engaging educational seminars focusing on the needs of the LGBT senior population. Admission is free. Complimentary coffee and pastries will be provided by Stork’s Bakery, and there will be free lunches for the first 300 attendees. Furthermore, everyone is eligible to win one of many wonderful door prizes including a large, flat-screen television. The Senior Health Expo is a mustsee. Doors will be open October 17 from 10 am until 2 pm at The Pride Center.
Sincere thanks go to a roster of great sponsors:
PREMIER SPONSOR: Broward Health Imperial Point
PRESENTING SPONSORS: AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF); Marrinson’s Senior Services
SAPPHIRE SPONSORS: Holy Cross Hospital; Park Summit
EMERALD SPONSOR: Eden Funeral Services; Johnson & Johnson; Senior Medical Associates; The Florida House Experience; Vitas Health Services; Trustbridge/Hospice of Broward County
RUBY SPONSORS: Barbara Falowski Funeral Services; Five Star Premier Residences Plantation; Garden Plaza; The Horizon Club. Our community partners include Broward Health Imperial Point, Futurity First Insurance, Gilda’s Club of South Florida, SAGE of South Florida, SunServe, The Fort Lauderdale Prime Timers, The Light of The World Clinic, Women in Network and The Pride Center Senior Advisory Council.
For further information, contact Senior Services Coordinator Bruce Williams at 954-4639005 ext. 109, or bwilliams@ pridecenterflorida.org.
These businesses represent some of our valuable supporters. To become a Business Founder, please contact Roger Roa: RRoa@pridecenterflorida.org or 954.463.9005
www.PrideCenterFlorida.org
Directory
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VOICE Summer 2015
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VOICE Summer 2015
Did you know?
+ Over 200 Seniors join us for Coffee and Conversation every Tuesday morning at 10 a.m. + The Center organizes regular educational workshops for prospective and current LGBT parents + The 17-week LIFE Program provides powerful, comprehensive, supportive holistic health workshops to people living with HIV. Contact JGrigsby@PrideCenterFlorida.org to learn more
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Founders Circle Reception at Gallery of Amazing Things
VOICE Summer 2015
Gallery of Amazing Things hosted a recent Founders Reception with food by The Restaurant People. Founders provide at least $100 monthly to support the programs and services of The Pride Center. Photos by Stephen Lang
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column bil of rights
Steve Grand Is Pissed The ‘All American Boy’ singer doesn’t like to be objectified — anymore
column guest
Church of Our Savior MCC Installs Interim Pastor Donald Cavanaugh
Photo: Facebook.
Bil Browning
Singer Steve Grand took to social media recently to chastise the gay blog Queerty and queer media in general for publishing shirtless photos of him. "It is sites like YOURS that create the impression that I am always shoving sex in people’s faces. When, in fact, it’s a small fraction of the time,” the would-be star wrote in the clearest bit of self-examination involved. "I have enough to work against. It sucks that gay media makes it all the more difficult.” "Shame on u," the songbird continued. "You are as trashy as the worse [sic] tabloids but u are even WORSE than them because you go after people without power or money (myself)," he continued. "I should be able to post a shirtless pic here and there (1% of my Instagram) without it being the ONLY way you represent me. All publicity is NOT good publicity." To be clear, Grand is no stranger to the phrase "sex sells." In the video for his 2013 debut song, “All-American Boy,” the suddenly prudish former underwear model has his shirt open within the first 10 seconds. Within three and a half minutes he’s naked and skinny dipping with a love interest portrayed by a gay porn star. Grand launched his musical career based on his shirtless chest and gay men nationwide ate it up; it’s still his most popular tune - and the only memorable part is Grand's body. In fact, Grand launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund an album based on the success of that single. His abs and bare ass helped him raise over a quarter of a million dollars to record one album. Complaining now about being objectified after using his sex appeal to raise a staggering amount of money is not only ludicrous, it's insulting to those who gave him money. Back when the "ice bucket challenge"
was a thing in 2014, Grand made sure to participate - completely naked. The album, "All American Boy," was released a few months later in March 2015 and sold 10,000 copies its first week. In the video for his second single from the album, "Stay," it takes Grand a minute and a half before he's frolicking shirtless on the beach. With the record already paid for with plenty left over - those sales were pure profit. Apparently Grand has no problem with being shirtless - as long as it's making him money. Grand's Instagram account comes complete with photos of him shirtless or clad in skimpy box-enhancing swimwear. Shortly before his rant about his public skintastic photos being reused in stories about him, he did an interview with an underwear blog about his choice of tiny briefs. When asked how he felt about the media attention his clothing choice garnered, he replied. "It’s all in good fun and I don’t take it too seriously. "I don’t ask anyone to post those kinds of things but it does create the possibility that someone, who was unaware of me before, ends up becoming a fan, buys music, and attends a live performance, which is how I make money to eat and pay my bills," he continued. "So I have to be happy for that reason." "You would tank a struggling artist’s career if it would get u a couple page clicks," Grand wrote in his online screed against Queerty. Suddenly the artist who built his career off his body - and admits it doesn't bother him because he uses his looks to make money - is castigating a media outlet for doing their job? How does he think the site's owners and reporters make money? They need clicks - just like Grand needed on that first YouTube video that made him over $325,000.
More than 50 people attended last month’s service for the installation of Rev. Jack Copas, D-Min as transitional pastor at Church of Our Savior MCC in Boynton Beach. “I had been attending the church and preaching occasionally while they waited for an English minister to get through the legalities permitting her to work here,” Copas said. “The church decided they needed more stability and availability and I was called by the congregation to become their new minister until the situation is resolved.” “We really see the hand of God at work,” Deacon Ed Kaczperski said. “We needed a pastor and realized that we had one in our midst. Rev. Copas has been ministering since Lent so this just formalized our relationship.” A retired United Methodist minister with 37 years in domestic and international ministry, Copas holds a masters of divinity and a doctorate of ministry. He retired to Boynton Beach about a year ago
and started attending the church on a regular basis while the church waited for their newly hired pastor, Catherine Dearlove, to obtain visas to move from England to the US. When asked if he is gay, Copas declined to say commenting that his sexual orientation is of no importance to his ability to minister to a congregation of human beings who have been alienated because of who they are. “I approach ministry with a liberation perspective,” he said. “It’s beyond sexuality and labels and goes to the core of humanity which is non-conditional love.”
The induction service was officiated by Rev. Pressley Sutherland, Associated Director of the Office of Church Life and Health for MCC Worldwide.
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Bil Browning is a long-time gay activist and writer. He is the founder and publisher of The Bilerico Project. Known for his political and social commentary, Bil does consulting work for political communications and new media projects. soflagaynews //
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column off the wall
Have Our Brains Gone Through A Car Wash? Pier Angelo
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ife is a Russian roulette. A game of chance. Or so I thought. I am now convinced the rules have changed and we are playing Russian roulette with a fully loaded gun. On a daily basis we witness acts of pure folly. A religious fanatic goes on a rampage at the Jerusalem Gay Pride stabbing a teenage girl to death and wounding several others. ISIS beheads hostages and throws gays off buildings. A young man walks into a black church and kills nine, another one opens fire on two Army Recruitment Centers killing five marines, policemen are trigger happy on African Americans, drive by shootings are too numerous to count or even to make the news, family members shooting one another have become routine, a father who accidentally shot and wounded his 12 year –old daughter while teaching (!) her about gun safety wasn’t even arrested, two Republican lawmakers in Tallahassee filed yet another proposal that would allow concealed weapons on college campuses, movie theatres are shooting galleries, school massacres are regarded as class size reductions, and big city murders, most of them senseless and random, are sharply on the rise. The media and the “experts" focus on finding the “motive" as if, when it is found, and explained, everything is OK. Looking for simple answers is just one way we try to make sense out of a complicated world. Balloon makers, teddy bear manufacturers, flowers, candles, card stores make a fortune every time a make shift memorial is set up at the scene of one of these tragedies. It is the only futile way we seem capable of responding to the madness around us. We have become desensitized to the bloodshed. I am not getting into the gun control issue, it is a losing proposition; a dead issue, pun intended. Compliments of the NRA and the politicians who are in its pockets. This time my point is different. Perhaps the true
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human condition is madness and the so called normalcy is instead a transitory state of mind. It is becoming obvious that each and every human being (and there are seven billion of us) has in store a degree of folly with the capacity to switch it on and act upon it at any given moment. After all if we listen to the mothers, friends or neighbors of any of these killers they are described as regular quiet guys, at least until the day before they go on a rampage. And how can we cope without becoming permanently paranoid? We shrug and think: “Oh this cannot happen to me.” We are adapting, memory grows shorter each day and yesterday's massacre is old news. We hit that virtual delete button in our short term memory and move on. But, if we are honest with ourselves, underneath our public veneer there is a growing streak of distrust. Aren’t we becoming constantly afraid that suddenly, out of nowhere and without notice, our husbands, wives, friends, neighbors or any of the strangers you brush up against at the mall grab, in a fit of inexplicable rage, that readily available AK47 and mow us down? What kind of life is that? Is it the direction humanity is going? To survive we need to have faith and trust in someone, anyone. We were raised to believe we depended on one another. We crave “normalcy.” Today it is just a probability, the roll of a dice. Instead of that Ralph Lauren polo shirt we might have to start considering investing in a bullet proof vest to go out. Perhaps it is the final stage of the evolution of our species as we know it. Even Darwin would be speechless. In an age of madness believing we are immune to it is in itself a form of madness. Don’t believe me? Pick up a copy of DSMIV-TR, it is an 886-page textbook published by the American Psychiatric Association, it lists every known mental disorder. The most recent edition stops at 374.
letter to the editor
The "Emperor" Has No Clothes On
Dear Editor,
While it only took a small boy in the fairy tale about the emperor who had no clothes on to point out to the city folk that the emperor was naked, it's unfortunate that it took yet another death on Wilton Drive for more residents of Wilton Manors to see that the long reign of Emperor (Mayor) Resnick and his friends in City Hall has been all about talk that's not backed up with substance. Why does it take a group of protesters and a overflowing City Hall meeting to finally get Resnick to wake up and smell the coffee? Probably the fact that he only won the last election by about 500 votes with a very low voter turnout during the last mayoral election in Wilton Manors and that simply billing yourself as a "Gay" mayor isn't cutting the mustard anymore when he has ignored doing the job he's paid to do, which includes insuring public safety. Now the emperor has had signs posted
around Wilton Manors telling pedestrians to be more careful on Wilton Drive. Where are the signs around Wilton Manors telling drivers to obey the speed limits and watch out for pedestrians and back this up with the presence of Wilton Manors police on Wilton Drive? Is Wilton Manors so crime ridden and poor that Emperor Resnick can't put a regular police presence on Wilton Drive? In an area where the car culture has ruled for far too long with four and six lane highways named "Boulevards" and "Drives," it's time for sane citizens to take back Wilton "Drive" and make it the pedestrian and bicycle friendly street it was originally designed to be when Wilton Manors was founded. Let's allow for the creation of a sanctuary on Wilton Drive where people who want to get out of their cars and stroll, shop, dine and interact with others can do so safely instead of continuing to give preference to the air polluting, greenhouse gas emitting car culture that other cities are working to put the brakes on.
- Richard Claycomb
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lifestyle food
Summer Specials Rick Karlin
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ummer’s rising temperatures means falling menu prices. During the seasonal slump, both Fort Lauderdale and Miami offer citywide restaurant deals to lure the locals to places which often rely upon tourist and snowbird dollars during the season. “Dine Out Lauderdale,” taking place this year from Sept. 1 through Oct. 12, finds dozens of restaurants offering speciallycreated, three-course menus at a $35 fixed price. Among the Fort Lauderdale restaurants participating in this year’s event are; American Vintage at the Westin, Beauty and The Feast at the Atlantic Hotel, Bistro at the Sonesta, Capital Grille, Chart House, Chima Brazilian Steakhouse, Coco Asian Bistro, Dos Caminos at B Ocean Resort, Eduardo de San Angel, Fork & Balls, 15th Street Fisheries, Indigo at the Riverside Hotel, Johnny V, MaiKai, Morton's Steakhouse, Ocean 2000 at the Pelican Grand, Royal Pig, Ruth's Chris, S3-Sun, Surf & Sand, Sea Level at the Harbor Beach Marriott, Seasons 52, Scolapasta, Shooters, Spazio, Sunfish Grill, Steak 954 at the W, Tsukuro, Tuscan Grill, Wild Sea at the Riverside Hotel and Yolo. In Deerfield Beach Chanson Restaurant at the Royal Blues Hotel is taking part. Hallandale Beach features Adena Grill and III Forks At Gulfstream Park, while Hollywood is represented by Bongo's Café and Elements Bistro At The Crowne Plaza. Lighthouse Point’s Le Bistro and Ireland's Steakhouse At The Bonaventure in Weston are also offering prix fixe meals, as are Cafe Maxx and McCoy's in Pompano Beach. Sunny.org is offering a chance to win a “Dine Out Lauderdale” getaway, including a three-night stay at the Fort Lauderdale Marriott Pompano Beach Resort & Spa, dinners for two at McCoy's Oceanfront, Chima and Shooters Waterfront. In addition to the dinner packages, the winner of the contest receives two greater Fort Lauderdale VIP cards which include complimentary
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admission to attractions in the area, including; Jungle Queen Riverboat, Bonnet House Museum & Gardens and Everglades airboat tours. To enter, go to www.Sunny. org/win. The contest ends Sept. 15. A similar event takes place on a much larger scale in the greater Miami area. “Miami Spice” started Aug. 1 and runs through Sept. 30, with hundreds of establishments offering prix-fixe lunches for $23 and dinners for $39. In total, 181 restaurants are participating, 10 percent more than the previous year’s event. A number of celebrity chef-driven spots are joining “Miami Spice” this year, including; Tom Colicchio's Beachcraft, Cena by Michy, Corsair by Scott Conant and StripSteak by Michael Mina. Other new additions include; Cleo, Coya, El Cielo, Fooq's, Izzy's Fish & Oyster, Klima, Marion, Market at Edition, Morimoto, Piripi, Prime Fish, Quality Meats, Redlander at Schnebly Winery, Seagrape, Social Club, Soho Bay, Tantalize Miami, Tamarina, Vagabond, Via Verdi Cucina Rustica, and Vintro. Among the returning establishments are; Area 31, Azul, Barceloneta, the Bazaar by José Andrés, the Cypress Room, db Bistro Moderne, Dolce Italian, The Forge, Hakkasan, Haven, Lure Fishbar, MC Kitchen, Michael Mina 74, Mignonette, Milos, Pubbelly, Scarpetta, Seaspice and Swine. For more information go to the Miami Spice web site, http://www.miamiandbeaches.com/ special-offers/monthly-deals/miami-spicemonth. Chef Robyn Almodovar, a winner of The Food Network show “Chopped” is hosting a pop up dinner series, “Supper Club Thursdays” through Sept. at Kitchen 305 in the Newport Beachside Hotel. Almodovar will design and prepare a three-course meal each Thursday. In addition to taking over the kitchen, Almodovar will unveil a specialty lounge area complete with its own menu. For reservations, call 305-749-2110.
lifestyle history
Photo: Stefano Bolognini.
HOMO HISTORY 101 History was never as straight as we are told. Recording our history means reporting the truth.
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T
he Main Stonewall Library is at 1300 E. Sunrise Blvd in Fort Lauderdale, yet their gallery at 2057 Wilton Drive also showcases a number of boasting exhibits.
Debra Chasnoff (1957) an American
filmmaker, she is the first lesbian to acknowledge her partner in her acceptance speech at the 1992 Academy Awards ceremony. She won for her documentary short film “Deadly Deception: General Electric, Nuclear Weapons and Our Environment.” Besides thanking her lover of twelve years, Kim Klausner, on national TV, she also urged the audience to boycott GE.
Earnest O. Reaugh (1923-1991) born in Iowa. He was a bomber pilot in World War II. In 1970 he gained public attention when as an employee of the New York State Department of Commerce he testified at a hearing on a gay-rights bill. He prefaced his remarks by saying that he feared he would lose his job because of declaring his sexuality. He was hired by State Senate Minority Leader Manfred Ohrenstein in 1975 and worked for him for sixteen years as legislative liaison to the LGBT community. He is considered to be the first person to be appointed to such a position by any public official in the U.S . He was also a recovering alcoholic who helped organize 12step groups for LGBT persons. William Dale Jennings (1917 –2000) was an American LGBT rights activist, playwright and author. In the spring of 1952 Jennings was arrested for allegedly soliciting a police officer in a toilet in Westlake Park, now known as MacArthur Park. The trial that took place drew national attention to the Mattachine Society due to their decision to help contest the charges brought against Jennings. Jennings called fellow Mattachine founder Harry Hay, and they enlisted the help of attorney George Sibley, a member of the Citizens' Council to Outlaw Entrapment. Jennings was one of the first homosexual men to contest charges such as this one. Most homosexuals at the time pled guilty so as not to be publicly scrutinized. His
decision to fight back was a pivotal point in the movement. The organization raised funds and promoted Jennings’ case nationally. The trial began June 23, 1952 and lasted ten days. Jennings confessed to being a homosexual but denied any wrongdoing. While there were different accounts of what exactly occurred that day, by the end of the trial the jury voted 11–1 for acquittal on the basis of police intimidation, harassment, and entrapment of homosexuals, and the case was dismissed. While only Dale Jennings and the police officer know the exact details of that day in the park, the trial brought a lot of attention to the Mattachine Society, increasing awareness of the Gay Rights Movement as a whole as well as increasing the organization's membership.
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The Sacred Band of Thebes,
formed in 371 B.C. is considered to be the first gay military unit. This small army, made up of 150 couples, was premised on the belief that lovers fighting alongside each other would die together rather than shame each other. The band perished to the last man at Chaeronea in 338 B.C., in a battle against the huge army of Philip of Macedon.
1961: the first film to use the word homosexual on screen is the movie Victim. Dirk Bogarde starred as a gay lawyer who confront a gang of blackmailers. LETTER RECEIVED: Last week one of our readers wrote me a note pointing out that The Stonewall Library is not in Wilton Manors but at 1300 E. Sunrise Blvd in FTL. While the reader is correct about the site of the Main Library, she might not be aware that Stonewall Library has a very vibrant and active presence at its other location: 2157 Wilton Drive.
If you want to learn more about your gay heritage and those who paved the way, through activism, sacrifice, courage and civil disobedience to give us a better and freer life you can visit The Stonewall Museum & Archives in Wilton Manors. We should all know who our gay heroes are and be thankful for what they did on our behalf. soflagaynews //
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outeats Special Advertising Section Humpy’s Pizza Chef Brad Schlichting: 'If a Customer Isn’t Happy, I’m Not Happy' Natalya Jones Brad Schlichting has worked at Humpy’s Pizza for nine years as a chef. As far as training goes for this job, Schlichting did not attend culinary school but instead, learned everything he knows from “life training” and helping his mom cook. “I was always in the kitchen with my mom, hands on stuff,” he said. “I grew up in Virginia and there was a lot of southern cooking. I added a lot of things behind my mom’s back when she wasn’t looking.” In high school and through college, Schlichting worked at Pizza Hut for almost eight years. Following was a slew of other occupations he held that were not in the culinary field, such as a personal trainer and doing accounting for a hospital. But it was when he moved to Florida that he discovered Humpy’s Pizza, which he has been working at since its doors first opened. In regards to his favorite food to make, it’s Humpy’s famous cupcakes. “With a cupcake, you put a smile on their face, you make them happy,” said
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Schlichting about giving cupcakes to customers. “When you put a smile on someone’s face with something sweet, like a cupcake, it’s a good feeling.” Schlichting’s drive for customer satisfaction does not end there. His favorite chef embodies it as well. And who is his favorite culinary cook? “I would say me,” Schlichting said with a laugh. “I have to say me because of course everyone here does a good job, but I say me because if a customer isn’t happy, I’m not happy.” He continued, “I don’t know what other people are thinking. I don’t work at Humpy’s just to have a job, I work to make other people happy and to make myself happy. If everyone else is satisfied at the end of the day, then I’m satisfied. It’s been a good day at work.”
Humpy’s is located at 2244 Wilton Drive in Wilton Manors. Visit HumpysPizza.com.
SouthFloridaGayNews
Men’s Night! EVERY WEDNESDAY NIGHT 2 for 1 dinners* and drink specials all night long *with drink purchase
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F O R
SFGNITES
T H E
J.W. Arnold
jw@prdconline.com
THU BOOKS
W E E K
O F
A U G U S T
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W W W . S F G N . C O M
8/13
Author Tracy Baim discusses her new biography, “Barbara Gittings: Gay Pioneer,” about the mother of the LGBT rights movement, tonight at 7 p.m. at the Stonewall National Museum – Wilton Manors Gallery, 2157 Wilton Drive, as part of the Stonewall Author Series. Years before the Stonewall riots, Gittings was among a handful of brave activists who publicly picketed to end discrimination in the late 1950s and early ‘60s. The event is free. For more information, go to Stonewall-Museum.org.
FRI
CONCERT
8/14
It’s been 30 years since Boy George and Culture Club burst onto the global music scene, fueling some of the earliest public dialogues about homosexuality, cross dressing and gender identity. Their colorful music videos are also credited with leading to the rise of cable network MTV. Tonight, the band performs their greatest hits, including “Karma Chameleon” and “Time” at Bayfront Park Amphitheater, 301 Biscayne Blvd. in Miami at 8 p.m. Tickets are $39.50 – 149.50 at Ticketmaster.com.
SAT
THEATER
Photo Credit: Andy Rogow.
8/15 SUN
Island City Stage and City Theatre of Miami present “Short Gone Wild 3,” a collection of short plays, all with a certain adult sensibility. These 10 minute plays, all of which explore sexuality, relationships and LGBT themes, are the result of a unique collaboration between eight playwrights (four local), six actors and four directors. Thursday – Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 5 p.m. through Sept. 6 at Empire Stage, 1140 N. Flagler Drive in Fort Lauderdale. Tickets are $30 at IslandCityStage.org.
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Larry Buzzeo, Christina Groom and Nicki Fridh are among the actors starring in “Shorts Gone Wild 3,” presented by Island City Stage and City Theatre of Miami.
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CIRCUS
8/16 MON FILM
How exactly do you describe the spectacle that is Montreal-based Cirque du Soleil? The inventive international troupe of aerialists, acrobats, dancers, clowns and musicians returns to South Florida with “Varekai,” Aug. 12 – 23 at the BB&T Center in Sunrise. This dynamic arena production takes place in a mystical forest on the slopes of a dormant volcano and explores the myth of Icarus, the foolish young man who dares to fly and touch the sun. Tickets are $40 – 100 at CirqueDuSoleil.com. soflagaynews //
8/17 TUE
Summer is the season for big studio blockbusters and this weekend, the latest classic television series to get a big screen reboot is the Cold War spy thriller, “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” We’re looking forward to seeing sexy Brit Henry Cavill (“Superman,” “The Tudors”) in an action role that doesn’t rely on endless CGI effects while Armie Hammer gets a chance to redeem himself after his disastrous flop, “The Lone Ranger.” Check local listings for theaters and show times.
SouthFloridaGayNews
CONCERT
8/18
You might be surprised to learn that a statistically significant number of physicians are also accomplished musicians. Tonight at 7:30 p.m., the Kretzer Piano Foundation presents its annual Physicians Talent Showcase at the Harriet Himmel Theater in CityPlace, West Palm Beach. Fourteen skilled doctors will share their musical abilities with proceeds benefitting music programs for disadvantaged youth. Tickets are $75 (tax-deductible) by calling Complete Ticket Solutions, 866-449-2489.
Presents the Theatrical Event of the Century...
Created by Broadway Director & Cirque Dreams Founder NEIL GOLDBERG
S AT U R DAY, O C TO B E R 3 , 2 0 1 5
Broward Center for the Performing Arts | 201 SW 5th Ave, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33312 Tickets at BrowardCenter.org | AutoNation Box Office | Ticketmaster | 954-462-0222
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#Broward100 soflagaynews //
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The National Youth Advocate Program Seeks Parents William A. Grear
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To whom it may concern, Foster parents are amazing, everyday people who offer our children the safety and nurturing home environment they deserve. At the National Youth Advocate Program (NYAP), a licensed child placing agency, our foster parents live their purpose and make a dramatic change in children’s lives. At NYAP we support, train and license foster parents who are interested in caring for children in need of stable, loving homes. We are quickly growing in Broward and Palm Beach Counties and have several
families who are caring for children with minor medical issues, and children with other enhanced needs, such as behavioral challenges, mental health diagnoses, pregnant and parenting teens and victims of human trafficking. There will ALWAYS be a need for more quality foster parents to open their hearts and homes for our foster youth.
- William A. Grear
National Youth Advocate Program Recruitment and Training Manager
If you are interested in becoming a foster parent with NYAP or are interested in learning more, please call 1-877-692-7226 or 954596-5284. You may also email William Grear at wgrear@nyap.org.
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SouthFloridaGayNews
a&e theatre Local ‘Big Brother’ Star Talks About Oxygen Special Show premiers Tuesday, Aug. 18
Jason Parsley
YouTube sensation and “Big Brother 16” star Frankie Grande spoke to SFGN last week about his upcoming show, “WORST.POST. EVER: With Frankie Grande.” The one time special premiers Tuesday, August 18 at 9 p.m. on Oxygen. It will showcase Grande as he breaks down the buzziest online posts, tweets and selfies from Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and other social media outlets. “It’s going to be a fun and exciting journey through social media. It’s a perfect fit for me,” he said. “I’m also going to create some of my own crazy ridiculous posts. Poking fun at some other posts people put online. It’s going to be fun and Frankie and fabulous.” Grande also has a promise for fans. “There will be glitter involved,” he said. He’s most excited about the stuff he creates
on the show such as his own Frankie app. “I’ll be ranting about the worst celebrity apps but creating my own at the same time,” he said. There will be a whole segment dedicated to gifs. During the special fans will be encouraged to use hashtag #WorstPostEver. “You better tune in. It’s going to be really fantastic,” he said. “I’m really excited for everyone to see the show.” Grande has had a busy couple of summers. Besides WORST.POST.EVER he’s also a judge on America’s Best Dance Crew, which just premiered. Last summer he was locked away in the Big Brother house. He told SFGN he’d gladly go back for a Big Brother all-stars edition. Keeping so busy has left little time for love. “Oh my God. I’m so single,” he said. “I’m married to my work at the moment.”
Grande grew up in Boca Raton and still has a residence there. He often comes back to get away and relax. Some of favorite local spots include Town Center Mall, Atlantic Ave., Las Olas and the Boca Beach Club. A d v e R t i s e i n A m e R i c A’ s P R e m i e R L G B t P u B L i c At i o n s t o d Ay !
Stronger than ever Spending in America’s LGBT media is at a record high of $381.4 million, up 18.2% from 2012. Circulation and readership of LGBT media are also up a healthy 15.1%* Now that’s just SUPER!
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Advertise in America’s premier LGBT publications today! Call 212-242-6863 soflagaynews //
SouthFloridaGayNews // SFGN.com // 8.12.2015 //
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Datebook
Theater Christiana Lilly
Calendar@SFGN.com
Top
Picks
Incubus, Deftones, and Death from Above 1979 Aug. 14 at 6:15 p.m. at Perfect Vodka Amphitheatre (formerly Coral Sky), 601-7 Sansburys Way in West Palm Beach. The two California bands are together on one stage. Incubus is known for hits like “Drive,” “Wish You Were Here,” “Dig, and others. Deftones have put out songs such as “Change” and “Minerva.” Tickets $56 and up. Call 561-795-8883 or visit CruzanAmphitheatre.net.
“Weird Al” Yankovic: The Mandatory World Tour
Aug. 15 at 8 p.m. at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts, 201 SW Fifth Ave. in Fort Lauderdale. The album that won Yankovic a Grammy for Best Comedy, he’ll perform new and old parody favorites. Tickets $30 to $60. Call 954-462-0222 or visit BrowardCenter.org.
I’ll Eat You Last
Through Aug. 30 at GableStage at the Biltmore, 1200 Anastasia Ave. in Coral Gables. Enter the home of Sue Mengers, who survived Hitler’s Germany, and is now a major actress. Tickets $45. Call 305-445-1119 or visit GableStage.org.
broward county Varekai
Aug. 12 to 23 at the BB&T Center, One Panther Parkway in Sunrise. The newest Cirque du Soleil production, Icarus falls from the sky when he flies too close to the sun and lands in the mystical forest of Varekai. Tickets $40 to $145. Call 954-835-7000 or visit TheBBTCenter.com.
* Hippiefest 2015
Aug. 14 at 7:30 at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts, 201 SW Fifth Ave. in Fort Lauderdale. The annual celebration of the music of the hippie era, including acts by Jerry Martini, Cynthia Robinson, Greg Errico, Rick Derringer, Mitch Rider & the Detroit Wheels, and Badfinger featuring Joey Molland. Tickets $19.69 to $59.49. Call 954462-0222 or visit BrowardCenter.org.
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SouthFloridaGayNews
* Blue Oyster Cult
Aug. 15 at 7 p.m. at the The Amp, 1806 NE Sixth St. in Pompano Beach. The band is Joined by Robby Krieger of The Doors and Vanilla Fudge. Tickets $25 to $65. Call 954-519-5500 or visit Photo: WIKIPEDIA PompanoBeachArts.org.
* Chris MacDonald’s Memories of Elvis in Concert
Aug. 15 at 8 p.m. at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts, 201 SW Fifth Ave. in Fort Lauderdale. Taking on the persona of Elvis Presley from his early days to Vegas, joined by DJ Fontana, the King’s original drummer. Tickets $33.39 to $54.59. Call 954-462-0222 or visit BrowardCenter.org.
* Carnival 2015 Warmup featuring: Fadda Fox aka Mr. Duckling
Aug. 16 at 4 p.m. at Revolution Live, 100 SW 3rd Ave. in Fort Lauderdale. Get ready for Carnival with music, costumes, food, and music. Tickets $10. Call 954-449-1025 or visit JoinTheRevolution.net.
* John Hiatt & The Combo and Taj Mahal Trio Aug. 18 at 8 p.m. Broward Center for the Performing Arts, 201 SW Fifth Ave., Fort Lauderdale. One of the greatest singersongwriters, Hiatt is joined blues/roots artist, Taj Mahal. Tickets $45.25 to $65.25. Call 954462-0222 or visit BrowardCenter.org.
* Rickie Lee Jones
Aug. 18 at 8 p.m., Broward Center for the Performing Arts, 201 SW Fifth Ave., Fort Lauderdale. The winner of two Grammys, has expanded her repertoire to all genres. Tickets $37.50-$47.50. 954-462-0222 or visit BrowardCenter.org.
palm beach county * Tom Jackson Band
Aug. 15 at 8 p.m. at Arts Garage, 180 NE First St. in Delray Beach. A veteran of “The Voice,” Jackson’s music has been featured on multiple television shows. Tickets $25 to $35. Call 561243-7800 or visit ArtsGarage.org.
* J. Cole, Big Sean, YG, and Jeremih
Aug. 18 at 6:30 p.m. at Perfect Vodka Amphitheatre (formerly Coral Sky), 601-7 Sansburys Way in West Palm Beach. Known for his storytelling through rap, J. Cole is joined by Big Sean, YG, &, Jeremih. Tickets $52 and up. 561-795-8883 or CruzanAmphitheatre.net.
miami-dade county * Lazy Fair
Aug. 20 to Sept. 6 at Miami Theater Center, 9816 NE Second Ave. in Miami Shores. Bank heist takes a turn when the money stolen is a lot more than the burglars thought. Tickets $25-$50. 305-751-9550 or MadCatTheatre. org. * Denotes New Listing
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Datebook
Community Christiana Lilly Calendar@SFGN.com
Top Picks International Business & Leadership Conference Aug. 11 to 14 at the Marriott Harbor Beach Resort & Spa, 3030 Holiday Drive in Fort Lauderdale . The LGBT business conference moves to South Florida, with speakers such as Suze Orman, CNN anchor Richard Quest, Washington Post columnist and MSNBC contributor Jonathan Capehart and personal branding expert, Sally Hogshead. Visit nglcc.org/nglcc15.
Pridelines Masquerade Ball Aug. 15 at 6:30 p.m. at the Biltmore Hotel, 1200 Anastasia Ave. in Coral Gables. A night of masked mystery with a cocktail reception, formal dining, and silent auction to benefit Pridelines. Tickets $175. Call 305-571-9601, ext. 3 or visit PridelinesMasquerade.com.
Bamboo Room LGBT Opening Aug. 16 5 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. at the Bamboo Room, 25 S. J St. in Lake Worth. The bar is kicking off its first LGBT Night with photo booths, live music, drinks, pixie models, raffles, and more. 5- 7 p.m., LGBT singles social. Free before 9 p.m., after 9 p.m. $5 cover. 561-601-3755 or visit Facebook.com/TheBambooRoom.
broward county * Art Roundtable
Aug. 18 from noon to 1 p.m. at the NSU Art Museum, One E. Las Olas Blvd. in Fort Lauderdale. Painter Viktor El-Saieh leads a lunchtime conversation with Rosie GordonWallace of the Diaspora Vibe Gallery on Haitian Culture and Art. Free for members, $12 for nonmembers. RSVP to 954-262-0204 or visit NSUArtMuseum.org.
* Playground Design Session
Aug. 18 from 1 to 5 p.m. at the Pride Center, 2040 N. Dixie Highway in Wilton Manors. Help the center design a playground for LGBT families and our allies. Kids will design from 1 to 2 p.m., adults can design and plan from 2 to 5 p.m. RSVP to playground@ pridecenterflorida.org.
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Support Services SunServe Youth Group
Tuesdays and Thursdays in Fort Lauderdale, Southwest Ranches, Coral Springs and Hollywood. A support group and night of fun for LGBT youth 13 to 21. Free. Visit SunServeYouth.com for dates and times.
Survivor Support First and third Wednesdays, 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the Broward Health Imperial Point Hospital cafeteria, 6401 N. Federal Highway in Fort Lauderdale. Find support from counselors and peers who have lost loved ones to suicide. Call the Florida Initiative for Suicide Prevention at 954-384-0344 or visit FISPOnline.org.
GayWrites Wednesdays at 5:30 p.m. at the Stonewall Library, 1300 E. Sunrise Blvd. in Fort Lauderdale. Come join us and write your memoir, poem, blog, novel or short story. Free. Email garri1@earthlink.net
Gender Bender Youth Group Mondays from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at SunServe Campus, 1480 SW Ninth Ave. in Fort Lauderdale. A group for LGBT youth 13 to 21 to discuss gender, gender expression, binary systems, friendship, family and whatever else comes up! Free. Visit SunServeYouth.com
PFLAG Tuesdays in Fort Lauderdale, Coral Springs and Southwest Ranches. A support group for parents of LGBT youth 13 to 21. Free. Visit SunServeYouth.com for dates and locations.
Wayne White: Art is Supposed to Hypnotize You or Something Through Aug. 23 at the Art and Culture Center of Hollywood, 1650 Harrison St. in Hollywood. The eclectic artist comes to Florida for the Broward 100, with a display of his oversized puppets, word paintings, and other whimsical pieces of art. Tickets $8. 954-921-3274 or ArtAndCultureCenter.org.
Out of the Shadows
Through Aug. 30 at the Stonewall National Museum -- Wilton Manors Gallery, 2157 Wilton Drive in Wilton Manors. An exhibition telling the story of the hidden life of LGBT people from 1903 to 1969, from police raids to the Stonewall riots. Free. Call 954-763-8565 or Stonewall-Museum.org.
Summer Starry Nights
Thursdays through Sept. 3 at the NSU Art Museum, One E. Las Olas Blvd. in Fort Lauderdale. Make your Thursdays a night of art with exhibitions, films, lectures, and wine and beer specials at the museum. Free. 954-525-5500 or visit NSUArtMuseum.org. soflagaynews //
palm beach county Reimagined
Through Sept. 6 at the Cornell Museum of Art, 51 N. Swinton Ave. in Delray Beach. A collection of art from 15 internationally acclaimed artist using unique materials to create sculptures. Suggestion donation of $5. Call 561-243-7922 or visit DelrayCenterForTheArts.org.
The Morikami Menagerie: Creatures in Japanese Art
Through Sept. 13 at Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens, 4000 Morikami Park Road in Delray Beach. Japanese folklore’s fantasy creatures -- dragons, lion-dogs and dragon-deer -- in art. Tickets $15 museum admission. Call 561-495-0233 or visit Morikami.org.
Sushi & Stroll Summer Walks
Second Fridays through Sept. 11 at Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens, 4000 Morikami Park Road. in Delray Beach. An annual summer series, explore the gardens and museum for sushi, sake, and taiko drumming. Tickets $15 museum admission. Call 561-495-0233 or visit Morikami.org
Japan’s Robot Kingdom
Through Sept. 13 at Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens, 4000 Morikami Park Road. in Delray Beach. A look at Japanese robotics from the last 50 years and its impact on pop culture and technology. Tickets $15. Call 561-495-0233 or visit Morikami.org.
Eww! What’s Eating You?
Through Sept. 27 at the South Florida Science Center, 4801 Dreher Trail North in West Palm Beach. Explore the creepy crawlies of our planet that live off humans -- parasites! -- like tapeworms, fleas, lice, mosquitoes, and ticks. Tickets $11 to 15. Call 561-832-1988 or visit SFScienceCenter.org.
miami-dade county
* Meteor Shower Viewing
Aug. 12 from midnight to 2 a.m. at Sense Beach House, 400 Ocean Drive in Miami Beach. Watch the mesmerizing astronomical show of Perseids meteor shower from the hotel’s rooftop. Free. Call 305-538-5529 or visit SenseBeachHouse.com
Rainbow Circle
Mondays from 6 to 8 p.m. at the University of Miami Flipse Building #302, 5665 Ponce de Leon Drive, Coral Gables. Open discussion about coming out, relationships, peer pressure, bullying, and more. Free. Pridelines.org.
HIV Support Group
Wednesdays, 7- 9 p.m., South Beach AIDS Project, 1234 Washington Ave. Ste. 200 in Miami Beach. Support group for those who are HIV positive. Free. Call 305-535-4733, ext. 301 or email support@sobeaids.org.
SouthFloridaGayNews
Modern Buddhist Meditation
Mondays and Tuesdays at the Drolma Kadampa Buddhist Center, 1273 Coral Way in Miami. Find inner peace with instruction on meditation with Buddhist monk, Gen Kelsang Nurbu. $10 and $5 per class. 786529-7137.
Book Study
Wednesdays from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Drolma Kadampa Buddhist Center, 1273 Coral Way in Miami. Buddhist monk, Gen Kelsang Nurbu, will lead classes on learning the foundations of Buddhism. Call 786-529-7137.
Prayers For World Peace
Sundays from 10 a.m. to noon at the Drolma Kadampa Buddhist Center, 1273 Coral Way in Miami. Buddhist teacher, Todd Ellenberg will lead prayers and meditation. Cost $10. Call 786-529-7137.
Community Yoga Series
Third Wednesdays at 6:15 p.m. at jugofresh Wynwood Walls, 222 NW 26th St. in Miami. Yoga instructor Dawn B. Feinberg leads a monthly yoga class in the middle of Miami’s art district. Mats available.786-472-2552.
Miami Log Cabin Republicans Fourth Wednesdays at 7:15 p.m. at Larios, 7705 W. Flagler St. in Miami. with other like-minded people and from speakers in the community. LogCabin.org/chapter/florida-miami.
Casa Meet hear Visit
key west * Tropical Heat Key West
Aug. 13 to 16 throughout Key West. A long week of raucously hot events,like pool parties, clubs, an urban cowboy party, and more. Visit TropicalHeatKW.com.
SMART Ride Bingo
Sundays through Oct. 17 from 2 to 4 p.m. at Poinciana Royale, 16th Street and Duck Avenue in Key West. Help raise money for Team Milemarkers for the SMART Ride
Aqua Idol
Tuesdays from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at Aqua Key West, 711 Duval St. in Key West. Support your local artists and vote for your favorite! Benefits Waterfront Playhouse. Call 305294-0555 or visit AquaKeyWest.com.
Hot Naked Hump Days
Wednesdays from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Island House, 1129 Fleming St. in Key West. Relax in the middle of the week with two-forone drinks, free shots, videos and music, giveaways, and naked boys at the pool. 305294-6284 or visit IslandHouseKeyWest.com
Gay Key West Trolley Tours
Saturdays at 4 p.m. meeting at 628 Duval St. See the gay side of Key West on this trolley tour. Tickets $25. Call 800-535-7797 or visit GayKeyWestFL.com.
* Denotes New Listing
I’m gay. I am the future of the LGBT community. And I read about that future every day on my work laptop. Because that’s where I want it to be.
The person depicted here is a model.Their image is being used for illustrative purposes only.
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Business Directory legal
dental
SELZER & WEISS 1515 NE 25th St, Wilton Manors, FL 33305 954.567.4444 Selzerandweiss.com
WILTON MANORS DENTAL 2517 NE 9th Ave, Wilton Manors, FL 33305 954-564-4746 Wiltonmanorsdental.com
SHAWN NEWMAN 710 NE 26th St, Wilton Manors, FL 33305 954.563.9160 Shawnnewman.com
ISLAND CITY DENTAL 1700 NE 26th Street, Ste. 2, Fort Lauderdale, FL 954-564-7121 Islandcitydental.com
LAW GC 707 NE 3rd Ave #300, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304 954.573.1444 Lawgc.com
ISLAND CITY SMILES 1946 Wilton Drive, Wilton Manors, FL 33305 954-565-7666 Islandcitysmiles.com
GREGORY KABEL 1 East Broward Blvd #700, Fort Lauderdale, 33301 954.761.7770 gwkesq@bellsouth.net LAW ROBIN 2550 N Federal Hwy #20, Fort Lauderdale, FL 954.630.2707 Lawrobin.com
JIMENEZ LAW 100 SE 3rd Ave #1514, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33394 954.848.3111 Jimenezlawoffices.com
dental
health EMERALD ELITE 2301 Wilton Drive, Suite 3, Wilton Manors, FL 954.629.1377 Emeraldelitehomehealth.com
DR. TORY SULLIVAN 2500 N Federal Hwy #301, Fort Lauderdale, FL 954.533.1520 Torysullivanmd.com THE FLORIDA HOUSE EXPERIENCE 505 S Federal Hwy, Deerfield Beach, FL 33441 800.778.6792 Fherehab.com
To place an ad in the Business Directory, call our sales team at 954.530.4970 health
AMERICAN PAIN EXPERTS 6333 N. Federal Hwy, Ste. 250, Ft. Lauderdale, FL 954-678-1074 Americanpainexperts.com
investments AMERICAN TAX & INSURANCE 2929 E Comm. Blvd, 8th Floor Penthouse D, Fort Lauderdale, FL
954.302.3228 Americantaxandinsurance.com
professional services BARTON & MILLER CLEANERS 2600 N. Dixie Hwy Wilton Manors, FL 33305 954-566-4314 KALIS-MCINTEE FUNERAL & CREMATION CENTER
2505 N. Dixie Hwy, Wilton Manors, FL 33305 954-566-7621 Kalismcintee.com
restaurants
restaurants J. MARK’S 1245 N Federal Hwy, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304 (954) 390-0770 Jmarksrestaurant.com SANTA LUCIA RISTORANTE 2701 E. Oakland Park Blvd, Ft. Lauderdale, FL 954-396-0930 Santaluciaristorante.com
BUY THIS SPACE FOR
$250 A YEAR retail PEACE PIPE 4800 N Dixie Hwy, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33334 954.267.9005 Facebook.com/peacepipefl DAOUD’S 2473 E Sunrise Blvd, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304 954.928.2437 Daouds.com
STORKS BAKERY 2505 NE 15th Ave, Wilton Manors, FL 33305 954.567.3220 Storksbakery.com
NATURAL SLEEP 3040 N 29th Ave, Hollywood, FL 33020 954.951.2678 Naturalsleepfd.com
THE FLORIDIAN RESTAURANT 1410 E Las Olas Blvd Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301 954.463.4041
POVERELLO THRIFT STORE 2056 N Dixie Hwy, Wilton Manors, FL 33305 954.561.3663 Poverello.org MODERN HOME 2 GO 4000 N Federal Hwy, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33308 954.530.5650 Mh2go.com
LANE & ERIKS DENTAL ASSOCIATES 1831 NE 45th St, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33308 954.771.3331 Laneanderiksdental.com
SIMPLY MEN’S HEALTH 5405 Okeechobee Blvd #205, West Palm Beach, FL 561.459.5356 Simplymenshealth.com
OAKLAND PARK DENTAL 3047 N Federal Hwy, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33306 954.566.9812 Oaklandparkdental.com
NATURA DERMATOLOGY 1120 Bayview Dr, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304 754.333.4886 Coolsculptingnaturadermatology.com
NAKED GRAPE 2163 Wilton Drive, Wilton Manors, FL 33305 954.563.5631 Nakedgrapewinebar.com
ANDREWS DENTAL CARE 2654 N Andrews Ave, Wilton Manors, FL 33311 954.567.3311 Andrewsdentalcare.com
MARK ENGEBRETSON Palm Beach & Boca Raton 561.400.9297 heartofthemystery.com
BEEFCAKE’S 1721 N Andrews Ave, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33311 954.463.6969 Boardwalkbar.com
ESTATE AUCTION CO. 6 South Federal Hwy, Dania Beach, FL 33304 954-921-2828 Estateauctionco.com
CINDY CURTIS
Advertise here for
$550 a year
And Company Jazz For All Occasions
♪ Jazz vocalist working as duo with guitarist, keyboards ♪
♪ Trio and quartet also available ♪ ♪ WE CAN MAKE YOUR SPECIAL AFFAIR ONE TO REMEMBER ♪ NO TRACKS OR TAPES - LIVE JAZZ!!!!!!!!!!! ♪ REASONABLE RATES
CALL CINDY: 954-298-8158
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retail ESTATE AUCTION CO. 6 South Federal Hwy, Dania Beach, FL 33304 954-921-2828 Estateauctionco.com
realty
HENRI FRANK GROUP 401 E Las Olas Blvd, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301 954.604.9999 Henrifrank.com
travel / leisure
AQUAFEST CRUISES A Division of CruiseCenter © 800-592-9058 Aquafestcruises.com
theaters FT LAUDERDALE GAY MEN'S CHORUS PO Box 9772, Ft Lauderdale, FL 33310-9772 954-832-0060 www.theftlgmc.org ANDREWS LIVING ARTS STUDIO 23 NW 5th St, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301 954.530.1879 Classcreations.com KRAVIS CENTER 701 Okeechobee Blvd, West Palm Beach, FL (561) 832-7469 Kravis.org
theaters
S ADRIENNE ARSHT CENTER 1300 Biscayne Blvd, Miami, FL 33132 305.949.6722 Arshtcenter.org
GAY MEN’S CHORUS OF SOUTH FLORIDA PO Box 39617, Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33339 954-763-2266 Gaymenschorusofsouthflorida.org
veterinarian
DR. PIERRE B. BLAND, DVM 1 3225 N. Andrews Avenue, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
954-673-8579 ce Doctorblandvet.com
FAST A/C REPAIRS •MOTORS • CAPACITORS • CONTACTORS • FREON • REPAIRS
A/C COIL
$149.95 CLEANING SPECIAL
954-392-1301 WWW.FREONFIX.COM
A&H A/C Inc • CACO 57837 Licensed & Insured • 35 Years Experience
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65
SFGN Classified$ attorney
employment - full time
home & garden
MATURE OFFICE ASSISTANT WANTED Looking for a mature male or female to work in a small auto parts office in Oakland Park area. Bookkeeping skills necessary and must be able to work basic computer programs. 40 hrs./wk. starting pay $11/hr with potential for increase. Email resume to greg@me807.com
POOL SERVICE
STYLIST/EAST FORT LAUDERDALE Independent Stylist Wanted. Salon established 20 years seeks experienced stylist or station rental. Salon 151 is on Facebook. Confidential inquiries contact Alan 954-234-5770 /text salon151@msn. com
some restrictions apply
Mention this ad and receive your first month
FREE!
help wanted - full time
home & garden cleaning services
counselor MASTER HYPNOTHERAPIST AND LIFE COACH ADDICTIONS • SMOKING • WEIGHT LOSS • INSOMNIA • STRESS REDUCTION • ROAD RAGE • ANGER MANAGEMENT • PAST LIFE ANALYSIS • RELATIONSHIP COACHING
To place a Classified Ad, call Cindy Curtis at 954.530.4970 or email at cindy.curtis@sfgn.com
CLEAN IT RIGHT! - The best cleaning for your buck. 1BD $60, 2BD $70, 3BD $80 and up. Excellent rates & references. 10 years in business. Serving Broward, North Miami-Dade & S. Palm Beach. Call Manny 954-560-4443.
Serving Broward Since 1999
Call for a free estimate: 954-367-7007 Web: www.skimmerspools.com Email: skimmerspoolservice@gmail.com
classified advertising works!
licensed massage INCREDIBLY AWESOME BODYWORK IN WPB In-calls at a private studio 15 minutes west of PBIA. Intuitive, experienced licensed massage therapist offers affordable rates 7 days, early to late. ASK ABOUT WEEKLY SPECIALS!Calls only 561-2548065 for the very best massage experience you can get HANDS DOWN! #MA51008 AFFORDABLE AWESOME MASSAGE BY JIM Offering Swedish, Deep Tissue, Sports and LomiLomi Massage for Men; in a very comfortable, relaxed and Private Massage Studio, NOW conveniently located in Wilton Manors on NE 26th Street, with plenty of free parking. Same Day appointments are welcome; please call Jim, 954-600-5843 email: info@ massagebyjim.com or visit my website for testimonials, rates and more. GREAT OPENING SPECIAL NOW AVAILABLE! www.massagebyjim.com Licensed and Certified MM22293
music lessons
WANT TO LEARN HOW TO PLAY THE PIANO? - Learn from an experienced teacher. All levels and ages welcome. Learn to play classical, popular, jazz, or, show tunes. Visit www.edwinchad.com or call 954-826-9555 for more information.
Place an ad in SFGN’s Classifieds
954.530.4970
Place an ad in SFGN’s Classifieds
home health
954.530.4970 piano lessons
Coach Bill For Life
WWW.COACHBILLFORLIFE.COM
home and garden painting
954.641.8315
entertainment/dj's
GREGG'S PAINTING - Interior/exterior,great rates, friendliness, reliability, neatness. No job too small. Call Gregg at 617-306-5694 or 954-8705972.
LIVE JAZZ FOR YOUR NEXT PARTY OR SPECIAL EVENT - Have your next special occassion be extra special with live jazz. Jazz vocalist with over 30 years experience performing in South Florida.No tapes or tracks.I work with South Florida's finest jazz musicians to make your special affair one to remember. Reasonable rates. Call Cindy at 954-298-8158 www.myspace.com/cindycurtisandcompany.
WANT TO LEARN HOW TO PLAY THE PIANO? Learn from an experienced teacher. All levels and ages welcome. Learn to play classical, popular, jazz, or show tunes. Visit www.edwinchad. com or call 954-826-9555 for more information.
pets/supplies
SFGN.com licensed massage
LIVE JAZZ FOR YOUR NEXT PARTY OR SPECIAL EVENT - Have your next special occasion be extra special with live jazz. Jazz vocalist with over 30 years experience performing in South Florida. Can work as a duo, trio or more. No tapes or tracks. I work with South Florida's finest jazz musicians to make your special affair one to remember. Reasonable rates. Call Cindy at 954-298-8158 www.myspace.com/ cindycurtisandcompany
electrician roommates oakland park
HARRY’S ELECTRIC RESIDENTIAL & COMMERCIAL - Additions, renovations, service upgrades, breaker panels,FPL undergrounds, code violations, A/C wiring, ceiling fans, recessed, security & landscaping, lighting, pools, pumps, Jacuzzis, water heaters, FREE PHONE ESTIMATES 954-522-3357 Lic & Ins. www. harryelectrician.com
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GAY FEMALE ROOMMATE WANTED - One bedroom in house; full use of kitchen;furnished or unfurnished.Elec and water included; $450/ month;W.Manors/Oak.Park area;1st and last;call Natalie at 954-261-9867 or Claudette at 786-4735847 soflagaynews //
SouthFloridaGayNews
professional services other PROVEN METHOD TO INCREASE YOUR FANTASY 5 LOTTO WINNINGS - Let us help you increase your odds several times for winning some money in the Florida Fantasy 5 Lottery. Our analysis can help you win. Limited memberships available. Check out our website at www.lotteryhelpersclub. com.
rentals
MIKE THE RENTAL GUY NE Lauderdale/Wilton Manors/Oakland/Victoria Park-1/1 from $885 2/1 from $1090. Credit & Income Requirements-Pets okay with restrictions. Call for Details Mike 561703-5533
real estate agents
FLORIDA'S TOP GAY REALTORS - Instant FREE Access to Florida and the Nation's Top Gay Realtors. Free Buyers Representation! On-line: www.GayRealEstate.com or Toll Free 1-888-420MOVE (6683)
rentals wilton manors
MANOR GROVE 1BD/1BA - First floor unit, near pool and clubhouse, laundry facilities on same floor, one assigned parking spot, no pets, no smoking. $950/month. First, last, and security. Background and credit check. Call iHome Florida Real Estate 954-627-1222 ext. 901 RIVER MANORS 2BD/2BA - Walk to Wilton Drive. Impact windows and doors, balcony, tiled floors in living area, carpet in bedrooms. Unit has been freshly painted and cleaned. No Pets. Ready for occupancy. $1,400/month. First, Last, & Security. Credit/Background check required with $150 application fee. Call iHome Florida Real Estate 954-627-1222 ext. 901.
rentals oakland park
ROYAL PARK CONDOS 2BD/2BA - One of the best in Royal Park. Top floor, corner unit. Beautifully decorated for modern living. This unit is being rented furnished or unfurnished. Just relax on your screened in porch, enjoy the treetop and canal views. New A/C, new stainless steel applicances, new disposal, both bedrooms feature walk in closets and bathroom. Pool, clubhouse, gym, and sauna. Pet friendly for one smaller dog up to 20lbs. $1,150/Month unfurnished or $1,400/ Month furnished. First, Last, & Security. Credit/ Background check required with $100 application fee. Call iHome Florida Real Estate 954-627-1222 ext. 901.
classified advertising works! Place an ad in SFGN’s Classifieds
954.530.4970
real estate for sale WILTON MANORS 3BD/2BA - Tastefully updated Wilton Manors split bedroom home on a huge lot with plenty of room for a pool. Home will have a brand new insulated roof. Home features new kitchen cabinets, tile back splash, and center island. New A/C with UV filter system, New irrigation system, updated electrical. Roof to be completed before close. Seller offers $2,000 credit for stone counter tops. Just reduced, priced to sell! $350,000.00 Call iHome Florida Real Estate 954627-1222 ext. 901. OAKLAND PARK 3BD/2BA - North Andrews Gardens. Remodeled with carport, private fenced in pool. Interior features beautiful hardwood floors, brand new kitchen with granite counter tops, new stainless steel appliances, and updated bathroom. Offered at $259,900. Call iHome Florida Real Estate 954-627-1222 ext. 901. VICTORIA PARK 1 BR/1 BA - Beautiful updated 1 BR/1 BA with private fenced patio;small complex; gorgeous open beamed ceilings;tile floor; next to Holiday Park tennis courts;W/D; small dog ok; $925/ month; 954-729-1936. 2 BR 2 BA REMODELED CONDO - Tile floors, kitchen has granite, stainless upgraded appliances, & cherry cabinets. Amenities include: secure building; elevator; laundry rooms; pool,clubhouse and ample parking. In Wilton Manors, near shopping, restaurants and nightlife. Condo financials good with fully funded reserves. Price $190k. Call 318-461-1634.
rentals fort lauderdale
VICTORIA PARK STUDIO APT. - Renovated, Near Beach, A/C, Heater, Garden Entrance, Shared W/D, Quiet 5 unit bldg, safe area. All Utilities Paid, Available August 1. $650/month. Call 954-763-3222. EAST OAKLAND PARK 2BD/1 BA HOUSE CLOSE TO WILTON MANORS - Private yard/ pool/laundry room. New kitchen,DW/disp,Central A/C, GM renter(s)Cable T.V./internet split;Electric extra.water,yardcare incl.$1300.1st, l/last/security. security negotiable. Call 954-993-8830.
rentals furnished housing
*PERFECT LOCATION RENTALS* 4 WEEK + SPECIAL FROM $395/WEEK - Intimate 7 unit Liberty Garden Suites offering all the comforts of home. Beautifully Furnished & Full Equipped Studio & One BR Apts. with Full Kitchens, in lush tropical resort setting. 5 Min south of Airport in Dania Beach. Central to Haulover Nude Beach & Wilton Manors. Incl. WI-Fi, laundry, private parking, utilities, cable, tel. Gay Owned & Operated. Longer term Monthly rates available for 3 months + Stays. Pets Always Welcome. Celebrating Our 18th Year. Call Joe or Jack at 954-927-0090 or visit www.LibertySuites.com
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