World War I and World War II in the first act of the program. The second act pays tribute to the military personnel of Vietnam, Desert Storm and the current conflict in Iraq. We have taken songs from the Broadway stage, radio and the repertoire of American military music to piece together a program that, we believe, will provide an evening of high quality, entertaining performances that, in one way or another, say thank you to those who serve this country in battle. SAVE to honor founders at Wednesday, May 7, reception & silent auction
News release:
15th Anniversary Celebration
2008 Awards Reception & Silent Auction
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
ICON Brickell
501 Brickell Avenue
(305) 371-1411
Please join us in celebration of SAVE's 15th Anniversary and to honor The City of North Miami Mayor and Commissioners who have been leaders in diversity and sensitivity in the workplace. The City of North Miami has provided domestic partner benefits to all city employees regardless of gender and sexual orientation, unanimously adopted a procurement ordinance requiring contractors wishing to do business with the City to provide equal health benefits to domestic partners in their companies. Their actions exemplify outstanding leadership and have established the City of North Miami in the forefront as a champion of equality.
Kevin Burns, Mayor
Mike Blynn, Commissioner
Jacques Despinosse, Commissioner
Scott Galvin, Commissioner
Marie Steril, Commissioner
The mission of SAVE is to advocate for
the equal rights for persons of all sexual
orientations and gender identities.
Established 1993
FOUNDERS
Fifteen years ago the founders of SAVE set forth on a remarkable journey to establish SAVE. The legacy of these individuals will be honored:
Claralina Almenteros
Jorge Mursuli
Fran Bohnsack, Co-Chair
Damian Pardo, Co-Chair
Juan Carlos Espinosa
Heidi Pred
Richard Gonzalez
Clark Reynolds
Joyce Harrington
Joan Schaeffer
Lorenzo Lebrija
Steve Shafor
Ignacio Martinez-Ybor
Yvette Torres
Honorary Host Committee
Commissioner Bruno A. Barreiro
Former Mayor Raul Martinez
Mayor Manny Diaz
Jeff Morr
Commissioner Audrey Edmonson
Peter W. Roulhac
Mayor Horace G. Feliu
Commissioner Marc David Sarnoff
Commissioner Carlos Gimenez
Ruth Shack
Commissioner Saul Gross
Commissioner Katy Sorenson
Mayor Matti Herrera Bower
Commissioner Richard Steinberg
Commissioner Sally A. Heyman
Commissioner Deede Weithorn
David Lawrence
Councilman André Williams
Daniella Levine
Commissioner Randy Wiscombe
Commissioner Jerry Libbin
Commissioner Jonah Wolfson
Host Committee
Steve Adkins & Diego Goncalves
Juan & Ken Ahonen-Jover
Ron Ansin and Jim Stork
Alicia Apfel
Alberto Arias & Wood Kinnard
Chip Arndt
Kirk Arthur
Greg Baldwin & José Castro
Billy Bean
Felix Becerra
Vanessa Brito & Lynn Bove
Cindy Brown
Harvey Burstein
Jerry Chasen & Mark Kirby
Bob Cole
Carol Coombes & Raquel Berman
Xavier Cortada & JC Espinosa
David da Silva
Cornell Julia Dawson
R. Andrew dePass & William J. Jurberg
Edison Farrow & Nestor Paz
Liebe & Seth Gadinsky
Joe Garcia
Larry Harmon
Sharon Kersten
Steven Leidner, DVM
Rebecca Mandelman
John Messer & Stephen Peck
Richard Milstein & Eric Hankin
Yesi & Veronica
Olivera-Leon
Eddie Padilla
John Ratliff
Javier Reynaldos
Elizabeth Schwartz
Robin Schwartz
Mark Scott
Richard Sherman
Mark Steinberg & Dennis Edwards
Annette Taddeo
Mark A. Trowbridge
Ellen Wedner
Rosemary Wilder & Karen Costello
Trae Williamson & Red Carter
David Young
Marketplace: Gay bars adjusting to a new reality
From Marketplace:
Fortune Magazine's recent list of 10 businesses facing extinction includes record stores, crop dusting, telemarketing and . . . gay bars? That one caught our eye because gay business in general is booming. Stacey Vanek-Smith checked it out.
Listen to this Story or download the MP3
TEXT OF STORY
KAI RYSSDAL: At this point in the recession, or slowdown, or whatever you want to call it, you're probably familiar with the term "business cycle." Business and businesses have life cycles just like everything else. Demand creates new opportunities, and then when that demand dries up businesses die.
Every year, Fortune Magazine releases a list of 10 businesses it thinks are facing extinction. Some of this year's casualties? Record stores, crop dusting and telemarketing. Oh, and gay bars, too. That one caught our eye because gay business in general is booming.
Stacey Vanek Smith has more.
STACEY VANEK-SMITH: It's a busy weekend night at a gay bar in Los Angeles. . .
Actor Jason Dottley says gay bars don't just cater to a gay clientele anymore. The scene has become a lot more mixed.
Jason Dottley: It's an indication of open-mindedness. I think it's a sign of progress.
But that progress has a left some older gay bars sounding like this . . . [sound of ocean waves crashing].
The Boom Boom Room opened in Laguna Beach in 1947. It used to be a favorite hangout of Rock Hudson's. But today the windows of the white, art-deco facade are papered over.
Fred Karger started coming here in 1973.
Fred Karger: It's a magical place. It had a little, kind of loungey bar, and it had pool tables. They'd have this wonderful cabaret show on Wednesday nights.
The new owner plans to tear down the Boom Boom Room and build a luxury hotel.
Gay bars all over the country have met similar fates: New York's Roxy, The Avalon in Boston, The Pendulum in San Francisco. But here's the weird thing: Gay business is booming. Gay spending power in the U.S. is worth an estimated $750 billion.
So why are gay bars having so much trouble? Marketing expert Jerry McHugh says part of it is generational.
Jerry McHugh: Generation X people and Generation Y people are less concerned about gay-exclusive socialization, and they're more interested in a more-diverse environment.
McHugh says for gay boomers, bars used to function like community centers.
McHugh: When I came out it was the early 90s, and it was really helpful to go to these places.
Boston Globe writer Robert David Sullivan says a few years ago he noticed the number of gay bars in Boston had been cut in half. He says it was strange because they had been such a cornerstone of the gay social scene.
Robert David Sullivan: It was sort of structured that you could meet people that way, and you could say things and not censor yourself.
Sullivan says today young, gay men and women use the Internet, not bars, to meet people. And the older generation has graduated from late-night bar hopping to a mellow meal out.
Of course, a lot of gay bars aren't disappearing, they're just becoming more mixed. Take The Abbey in West Hollywood. It's an institution on L.A.'s gay scene. But on a weekday afternoon, there are as many straight neighborhood families as there are single gay men. Owner David Cooley says the gay-bar business model worked 10 years ago, but not anymore.
David Cooley: If you would say to me, "David, let's open up a gay bar." I wouldn't be investing.
Cooley is investing in gay-friendly bars. He's opening an Abbey in Chicago and plans to expand to other cities. He says all of the spots will be mixed -- that's where the future is.
Cooley: Once in a while, I'll get a customer say: "The Abbey's becoming so straight." And my response is: "Isn't that wonderful? Isn't that what we've been working for all these years?"
Bar owners George Butler and Randall Lambright disagree. They own the Savoy Orlando and Paradise Orlando in Florida. Butler says a mixed scene might work in places like New York and San Francisco, but in most of the country, the need for gay bars still exists.
GEORGE BUTLER: I don't think we're quite at the point where the gay clientele is comfortable sitting in a chain restaurant or bar where they can still hold hands or kiss.
Co-owner Randall Lambright says many of the older gay bars have closed because they just don't meet the high standards of gay customers anymore.
Randall Lambright: I can remember when gay bars were basically back-alley -- dark and not very inviting. And I think the clubs that are around are definitely more upscale.
Lambright says if the quality's there, the market for gay bars is still strong. He says the demand for exclusively gay spots hasn't gone away, it's just evolved.
In Los Angeles, I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith for Marketplace.
Fleet Week Tea Cruise on Sunday, May 4
News release:
Fleet Week "Tea Cruise" this Sunday, May 4th! The ships are in and the boys are out. Tickets on line at www.GayTeaCruise.com
Thanks to our new beer sponsor Presidente & Presidente Lite available in the Ft Lauderdale area.
Upcoming 'Heaven' events: Saturday, May 3, Gender Bender
From Julie G:
SATURDAY MAY 3rd...GENDER BENDER...SHE’S THE MAN!!!!!
HEAVEN...
THE CUTTING EDGE PARTY FOR WOMEN WHO LOVE WOMENA FUN FILLED NIGHT FOR DIVAS , DYKES, KINGS,QUEENS AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN!!!
SPECIAL PERFORMANCE ...RICO SUAVE & OUR HEAVENLY GO GO GIRLS!!!
DJ KAPRAH spinning HOUSE. HIP HOP. SALSA. RETRO AND ROCK
DOORS OPEN @ 10PM
18 AND UP (PROPER ID)DRINK SPECIALS ALL NIGHT
241 10PM - MIDNIGHT
$3 BUDS ALL NIGHT
$3 MINDBENDER JELLO SHOTS
1000 STATE ROAD 84, FORT LAUDERDALE
PLENTY OF FREE PARKING ON SITE.
PLEASE FEEL FREE TO CONTACT FOR SPECIAL PARTIES.
STAY TUNED FOR THE GRAND OPENING OF THE OUTDOOR PATIO...MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND...
SAT. MAY 24TH... AMERICAN WOMAN !!! *SPONSORED BY BOCA TANNING CLUB SOUTH FLORIDA'S ONLY 24 HOUR, ALL SUPER BED SALON, WITH 30 LOCATIONS FROM CORAL GABLES TO PORT ST. LUCIE..
WWW. BOCATANNING.COMPRIDE AFTER PARTY!!!
LOUD AND PROUD... SATURDAY JUNE 21ST
WOMEN'S PRIDE AFTER PARTY !!!
Leisha Hailey is the new face of Olivia
‘The L Word’ Star and Olivia Partnership Reaches a New and Broader Lesbian Community
News release:
SAN FRANCISCO -- Leisha Hailey, LGBT icon, cast member of Showtime’s “The L Word” and member of successful rock duo Uh Huh Her, strikes a new chord within the lesbian community as the new spokesperson for Olivia, the leading lesbian travel and entertainment company.
Hailey has signed a multi-faceted contract to be featured as the new face of Olivia in print advertisements, commercials and online media to begin this year. Olivia will also feature Hailey in some of its vacation and entertainment packages.
“Leisha is deservedly the out ‘it girl’ today and appeals to a broad spectrum of women, especially those in the lesbian community. It was important to us to work with an individual who reinforces Olivia’s entertainment value as well as being hip, fun and approachable,” said Olivia General Manager Lisa Henderson. “Leisha will appear both as a personality and musician on select Olivia trips. This relationship reinforces Olivia’s expanded image and reach in the community.”
As a lead cast member in the widely popular Showtime drama, Hailey became an icon for the diverse lesbian community. Olivia’s partnership with Hailey will reach a new generation of women throughout the country who have identified with the actress and musician. This new relationship introduces a younger audience to the most trusted travel and entertainment brand for lesbians, Olivia.
This announcement is made at a time when Olivia is furthering its efforts to broaden its traditional reach to include first-time Olivia travelers. The company signed a multi-year marketing deal with Logo-TV, including sponsorship of “The L Word” airings, and launched Olivia Flings™, a series of three- and four-night travel and entertainment packages. The Flings will kick off over Labor Day weekend in Seattle.
“I am excited to be part of the Olivia family and to have the opportunity to introduce Olivia to women who may not be familiar with the entertainment or travel aspect of Olivia” said Hailey. “I am thrilled at the opportunity to play a role in the expansion and growth of Olivia.”
Hailey and the “The L Word” cast will celebrate the show’s sixth and final season, premiering in early January 2009.
Wayne Besen: Between the Wild Party and the Wedding Party
When I first came out in 1988, if two young gay people met, the reaction often was, "You too! I thought I was alone." As my twenty-year high school reunion approaches, I witnessed an identical response in a seminal New York Times Magazine cover story. At a coffee shop in Boston, two gay men, Aaron and George, met for the first time.
"I thought I was the only one." "Me too!" they exclaimed.
What differed was that these two young men were relieved to meet because they were legally divorced and had not met peers who had experienced similar situations. While we have a long journey towards full equality ahead of us, it is a dramatically different world than the one I came out in.
In fact, more than 700 gay men 29 or younger have married in Massachusetts through last June, the latest date for which statistics are available. While Massachusetts is still the only state that allows same-sex marriages, gay men who are my age, 37, never dreamt these unions would occur in our lifetime.
Indeed, much of our social culture was built around men cheating on their wives. The rest stops, parks and bathhouses were all geared toward the "quickie." If a gay man did not get home in time for dinner with his family, he'd find that his goose was cooked. The double lives and hypocrisy forced on gay men by a repressive society took an awesome psychological toll.
The gay bars in the 1970s-90's were geared for men in their 30's-50's who were often living a belated adolescence. Anyone who has seen a half-naked 50-year-old man at a circuit dance party twirling a glow stick with a pacifier in his mouth knows what I am talking about.
I sometimes hardly recognize the gay community's social scene. When I first came out, many gay bars had a back room, which was a dark crevice where men furtively had sex. Today, a dark room likely means a gay couples' row house den with mood lighting. Contemporary gay bars have largely gone from seedy to chic and - for better or worse - often attracting many straight people.
An older friend of mine who visited Boston half-jokingly complained, "There's something morally wrong with a city where it's easier to marry a boyfriend than find a gay bar."
His observation was spot on. Boston Globe writer Robert David Sullivan told National Public Radio this week that he noticed the number of gay bars in Boston had been cut in half in recent years.
Massachusetts is not the only place the gay social scene has been transformed. Fortune Magazine named gay bars as one of the 10 businesses it thinks is facing extinction. It joined a list of has-beens that includes record stores and crop dusting. Additionally, overt street cruising is out of fashion and demure glances have largely replaced outright ogling.
The decline in the public sex culture and gay bars can be attributed, in part, to the rise of the Internet. However, a larger trend, captured by the Times magazine article, is at work. A good portion of men in their mid 20's have been out of the closet for more than a decade. (They were barely in) Having had a normal adolescence, they are already burnt out on gay bars and ready to start families.
A couple of weeks ago, I visited Washington and met up with the friends I used to party with in the mid to late 90's. Today, they are all in long-term relationships and in bed by the time they used to wake up from their disco naps.
The changes in the gay social scene have happened so fast that they are sometimes difficult to comprehend. It's as if someone slipped a roofie into the GLBT community's mimosa and while we slept Rudy Giuliani swooped down in drag and cleaned up our Times Square.
Sometimes, I fondly reminisce about the good old days. Then, I recall that that the endless party was a product of our oppression. The storied "days" were actually really late nights - and as I get older, I want to be up on Sunday morning in time to watch "Meet the Press."
Caught between the wild party and wedding party generations, the rapid pace of change can seem unsettling, yet reassuring.
"Am I the only one who feels this way?"
"You, too! Thank, God."
