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GAY SAN DIEGO


July 30-August 12, 2010


EDITORIAL


www.gay-sd.com GAY SAN


DIEGO


3737 Fifth Ave. Suite 201 San Diego, CA 92103 (619) 519-7775


Letters to the EDITOR


“A splash of color livens up any day! It would also broaden your publication’s appeal.”


Faith in Pride Following months of upheaval at San LGBT Diego


Pride, the organization’s staff and board of directors managed to produce a wildly successful parade and festival—a feat many in the community believed the organization might not accomplish, due to lost time and the absence of an executive director. Pride’s current, abruptly-appointed board,


including co-chairs Judi Schaim and Larry Ramey, Treasurer Joe Mayer, Secretary Debra McEntee and at-large members Jeri Dilno, Bob Leyh, Suanne Pauley, Chris Shaw and Andrea Villa, should be commended for taking time from their lives and careers to help produce this year’s event and repair both real and perceived damage to their ailing alma mater. They deserve the community’s gratitude, as well as some patience and faith in their ability to steer the organization to calmer waters. Though some tough questions remain unan-


swered—why Pride’s former board felt it prudent to purchase a building during an economic downturn, when Pride will hire another executive director


ment and a valuable community asset. According to Vern Lowe, Pride’s operations and accounting coordinator, the $4,000 monthly mortgage on the space is mitigated by $1,500 it collects in monthly rent between two tenants, BlackEye Studio and 30th Street Café. Lowe said the space—currently a jumbled repository of Pride’s belongings—could be organized to facilitate renting out additional sections of the building, further easing Pride’s overhead. Whether Pride owns or rents a space, the strug-


and what the organization’s focus will be moving forward—with this year’s event out of the way, Pride’s leadership is free to prepare for its strategic planning meeting and retreat in October. During the retreat, Pride will work closely with Nonprofit Management Solutions, a firm that specializes in advising nonprofit organizations on how to be more efficient and impactful. In addition, San Diego Pride’s leadership will


examine trends at Pride organizations around the globe during the annual InterPride conference, Oct. 21-24 in Long Beach. Another town hall meeting will be announced shortly, during which Pride will once again weigh feedback from the community. Between now and November, we trust Pride to


grapple with its problems and come up with a cohe- sive vision for the organization’s future. In the long run, Pride must weigh the pros and


cons of the 4,380-square-foot building—and the resulting debt—it inherited from its previous board of directors. The $1,030,000 purchase and $200,000 down payment (obtained through Pride’s reserves and the sale of some of its investments) struck many in the community as extravagant and unnec- essary for an organization that produces one annual event. Though procuring a permanent site had been discussed for many years, prudence usually pre- vailed and the idea was summarily rejected, Board Co-chair Judi Schaim said. “The space doesn’t really lend itself to doing a


lot; it’s beautiful, but isn’t very usable,” Schaim said. Whether or not everyone agrees with Schaim’s


assessment, her candor and the board’s commit- ment to transparency is a encouraging. Should it be shown that Pride’s prior leadership erred in


zation can be everything to everyone, and not all may agree with some of the ideas that have been floated for Pride’s future, including the possibility of producing a series of smaller events throughout the year—a “Pride 365” model—or perhaps Pride putting its energy into fundraising, to further its tradition of giving back to people and organizations in need. We look forward to the return of Pride’s Equality


Torch Relay, which coincides with National Coming Out Day in October, just as we do the release of the organization’s 2009 financial report, a recap of its retreat and the announcement of an official search for a new executive director, the qualifications for which are being tailored to fit Pride’s revised focus and mission. Until that time, we encourage the community to


give Pride’s leadership the breathing room it needs to do its work.☭


gles and triumphs that LGBT people face will contin- ue to command a de facto holiday in which to let off steam and reflect on our community’s progress for years to come. San Diego Pride has faced financial and organizational troubles in the past—as have many LGBT organizations—yet remains among the world’s best-produced and well-attended Prides. In a community as diverse as ours, no organi-


purchasing the building, the option to sell is not off the table, Schaim said, once the real estate market has recovered. The building still could prove to be a wise invest-


Dear Editor, I’m a lesbian woman of


color residing in San Diego. I’ve been in here for almost 15 years and over that time it has been blatantly apparent that there are very few outlets for people of color in San Diego’s gay community. Looking over your magazine and site and others like it, one would think that the only gay people here are white (or not people of color). I know some [groups] like SoulKiss Events and She Productions have chosen to take the matter into their own hands and create their own outlets, but even they say they get no support from the local community as a whole. Even FlawLes, that is supposed to represent lesbian women, seems to only cater to a certain non-color crowd. It would be great to see organizations and publications like yours, that are distributed on a larger scale, show a true representation of the diversity within San Diego’s gay community. A splash of col- or livens up any day! It would also broaden your publication’s appeal. Just my two cents.


Natalie Dain, North Park.


“San Diego LGBT Pride [has] a bal- anced board of directors that is responsive to the community’s concerns.”


Dear Editor, I would like to thank and


praise San Diego LGBT Pride for organizing a successful rally, parade, and festival this year. The events energized the community, united people in the fight for equality, and inspired a new generation to be “out” and proud. San Diego LGBT Pride has


a balanced board of direc- tors that is responsive to the community›s concerns and is financially accountable and transparent in its management. I applaud all your hard work. The organization has done


an outstanding job over the last several months and today de- serves to be recognized for its excellent work. Congratulations on a job well done.


Senator Christine Kehoe


PUBLISHER David Mannis


(619) 519-7775 x101 dmannis@sduptownnews.com


SENIOR EDITOR Christy Scannell


(619) 519-7775 x103


christy@sduptownnews.com EDITOR


Pat Sherman


(619) 519-7775 x102 pat@sduptownnews.com


PUBLICATIONS ASSISTANT Jessica Hudgins


(619) 519-7775 x110 jessica@sduptownnews.com


CONTRIBUTORS Marci Bair Geof Bartell Rick Braatz Max Disposti


Terese Farmen David Harvey Candye Kane Cuauhtémoc Kish Kevin Leap Fawn Lofton


Michele Lowenstein Tom Luhnow Scott Marks Margie Palmer Leslie Robinson Frank Sabatini Jr. Earl Storm


Mike Zarraonandia


DIRECTOR OF SALES & MARKETING Mike Rosensteel


(619) 519-7775 x108 miker@sduptownnews.com


SENIOR ADVERTISING CONSULTANT Sean Eshelman


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ADVERTISING CONSULTANTS Miriam Goldberg (619) 519-7775 x104 miriam@sduptownnews.com


Thomas Gochenour (619) 519-7775 x106 thomas@sduptownnews.com


Brian Randles


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ART DIRECTOR Louis Guzman


(619) 519-7775 x111 louis@sduptownnews.com


PRODUCTION ASSISTANT Becah Corbin


(619) 519-7775 x111 becahuptown@gmail.com


PHOTOGRAPHER Paul Body


ACCOUNTING


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OPINIONS/LETTERS


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