Have you been to CAMP lately? That’s a
question I love asking these days because every day on our CAMP
construction site is an adventure as far as I’m concerned. With the new
CAMP Rehoboth Community Center Phase II construction well under way, every
day dawns with a sense of wonder and expectation. The whole project has
taken years to create and required the contributions of hundreds of people
to make it a reality. Every contribution—in time, talent, and
money—has counted, and still does, believe me. No construction site is
without its little inconveniences, of course, so we apologize to all the
other Baltimore Avenue businesses and to all our RB visitors for the
mess-in-progress. One day I did overhear, someone in our office who shall
remain nameless exclaim, “But it’s a gay construction site, don’t
they know it has to be swept every day!” Our apologies especially go out
to Alex Yearley whose Community Pride Financial office location in the
rear corner of the CAMP Rehoboth courtyard is not an easy place to be
these days. Thanks Alex for your continued patience and generous spirit.
For political junkies like me this year has
been a banquet. Most exciting of all, is that so many young people have
been energized about the political process. Murray and I were in Costa
Rica a couple of weeks ago and while on a gay sailboat excursion one
afternoon we met a young German couple. They didn’t speak any English;
we didn’t speak any German, but all of sudden I saw Murray and the
German guys speaking very excitedly about “Obama” and “Hillary.”
The whole world is watching American politics—and our politics start at
home. On March 11-13 and March 18-20, the ACLU-DE LGBT Rights Project will
hold their 2008 Lobby Days at Legislative Hall in Dover. Don’t be
intimidated by lack of experience. All anyone has to do is show up in
Legislative Hall’s basement cafeteria at 1:30 p.m. on any of the Lobby
Days, and one of the day’s leaders—including myself—will be on hand
to give instructions (including an overview, taking points, and copies of
the bills). Just look for the people wearing rainbow ribbons. Though
advance registration is not required, you can do so by contacting Kim
Siegel at kim_siegel30@yahoo.com.
Since the turn-of-the-century—which
isn’t, if you think about it, quite as long ago as it sounds—one of
the best events offered by CAMP Rehoboth has been our annual Women’s
Weekend. This year, celebrating its eighth year, the 2008 CAMP Rehoboth
Women’s Weekend is bound to be another hit, so whether it’s the
conference, the concerts, the golf or any of its other activities or
events, register early as many of them quickly sell-out. Conference
brochures will be available in mid-March (on-line as well), or by filling
out the form on page 21 of this issue. Conference events include: Friday,
April 11—Golf Outing, Bike Ride on the Junction and Breakwater Trail,
and Michelle Balan in concert at Convention Center; April 12—8th Annual
CAMP Rehoboth Women’s Conference with Logo (the GLBT TV network)
Executive Vice President and General Manager Lisa Sherman as keynote
speaker, and that night, the Lisa Koch Concert at the RB Convention
Center. April 13—the weekend concludes with Sunday Brunch at Dish!
Epworth United Methodist Church on
Baltimore Avenue has played an important role in the life of CAMP Rehoboth
since its first days back in the early 1990s. Many of our organizational
meetings, conferences and workshops have taken place at Epworth and
continue to do so even today. Though many of us expressed concerns in
recent years that the Epworth move might cut off those ties, the truth is
that we are two organizations growing more tightly together along a
parallel path. We are two organizations whose commitment to diversity
cannot keep us apart. When Epworth finally makes the big move in the week
after Easter 2008, CAMP Rehoboth will still be by its side, perhaps not
quite so literally, but very much so in heart and mind and spirit.
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