LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth |
The Way I See It |
| by Steve Elkins, Editor |
| 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 contributionin time, talent, and moneyhas 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 politicsand 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 leadersincluding myselfwill 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-centurywhich isn't, if you think about it, quite as long ago as it soundsone 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 11Golf Outing, Bike Ride on the Junction and Breakwater Trail, and Michelle Balan in concert at Convention Center; April 128th 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 13the 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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LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth, Vol. 18, No. 02 March 78, 2008 |