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July
Meeting: 'Without Sanctuary: Photographs and Postcards of Lynching
in America'
AEN
will hold its next meeting on Thursday, July 18, at the Martin
Luther King Historic Site, where the gripping photo exhibit, "Without
Sanctuary: Lynching Photography in America" is on display. The
exhibit is a graphic collection of lynching photos that has drawn
large audiences in New York, Pittsburgh, and now Atlanta. So far,
over 50,000 visitors have seen the exhibit at the MLK Historic
Site.
The
meeting, which includes free admission to the exhibit, and refreshments,
is part of AEN's diversity initiative, and is being held in association
with the Human
Rights Campaign, Black
and White Men Together, In
the Life Atlanta, and Emory
University.
The
meeting will begin on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. with a private viewing
of the photographs, followed at 7:30 p.m. by a discussion of its
impact, which will be led by the co-collector of the exhibit,
James Allen.
The
Martin Luther King Historic
Site is located on Auburn Avenue. For directions to the site
and parking information, please visit our Web site at http://www.aen.org.
Web
site: 'Without
Sanctuary'
AJC.com: Exhibit
Confronts South's ugly past
Directions:
MLK Historic
Site
Power
of Pride on Display at June AEN Meeting
 In
anticipation of one of Atlanta's largest Pride celebrations ever,
AEN welcomed the executive director of Atlanta
Pride, Donna Narducci, and the co-president of InterPride,
Glen-Paul Freedman to speak at the June meeting.
Freedman
leads the group InterPride, which provides assistance to organizers
of Pride events worldwide. He broke down the 17 million Pride
participants worldwide -- 10 million in North America, four million
in Europe, and the remainder in various Pride gatherings on other
continents.
InterPride
provides guidance to the large events, such as the international
World Pride event held in Rome in 2000, as well as smaller Pride
celebrations in Georgia and elsewhere. As Freedman explained,
many fledgling Pride celebrations need help with logistical matters
such as navigating the permitting process, securing event insurance
and soliciting speakers.
Narducci,
the director of Atlanta's Gay Pride Festival, has held this position
since 1993. She enthusiastically told the crowd that Atlanta's
Pride has exploded in size in the past few years. While the earliest
Pride gatherings numbered in the hundreds, the current three-day
event includes hundreds of thousands of participants. With over
200 booths at Piedmont Park, it is one of Atlanta's largest annual
events.
A
decade ago, the budget for Pride was approximately $150,000, and
as a point of comparison, today the budget for Pride logistics
alone is over $175,000. The entire budget for Atlanta's Pride
this year is nearly half a million dollars.
Where
does the money come from? About $165,000 is raised from corporate
sponsors, and nearly that amount is provided through in-kind donations.
A large portion of the money for the weekend comes directly from
attendee donations.
As
Narducci reminded the crowd, the key theme of Pride is empowerment
for all members of the GLBT community. The event allows us to
remind others -- and ourselves -- that our community is large,
diverse and vibrant.
 Pictures:
AEN's June
Meeting
 In
July 1990, a New Jersey Boy Scout troop expeled him for being
gay.
In
June 2000, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled they were just in doing
so.
On
August 15, meet James Dale.
Doors
open at 5:45 p.m.
Sheraton Colony Square Hotel
Lambda
Legal Web site:
Boy
Scouts of America v. Dale
The
Advocate:
In
search of gay Egypt by James Dale
 Networking
for Introverts
by Ann McAllister
Networking!!!
You know you have to do it if you want to build your business
or advance your career. You know you have to do it if you want
to achieve your dreams. But you DREAD it because you are an introvert!
I'm
an introvert, too, so I know what it's like. Its not that introverts
don't like people, but we're much more comfortable in small groups,
need time alone to rejuvenate, and are, at least, a little shy.
Extraverts have the networking advantage because being around
people energizes them. The more the merrier. They love to meet
new people.
So
what's an introvert to do?
-
First, make sure you believe in yourself, your dreams, and what
you have to offer. If you are out of integrity in those areas,
you are going to have even a harder time overcoming your natural
reserve. Make sure you are passionate and excited about yourself
and your work.
- Join
networking organizations that provide structured networking
time. Unstructured networking time is just excruciating for
us introverts.
-
Before entering a room for that dreaded free-form networking,
set a mission for yourself. A good one is that you will make
life easier for at least one person during that meeting. Talking
to people who are standing alone (probably feeling just as uncomfortable
as you are) and asking them about themselves is another good
mission. I chuckle when I remember how I used to dread the social
time prior to the monthly meetings of the Atlanta
Executive Network. When I was appointed to the Board of
Advisors for the AEN, I now had the responsibility (mission)
to make people feel welcome and to introduce people to each
other. Suddenly it was much easier to approach strangers and
strike up conversations. Well, duh, Ann! Which leads to the
next point.
- Become
active and take leadership positions in networking organizations.
You'll feel much more at home, and you'll build solid, familiar
relationships with the other leaders of the organization.
- Join
and be active in other organizations that are involved in areas
in which you have a strong interest. Again, you will be building
relationships in a structured setting while also expressing
another personal value you have. That seems like a win-win situation
to me!
- Arrange
one-on-one meetings with people with whom you would like to
network. Treat them to a meal or coffee. Knowing that I am compensating
them in some small way for their generosity of sharing their
time, helps me overcome my shyness about asking them to meet
with me.
- Make
more of your initial contacts with people through writing rather
than cold calls. This can range from letters introducing yourself
and your products or services to newsletter (both paper and
e-mail) and articles written for publications. Letters can pave
the way to make cold calls easier. Newsletters and articles
will lead people to call you -- a much more preferable situation
for us introverts.
By using all of these strategies, networking has actually become
enjoyable and profitable for me. (Although I will admit that I
keep the free-form networking to a minimum.) I've had fun, increased
my business, helped some people, and established some wonderful
friendships. Now, that is what I call success.
--
AEN Director Ann McAllister, Ph.D., coaches executives, professionals,
and entrepreneurs to achieve excellence. Her Web site is http://www.coachingforexcellence.com
and she can be reached at 404.508.6263.
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Next
Meeting
> Thursday,
July 18
'Without Sanctuary'
6:30 p.m
MLK Historic Site
Luncheons
Reservations
»
>
Tuesday, July 16
Allen Jones
Houlihan's, Colony Square
>
Saturday, July 20
Patrick Greco
Eurasia, 1 p.m.
>
Wednesday, July 31
Joe Guthridge
Fishbone, Noon
>
Thursday, August 1
Allen Jones
Houlihan's, Colony Square
>
Monday, August 12
David Payne & Ronald Moore
Chequers, 11:30 a.m.
To add your event, send an e-mail to calendar@aen.org
The
Building Industries Committee is for architecture, design
and all related professionals, including real estate, construction,
and sales. The group's mission is to provide support to selected
charitable efforts, to foster the personal and professional development
of its members, and to support AEN's overall goals & initiatives.
For
more information contact: Jim Hinson at jhinson@kimball.com
or
Carl Lange at clange@groupvi.com.
Did
you miss the last meeting?
Watch
AEN on TV.
Click
here for showtimes.
Board
Members
Steve
Koval, President
David Payne, Vice President
Joe Guthridge, Treasurer
Ann McAllister, Secretary
Margie Archer
David Austin
Bonnie Barton
Jamie Ensley
Don George
Patrick Greco
Sandy Hoke
Carl Lange
Ronald Moore
Gregory Nance
Webmaster
Drew Barton
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