September Meeting

Fair game

On Thursday, September 18, AEN's speaker will be Helen Carroll, coordinator for the Homophobia in Sports Project at the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR).

In this role, Carroll represents NCLR on the Board of Advisors for the National Gay and Lesbian Athletic Federation, along with Billie Jean King, Billy Bean and others prominent in combating homophobia in sport. NCLR is coordinating with the North American Gay Amateur Athletics Association to bring programming and resource information to their 10,000 members. As a partner with the Women's Sports Foundation, NCLR has developed, and is maintaining, the new informational Web site, www.homophobiainsport.com, from which the WSF's new educational kit is downloadable. NCLR authored the legal component of that educational kit.

Carroll is well known in the sports world as an acclaimed National Championship basketball coach from the University of North Carolina Asheville. She led women's basketball team at UNC-Asheville to the 1984 NAIA National Championship while being named 1984 NAIA Coach of the Year. Carroll then moved into athletic administration, serving as athletic director at Mills College from 1988-2000.

Carroll has been a featured speaker on several panels and was featured in Dee Mosbacher's award-winning film, "Out for a Change: Addressing Homophobia in Women's Sports" and Pat Griffin's book, Strong Women, Deep Closets. She was also one of several keynote speakers at the first National Gay and Lesbian Athletic Conference in Boston in March 2003. Carroll followed this by conducting significant legal education and outreach at the Women's Basketball Final Four in Atlanta in Spring 2003, including appearing at a Victory Fund dinner with major sports celebrities. Recently she has been involved in a discrimination case involving the University of Florida Women's Volleyball Team.

Join us to learn more about NCLR's Homophobia in Sports Project.

Mark your social calendar

AEN Social
Balance Restaurant
980 Piedmont Avenue
Tuesday, October 21
5 - 7:30 p.m.

'We're out to show you a good time'

Spurgeon Richardson, the president and CEO of the Atlanta Convention and Visitor's Bureau (ACVB), spoke at AEN's August meeting.

Richardson provided a humorous presentation on his role overseeing Atlanta's tourism marketing. Atlanta is one of the leading convention cities in America and the number one visitor destination in Georgia. In the current economy, room occupancy in Atlanta is down and meetings have not been held with as much frequency. Next year promises to be a better year with major meetings booked throughout the year. The ACVB is also very interested in Atlanta's bid to become the headquarters of the Free Trade Area of the Americas, an agreement that promises to expand the scope of NAFTA to the entire Western Hemisphere.

Last year, Richardson partnered with Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin to launch an LGBT tourism initiative, launching a Web site marketed for LGBT visitors to Atlanta. So far, the venture has proven successful, attracting visitors for weekend trips to the Atlanta area from around the Southeast.

On a more personal note, Richardson recounted the growth process he has undergone, along with the rest of the Atlanta business community, in attitudes toward LGBT people. He identified a few family friends, coworkers, and relatives in the audience who were gay and lesbian and had contributed to his education and acceptance of LGBT issues. Richardson's talk was engaging and educational about how the ACVB works within the Atlanta community, including the significant LGBT community.

AEN co-hosts Black Pride luncheon

AEN had the privilege of working with In The Life Atlanta over Labor Day weekend as both groups prepared a luncheon and panel discussion on LGBT issues in the workplace. In the Life Atlanta's Zandra Conway and AEN's David Payne co-hosted the event at the Sheraton Colony Square Hotel.

Trevor Pettiford, a gay reporter with FOX-5 TV in Atlanta made opening remarks. He was followed by a diverse panel including: IBM Education Client Representative Monique Durham, Hewlett-Packard Diversity Manager Ronald Moore, Venus Magazine editor Charlene Cothran, CEO and President for bizvox Marketing Communications Cindy Abel, Georgia Equality Executive Director Allen Thornell, and Georgia Hispanic Network President Jerry Gonzales.

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Upcoming speakers


October 16
Rep. Denise Majette
Congresswoman
Georgia's Fourth District


November 13
Evan Wolfson
Executive Director
Freedom to Marry

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