By Dale Madison

When Robert Boo was Director of Development for what was then called the Gay and Lesbian Community Center (GLCC) of Fort Lauderdale, he added a number of important programs, working in tandem with thenexecutive director Paul Hyman, who had served in that post for nearly a decade. Boo left his position to work in the private sector in Miami, but somehow, that just didn’t work for him. When Hyman decided to return to his native New York, Boo thought the time was ripe for his own kind of return. Hired to succeed Hyman as Executive Director of the nowbranded Pride Center at Equality Park, he found a whole new “beast” waiting for him.

“With the move to the new campus (located at 2040 North Dixie Highway, Wilton Manors), there were a number of changes, and lots of additional programs that we were offering with increased services,” Boo explains. “I knew that I was going to have some very big shoes to fill, as Paul had done an incredible job. Of course, coming back to a non-profit in this economy is not easy. People have had to tighten purse strings at a time when we are expanding service,” he notes. “I can’t see us cutting our services—there are too many people who depend on us.”

One of the Pride Center’s biggest “nuts” is its Capital Campaign, which Boo says is the agency’s efforts “to raise money to help pay off the mortgage, so that we can once again increase our service potential.” Enter local pharmacist Ken Goss, who moved here several years ago from Boston, where he had served on the board of a non-profit, The Attic. “When I moved here, I wanted to get involved,” Goss relates. “I went to the [Pride Center], and saw the incredible work they were doing. One of the first projects that I was involved with was acquiring backpacks for underprivileged kids.”

Goss’ work with the Pride Center inspired him—in his own words—to “really get more involved with the community.” Just how involved wasn’t apparent until he called the agency’s new executive director and requested a meeting. Goss said he wanted to present the Pride Center with a check for its Capitol Campaign—in the amount of $50,000. Boo says that he was in a state of shock.

On Sunday, September 30, Boo and the Pride Center will hold an invitation-only brunch, to say “Thank You” to Goss, and to the board of directors of the agency. “If it were not for having a working board, so much of the services we provide would have to be curtailed,” Boo says with emphasis.

“I never want to see that happen.” For more information on the Pride Center at Equality Park’s Capital Campaign, or its many community services, visit pridecenterflorida.org.

If your non-profit organization is not listed in the Agenda Non-Profit Services Directory, please send your information to Dale Madison at
dalemadison@guymag.net.

Dale Madison