“Thriving In South Florida With Bobby Blair” is my new weekly publisher’s column that I’ve implemented to empower and inspire readers. Using the newspaper as a platform, I’ve created a new way for readers to connect with their community in a very personal way. Each week, I will be featuring a member of our own community who share their real stories of bravery, tenacity and a strong will to survive. They face dilemmas and hardships that we can all relate to, and in the end, they come out on top. Combining our print edition with our strong online presence, I will be be bringing the community inspirational stories weekly, in a whole new way. In addition to the print version of the column, we will also feature an internet talk show segment through guymag.net and floridaagenda.com. You’ll be able to see episodes of the talk show ”Thriving In South Florida With Bobby Blair,” exclusively through our sites. The purpose of my internet talk show is to inspire people within our own community by using a tool that’s been right here all along: the community itself. Some of the greatest role models are right here in our very own community. This week’s game changer and success story is Marc Hansen. I hope that you enjoy both the talk show and the feature below.
Marc Hansen has had HIV/AIDS since 1985. He’s been on his death bed numerous times, but has continued to serve the community, showing the world that you can achieve great things if you stay strong, focused and above all else, hopeful. A native of Laguna Beach, he moved to Wilmington, Delaware in his teenage years. At the time, Delaware wasn’t exactly the gay sanctuary that it is now. It was about the furthest thing from California at the time, but Marc still managed to make it work. Following high school, he went into the military because he felt that at the time, it was his duty as a man and an American to serve his country. He served in the Air Force as a Med Tech for 6 years before finding out he had HIV/AIDS from the flight surgeon in 1985. The diagnosis is never an easy pill to swallow, but in 1985, it was especially crippling. It was a time when AIDS was making a name for itself as “the gay disease,” and was essentially thought of as a death sentence. Following orders to leave the base immediately, he stayed at a hospital for four months. He endured spinal taps, blood tests and more in an effort to cure the mystery disease, but he attributes his nine lives to his positive attitude. After receiving the diagnosis, he was determined to live.
When he moved to South Florida, he fell in love with the community. Because there was no one there to help the community (people had to do what they had to do in order to survive, and that was it), there was a strong sense of motivation within people like Marc. He met his partner, Mark, at the now-closed Hideaway, who was a supervisor at Hamburger Mary’s (now Rosie’s) at the time and the two have been inseparable ever since.
Hansen is now the president of Pride South Florida, the organization responsible for Pridefest, the largest Pride Festival in the state of Florida. Thousands of attendees and up to 250 vendors participate in the two day celebration, striving to promote positive images of gay, lesbian and transgender people. What started as a picnic in the park in 1996 has now turned into a huge tourist destination. The pride event steadily grows in numbers, including a much-talked about performance from ;pop duo Karmin this past year. The nonprofit organization’s mission statement is boldly prominent on their website: “To provide the South Florida community with various functions throughout the year, to promote and engage in educational, civic and cultural activities in order to enrich the lives of gays, lesbians, bisexual, and transgender people and the community as a whole, and to work together to achieve common goals.” All proceeds from the organization go right back to local charities.
Though Hansen joined the organization back in 2006 and has already changed thousands of lives through Pridefest since, he’s still not completely satisfied. He has one wish before he parts ways with the community indefinitely: “I just hope that the community I leave will be better than it was when I found it.” Fortunately for Marc, he doesn’t have to wait until he’s gone to make a difference – he already has.
See the video interview in its entirety at floridaagenda.com and guymag.net
For more information on Pride South Florida, visit pridesouthflorida.org
