Florida Agenda

By DALE MADISON

On September 23, Women In Distress of Broward County (WID) held a fundraising event at Lips Cabaret: The Ultimate in Drag Dining (1421 E Oakland Park Blvd, Oakland Park). The evening, entitled “I Wanna Dance With Somebody,” was a tribute to the late Whitney Houston and Donna Summer, a one-night event that was a virtual sellout, and helped to generate nearly $6,000 for the organization, the only nationally accredited, state-certified, full service domestic violence center serving Broward County.

The Ladies of Lips performed such classics as “Last Dance,” “Bad Girls,” “I Wanna Dance with Somebody,” “Step by Step,” and “I Will Always Love You,” and the cast included show hostess Nicolette, and performers April, Alexis, Martina, Champagne, and others. As well as the stage show, a Silent Auction also helped rake in extra funds, and the entertainers donated their tips to benefit the cause, which in this case will support the agency’s 24-hour crisis intervention hotline and emergency shelter, as well as counseling and support for victims and their children. WID also provides education and professional training about the tragedy of domestic violence and related topics in Broward County schools and in the community.

“Women In Distress is very grateful to Lips and other businesses that support our mission of keeping families safe,” said Mary Riedel, the agency’s president and CEO. “This event is always enjoyed and looked forward to by our supporters and we, of course, look forward to the funds that are raised to help keep the families safe with support groups and emergency shelter,” she added.

The organization’s name is something of a misnomer, as they assist not only women, but men and transgendered people who are in personal distress. They have extended their umbrella to an increasing need in the community.

“We have really grown in the last few years,” one attendee—who left before I could get her name, shame on both of us—told me. “Of course, we were an advocate for women to protect them from abusive relationships, but we’ve seen a need to expand our services, and we are truly elated that we have been so accepted, and that we have been able to help so many others in need.” Lips superstar Diva created the Glitz & Glam fundraiser in 2010 to benefit Women in Distress. Each year the event has a different theme, but a single purpose: to help Women in Distress with a great meal, a great time, and the talent of the Ladies of Lips.

For more information about Women in Distress of Broward County, Inc., visit womenindistress.org. For more about Lips Caberet, and to make reservations, visit lipsusa.com.

By DALE MADISON

The SMART Ride is a two-day bicycle ride that spans 165 miles from Miami to Key West, with this year’s ride scheduled the weekend of November 16 and 17. What began in 2001 as the Walgreens Red Ribbon Ride has grown to one of the state’s premiere events, expected to attract over 600 participants this year. “Since 2004, the ride has raised over $3.3 million,” says longtime participant Carmine Martorilli. “We will start in Pine Crest at Morning Star Catholic Church, and head South for 100 miles, and then overnight at Hawks Cay Resort. Next morning, following breakfast, the teams head out to Key West.”

“That first year, I pushed my partner, Robert [Poster], into getting involved, and now he has not only done the ride, but is also involved in helping with the team that supports the riders,” Martorilli recalls. “As of now, there are 560 people registered. That includes riders and crews. Last year, there were 399 riders, and 219 in the support crew. Oh, and by the way, Mr. Madison, you are going to be on the team this year,” he adds. Well, I guess I know where I will be that weekend.

The group has a doctor who travels with them, to make sure that any potential injury is handled immediately. “Our physician is Dr. Marah Lee, from Imperial Point Hospital.

She actually closes her office and pays her staff for the weekend so that she can be with us,” Martorilli notes with a mixture of pride and affection. “That is the sort of dedication that we have for the SMART Ride. Once we get into Key West, we take over the White Street Pier for the closing ceremony.”

The ride attracts all kinds of supporters. “Last year, Leslie Jordan from ‘Will and Grace’ showed up to please the crowd. Once the ‘Riderless Bike’”—which represents riders who have fallen from the scourge of HIV/ AIDS—“shows up, there is not a dry eye on the pier,” Martorilli adds.

“This year we have so much help with feeding the teams. The Olive Garden will feed everyone on Friday night. On Saturday morning, Cliff Mulcahy and John Zieba from Rosie’s on Wilton Drive will provide breakfast, and then send their staff on to Key West to provide dinner. This is one of those events that is really supported by the community, and it is so gratifying to see that kind of support from a community that has lost so many to this disease,” he notes. “In addition, for Labor Day weekend, Shawn and Nick from Courtyard Café will hold a benefit, with a percentage of their total sales going to the SMART Ride. On August 22, Fort Lauderdale’s California Pizza Kitchen will hold a benefit all day, with a percentage of sales benefiting the ride,” Martorilli’s partner, Poster, adds.

As usual, the SMART Ride will give back 100 percent of the funds raised by participants to HIV/AIDS service organizations in Florida. The organization recently announced the beneficiaries for this year’s ride: Metro Charities in Tampa, Miracle of Love in Orlando, CAAPS in West Palm Beach, the Pride Center at Equality Park, the Children’s Diagnostic and Treatment Center in Fort Lauderdale, the Center for Positive Living in Miami, and the AIDS Help in Key West. The SMART Ride is truly the gift that keeps on giving.

For more information, visit thesmartride.org.

BY JOE HARRIS

The endorsement last month of President Obama for same sex marriage has all the usual suspects up in arms— social and religious conservatives, Evangelical and Fundamentalist Christians, Muslims, and Jews, and traditionalists who are nervous about governmental intervention into an institution older than God (the word itself, I mean, which dates back to around the 6th Century), as well as the center-right candidates who are anxious to assuage them, and thereby earn their political backing.

But the president has been making all the right noises for an important constituency, and his campaign coffers are seeing the windfall results. So stoked is this segment of moneyed Democratic supporters—which comprise wealthy LGBT donors—that an Obama campaign fundraiser held yesterday required a larger venue, after organizers were bombarded with a barrage of RSVPs for the event, which featured pop performer Pink, after Obama’s May announcement.

According to an analysis by CNN, among President Obama’s biggest fundraisers—known in the parlance of campaign finance as “bundlers”—at least 33, or about one out of every 16 of them—is openly gay. The Washington Post reports that as many as one out of six bundlers who supports Obama is gay.

The Advocate.com estimates one in five. All told, they raised at least $8 million for the Obama reelection campaign from January to the end of March. That compares to the efforts of bundlers from the entertainment industry—which includes some of the biggest names in film, music, and television, among them actor and director George Clooney— who, during the same timeframe, raised $6.8 million, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

Laws on campaign finance require that donors disclose their names, addresses, jobs, and employers, but there is no such disclosure required for sexual orientation. The law also doesn’t require that candidates release information about their bundlers. The Obama campaign has released its list, but the campaign of his Republican challenger, Mitt Romney, hasn’t.

After the initial excitement of his 2008 campaign wore off, support for the president in the LGBT community waned—in large measure a result of what was seen as Obama’s lukewarm support for a repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT), and the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). In 2010, actor Alan Cumming wrote, “We keep hearing that Obama is an ally—that DADT will end under his watch—but what do we actually get? Diddly squat.” DADT—the Pentagon policy that banned openly-gay men and women from serving in the armed forces— officially ended on September 20, 2011.

Among the wealthy LGBT Americans who have opened their checkbooks to Obama’s reelection efforts are software entrepreneur and Gill Foundation benefactor Tim Gill, who has donated, with partner Scott Miller, $672,800 to Obama for America. Fred Eychaner, the owner of Chicagobased Newsweb Corp., has given $1,220,550, and co-hosted in February a $35,800-per-person LGBT fundraiser for Obama. Kathy Levinson, the former President and CEO of E-Trade, has donated $202,150. Karen K. Dixon and Dr. Nan Schaffer, her partner, hosted a Washington, D.C. fundraiser that was reported to have raised over a million dollars for Obama’s campaign.

On the Republican side, Mitt Romney has not disclosed his bundler list, which makes it hard to know if there are any openly gay bundlers working for the GOP. But the presumptive Republican nominee is on record opposing same sex marriage and civil unions, and supports a Constitutional amendment to ban marriage equality for all Americans.

(PHOTO: Neil Patrick Harris, Suze Orman, Ricky Martin, Ellen DeGeneres, Dustin Lance Black)

WILTON MANORS, FL – Former Broward County Mayor Ken Keechl’s campaign will hold a fundraiser tonight between 6 and 8 p.m. at the Law Offices of George Castrataro in Fort Lauderdale.  Keechl, who was Broward County’s first openly-gay mayor, is a candidate for Broward County Commission District 7.

Keechl, 48, was elected to the commission in 2006, to represent District 4. He lost the seat in 2010 to Republican Chip LaMarca. His elevation by commission colleagues in 2009 to county mayor made him for a time  the nation’s highest-ranked elected LGBT official.

Term limits mean that the current commissioner, Broward Mayor John Rodstrom, is ineligible to run for re-election and redistricting based upon 2010 U.S. Census data places
the boundaries of District 7 to include Wilton Manors, among other  Broward communities.

“I will run a people-powered campaign–walking, knocking on doors and meeting residents and business owners of District 7,” Keechl, a native Floridian, said. “The people of District 7 will always be my main focus.”

After leaving the commission, Keechl, who has lived in Broward County for 25 years, became a partner at the Fort Lauderdale-based law firm of Kopelowitz, Ostrow, Ferguson, Weiselberg, Keechl, P.A.
Says Keechl of his current campaign: “We are in it to win it.”

The Brian Neal Fitness & Health Foundation is delighted to announce “Dancing with the South Florida Stars,” a holiday fund-raising extravaganza, which will take place on Monday, December 12, 2011.

The “who’s who” of the community, including business superstars and government officials, will be on stage in the Epic Theatre at The Manor, 2345 Wilton Drive in Wilton Manors, to compete for your entertainment and for a good cause. Each contestant will be paired up with a local celebrity entertainer.

Each celebrity team will contribute $300.00 by filling a ten-seat table.

Every penny of the tax-deductible donation will go to the Brian Neal Fitness & Health Foundation, a 501(c) 3 corporation, offering health club memberships, group workout sessions, nutritional advice, as well as diet and mental awareness programs to financially challenged, HIV positive, and/or terminally ill patients.

VIP tickets are available at $40 each for special table seating on the nightclub floor and fans and admirers of the celebrity contestants can also purchase $10 general admission tickets to gain access to a prime balcony viewing spot!

An opening cocktail reception and silent auction will kick off the event at 6 p.m. The Manors’ award-winning kitchen will be open, serving an extensive menu throughout the show.

“Dancing with the South Florida Stars” is the perfect way to begin to celebrate the holiday season!”

Locations to purchase event tickets will be announced November 3rd.

For event sponsorship opportunities, please contact Bobby Blair, at 954-336-0436 or via e-mail at bobby@bobbyblair.com.

By BOB KECSKEMETY

October is considered National Breast Cancer Awareness Month (NBCAM) which is an annual campaign organized by major breast cancer charities every October to increase awareness

of the disease and to raise funds for research into its cause, prevention and cure. Through the last three decades, organizations have made millions of women aware of breast cancer, its early detection and available treatments and, as a result, have saved millions of lives. Though there are local organizations dedicated to breast cancer awareness, larger national and international organizations get most of the spotlight.

The most well-known international organization dedicated to breast cancer awareness is the Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Komen was 33 when she was diagnosed with breast cancer and died three years later. In 1980, her younger sister, Nancy Brinker, decided to act upon a promise she made to Suaan to find a way to speed-up breast cancer research. In 1982, Brinker founded the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation in her sister’s memory. In 2007, the organization changed its name to Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

The first Susan G. Komen “National Race for the Cure” was held in Dallas, Texas, in October 1983 with 800 participating. In 1991, the participants in the New York City race were handed a pink ribbon to wear—the intial appearance of what would become the international symbol for breast cancer awareness. Today, the “Race” is held in over 100 U.S. cities, attracting over 1.3 million participants. Races are also held in nine other countries: Australia, New Zealand, Germany, The Netherlands, Italy, United Kingdom, Canada, Hungary, and Bulgaria, plus the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

Lesser known are the Susan G. Komen 3-Day Walks for the Cure which are held in several U.S. cities and consist of a 60-mile trek which spans over three days. Other smaller Komen fundraisers are held throughout Europe.

Funds raised by the Races and Walks help support community outreach programs. The money also supports local community breast health education and breast cancer screening and treatment projects through the Komen Award and Research Grant Program.
In 1993, Evelyn Lauder, Senior Corporate Vice President of the Estée Lauder Inc. founded The Breast Cancer Research Foundation and used the pink ribbon as its official symbol. Estée Lauder has arranged to have 17 world-famous landmarks illuminated at night in pink light to draw attention to the importance of mammography screening for early diagnosis of breast cancer as well as research for finding ways to cure and prevent breast cancer.

Avon Cosmetics has formed the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer, the company’s largest annual fundraising event. There is a series of nine Avon 2-Day Walks for Breast Cancer held each year from April to October. From 2003 through 2008, the Avon Walks raised more than $265 million. The Avon Walk for Breast Cancer also raises awareness as participants spend an entire weekend walking 39 miles through cities and towns around the country.

Pharmaceutical company, Astra-Zeneca, which manufactures several breast cancer drugs, founded National Breast Cancer Awareness Month in 1995 with the aim to promote mammography as the most effective weapon in the fight against breast cancer. National Breast Cancer Awareness month has come under fire over last few years.

The Cancer Prevention Coalition has criticized the basic message of NBCAM as a form of victim blaming because it focuses on “early detection and treatment” while ignoring environmental factors. Their researchers contend that hormone use is one of the major factors raising the cancer risk and that drug and chemical companies have a vested interest in treating the disease rather than finding ways to minimize its rate of incidence. Recent studies show that breast cancer is linked to several environmental and genetic factors, which can be controlled or mitigated.

In October 2008, First Lady Laura Bush had the White House decorated in pink  in honor of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

By Ryan Dixon

Two weeks ago, The McDonalds Corporation’s net income rose from $1.23 Billion to $1.41 Billion. Most market gurus have the company’s total net worth in the ballpark of $15 Billion. Between the cost of the rooms at different Ronald McDonald Houses all over the globe and their Ronald McDonald Cares Mobile, McDonalds gives around $270 Million back to communities. Most of the company’s charitable work is through the Ronald McDonald House Charities, so when the McDonalds located at the corner of Sunrise Boulevard and NE 4th Avenue had a school supply drive for the Kids In Need

Resource Center, I was a little taken back that such a large company was doing a fundraiser for someone other than themselves.

Ten McDonalds locations participated in this year’s drive for the Kids In Need Resource Center. The Center, which is run by the Broward Education Foundation as part of a national program sponsored by the School, Home, and Office Products (SHOPA) Foundation for Educational Excellence, allows for teachers from Title 1 schools to come and shop twice a year for school supplies for their classrooms and students free of charge. “This was our first time working with McDonalds” says Jorene Jameson, President and CEO of the Broward Education Foundation. “These donations allow our resource center to reach 6,000 teachers and over 200,000 students”.

Aside from the expected hierarchy from McDonalds and the Broward Education Foundation, Ivy and her crew from Power 96 were broadcasting live and calling in every fifteen minutes from the event. When asked what brought the station out today, Ivy said that “when it comes down to kids and charities, Power 96 and the Ronald McDonald House have always been together.  So when McDonalds called and asked us to help, we were right on board”. Aside from calling in and getting their listeners to come out, the Power 96 team was interacting with the people in attendance giving out HD Radios if you could manage 100 yards in their football beanbag toss. “Everyone is doing their back to school shopping, and who isn’t broke these days?” she adds, “and the sad thing is kids these days still go to school without new clothes or even supplies, so it’s a good thing McDonalds is doing this and helping out, especially when it comes to the kiddies.” What more could you ask for from a station that does Radio Lollipop, headed up by DJ Laz,, every August from the Miami Children’s Hospital.

Capping off the day was an appearance by McArthur High School and University of Florida alumnus Errict Rhett.

Rhett played seven professional seasons in the NFLuntil 2000 after being taken in the second round with the thirty-fourth pick by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Rhett, who’s the CEO of the Errict Rhett Foundation, said he came out to support the school supply drive because his charity, like this supply drive, supports education. “This area and many other low income areas need help like this. It’s nice to see McDonalds stepping up to do their part and I’m glad to be a part of it. A lot of these families out there can’t afford school supplies, and if it takes me and other athletes to come out here to get support then I’ll do it.” Rhett was a stand out in high school as well as college where he earned the Most Valuable Player award in the 1994 Sugar Bowl. When asked what felt better, winning that award or giving back to his city, he replied with a smile that “you can’t compare the two. The feeling I get when I win a game and when I give back are two different things. One is my job, the other is my passion”. We spoke for about ten minutes on his career in the NFL and the natural “what if’s” of every person’s career in anything. I’ve met and talked to many professional athletes, on the field and at events like this one, and Errict Rhett has to be the most genuine one I’ve met yet. To have your own business and charity and yet find time to support other people in your community is a true testament to one’s real inner character.

To help with the Broward Education Foundation’s continuous drive to supply teachers and classrooms, please visit www.browardedfoundation.net to see what they need and how you can help.

MIAMI SHORES, FL – Pridelines Youth Services presents its sixth annual fundraising gala, “Masquerade” – also known as Pridelines’ “adult prom”.

This year’s gala will be held Saturday, August 27, beginning at 7 p.m. in Jungle Island’s Treetop Ballroom and will feature a cocktail reception, silent auction, dinner, dancing and live entertainment by Corey Michaels. Until July 31, gala tickets are being sold at an “early bird” price of $80 per person or $900 for a table of 10. After that, tickets will increase to $100 per person or $1,200 for a table of 10. Tickets can be purchased on the Pridelines website, www.pridelines.org, by clicking on the “upcoming events” tab.

“The adult gala is the most anticipated and most important Pridelines fundraiser of the year,” said Victor Diaz-Herman, executive director.

“It’s also an over-the-top affair, as our guests pull out all the stops for their costumes; and with this year’s ‘Masquerade’ theme, you can expect some insane masks and headgear to show up. I’m sure the feathers will be flying on the dance floor!”

New for this year, Pridelines will be honoring two community leaders at the gala – one individual and one organization – for their commitment to LGBTQ youth in South Florida. The inaugural honorees will be Robert Loupo, co-founder of the Gay Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) and executive director of Safe Schools South Florida, and Temple Israel for supporting LGBTQ youth by providing the space for Pridelines drop-in center for over 10 years.

Money raised from the gala goes to support Pridelines’ mission of educating and empowering South Florida’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered and questioning (LGBTQ) youth and their straight allies through programming, counseling, support and referral services from a safe and diverse environment. In addition to proceeds from ticket sales, an exciting silent auction will help raise funds for the organization. Among the items and experiences up for the highest bid are several seven-night resort packages, spa and salon treatments, dinners at Miami’s hottest restaurants and many luxury gift baskets.

By Alex Vaughn

Photo: Toni Barone, Sean David and AJ Cross at Johnny’s 30 Year Anniversary party last year.

AJ Cross is known to many as a  power fundraiser and a beacon of the community. He is currently the Vice President of Johnny’s, fundraiser for  multiple charities and a columnist for the Florida Agenda and Mark Magazine. His annual birthday fundraiser is on the 14th of July and The Florida Agenda sat down with AJ to get to know him a little better.

Where did you live before you moved to Florida?
I am from Montreal originally.

When did you move here to Florida and why?
It was 11 years ago, I moved to Florida originally for work and better weather!

So what’s kept you here?
I wasn’t supposed to be here that long.  It’s an easier lifestyle here. You can’t beat the weather and the ocean, especially when you are from up north.

You have become very well known for your incredible fundraising. How did that come about?
It was odd. What happened initially was I did a few birthday parties and they were big in scale, so I started to think I wanted to do more than my $50 a year to a charity.  I realized at my parties I had a captive audience that I hoped had the same mind set for giving that I had and the economy was much different to how it is now –people were able to give more! A lot of my clientele is wealthy, so I utilized that as I knew they were able to give a lot of money. I thought ‘what if I disguised a fundraiser as my birthday party’? So I did; the very first was for Poverello. It grew from there.  The first was at Cupids in Palm beach and it’s appropriate that this one is a reunion of the Cupids crowd, but at Johnny’s.

How do you feel community has changed for the better?
I think the best change is that now more than ever we have a sense of unity on a global scale. You hear about India and Israel – countries fighting for equality.  You used to  only hear about cities, then states, it’s new for me.
This is a political climate with a president who is not afraid to say the word gay, and the idea that it’s no one’s business who you sleep with – that’s new for us!

What negative changes do you see?
The economy has forced people to become less able to give because now people simply can’t afford to. Ultimately, I would like to get to a point where the gay community becomes more accepting of itself. I want to go to a bar and see a gay guy and lesbian or a tranny and a masculine gay man. I want to see those walls fall first before we get so eager to demand others accept us. We are so judgemental of each other, yet we get so angry when we are judged by others.

How long have you been with Johnny’s, and how has it helped your fund raising efforts?
Three years. Well, the very first year I was there, Sean is very aware of my interests; the outcome was I got non-profits to use the space at Johnny’s on Wednesdays to have fundraisers. I turned johnny’s into a rainbow lounge and offered that space for non-profits, for that year and a half we booked it 11 times. It was on Wednesdays, and we did the first for Kids in Distress.
I don’t have fundraisers on nights people don’t party, so they are usually on Mondays, Tuesdays or Wednesdays, so that people who are in the industries can participate! Traditionally, my biggest supporters come from bar owners and club owners who come to support my events.

How much money do you think you have raised over the years?
This is my 9th year, and I believe after contact with all my different agencies I feel comfortable saying a hundred thousand dollars at least.

Photo: AJ?Cross with The Stable’s Russell, at one of AJ’s many fundraising events.

What do you see for the future?
It is interesting. I have no idea how I got here.

Sometimes my aim is bigger than who I am. I put myself in a position where people have expectations. I speak to people who talk about me and who didn’t even know I was AJ Cross, who I am when I’m home with my boyfriend is different to  the persona! I believe in what I do. I think that people should use whatever means they have to better the community. Sometimes its popularity or connection or just money, but it’s better than just going to pool parties with hot guys that do not serve to better the world!

This year’s event will benefit Covenant House. Why did you choose them?
I chose Covenant House because I was homeless, which I don’t think many people know. I was a recipient of some of the benefits of Covenant House when I was a younger person. It’s a great organization. I ask nothing of any of the charities. If it moves them to advertise the event, then great. All I require is they come and pick up the cheque!

Do you have any desire to run for the Mayor of Wilton Manors?
Well, as you may know, I was unanimously  appointed to the Budget Advisory Board of the City of Fort Lauderdale in  December of last year. That was huge for me that they overlooked my profession and appointed me based on merit and what I have done with the community. As for as running for Mayor, if I got to a point where I feel who am I as a person and my expertise could do more to sustain or further develop the city, then I will run.

Do you see yourself making Florida home forever?
Home is where you make it. It took me a long time to consider Florida as home, but if life took me in a different direction, I wouldn’t be closed minded to that.

Your column Cross Eyed has been very well received. I have been receiving fantastic feedback. How did that come about?
I am pleased to hear that. I take  a lot of time considering each article I write. It emerged in Buzz Magazine five years ago and it ran every week. Bobby Blair was the publisher of that publication as well when it started. It then went so SFGN and now it’s at Mark and Agenda. It has bounced around! I decided to keep writing and I want people to know I have never taken a dollar from my columns. I write because I really believe in what I am writing and that it will emotionally impact the readers. I got an email from someone whose brother died in the military; he was very moved  by the piece I wrote and that’s what I write for. Sometimes someone needs their story to be told and they need a voice.

What inspires you to write?
Sometimes it’s something that I overhear, or a conversation I had with a person – although I have to say 8 times out of 10, it’s something that pissed me off. I find a way to understand it by writing and investigating. I find an understanding or make peace with it, and it helps that I feel people share the emotions I evoke. I also write out of a selfish motive, to help people understand me more. I am not fond of the assumptions they make of me, I like people to surprised by who I really am.

What would you like your legacy to be how and would you like to be remembered?
I would like to remembered as somebody who lived their life. My life was set up for me to fail. I lost most of my family at an early age, and had many aspects of my life that should have led me down a different path. I am 44 now and whenever that time comes when I’m no longer here, I want people to know your life is your own and it’s possible to beat the odds – success for me is being given a certain path in life that would have taken you to not the best places, and being able to prove to myself that I could change the path and beat that, [I was] better than  people expected me to be. I don’t know what the purpose is; life is a game. Here’s all this crap we are going to give you and you can change that into a delicious cake!

That’s interesting. Do you feel that your life is that cake?
Yes I do. I’m 44, not a criminal, not a drug addict, still alive and HIV negative. I survived all the things that could have affected me – I didn’t do it on my own. I had helping hands, some known and I am sure some unknown, but I am being interviewed about the good things I am doing.  This is not about how was your 9 years in prison! I am also not single anymore, I am very happy with my beautiful boyfriend.

Photo: AJ?Cross with the infamous &?fabulous,  Fort Lauderdale’s very own Dame Edna.

By Cliff Dunn

The multi-talented and multi-faceted A.J. Cross, general manager of Johnny’s Club, Bar & Lounge in Fort Lauderdale, is pleased to announce his 9th Annual Birthday Fundraiser (the reputedly 40-something Cross looks like he could pass for a man at least half his age – the little %@#$), to be held at Johnny’s on Thursday, July 14, starting at 9 p.m. Over the past 9 years, his Natal Day Events have helped raise thousands of dollars, with last year’s, “Needs Wheels” fundraiser for Father Bill Collins of Poverello netting enough from individual and corporate donors (including a last-minute Angel from the Outfield pledge from City County Credit Union) to put the good padre behind the wheel on schedule.

This year’s event will be a Masquerade Ball held in conjunction with a reunion of the legendary Cupid’s Cabaret, including former staff, entertainers, dancers and XXX Adult Entertainment Stars courtesy of Howard Andrew from Fabscout (and himself a former GM of Cupid’s), with the possibility of a very Special Guest Appearance. This year’s soiree will raise money for Covenant House of Fort Lauderdale (http://www.covenanthousefl.org/). Costumes or masques are requested of all attendees. For more information, you can visit Cross’ Facebook page at www.facebook.com/ angelice.cross.

Wall Street Muscle Pushes NY Gay Marriage Win

An unlikely alliance of bedfellows came together in the crucial days leading up to New York State’s historic legislation legalizing same-sex marriage. The New York Times reported last week that critical support for passage came from a cabal of Wall Street heavyweights known for their support for conservative causes.

In the run-up to the vote, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo approached billionaire financier Paul Singer, a deep-pocketed Republican donor (and friend of Rudy Giuliani), along with hedge fund moguls Cliff Asness of AQR Capital and Daniel Loeb of Third Point Capital.

Singer – whose son is gay – along with Asness and Loeb – were known to view gay marriage from a libertarian perspective, as an issue of personal freedom, and had the clout and Republican credentials to provide insulation for skittish New York state senators anxious about a conservative backlash.

Although Asness and Loeb supported Barack Obama in 2008, both subsequently split with the president over matters of policy, with Asness penning a scathing criticism of Obama in 2009 because of his perceived treatment of hedge funds during the Chrysler bankruptcy case, and Loeb similarly raising the cry against the president in writing last year. But Singer and Loeb have supported previous same-sex marriage campaigns, including an event last fall for the American Foundation for Equal Rights (AFER).
The triumvirate let Cuomo know that they were willing to set aside political differences and each followed through with six-figure checks made out to the lobbying effort in support of the legislation.

Photo: Last year, Father Bill Collins received a Ford Focus purchased for him by Maroone Ford along with the help of many local businesses.

Quotable

“I don’t give a %$@& that I did drag in the 80s. I will cut your %!@#s off if you %$@& this up.” – Local real estate investor to broker, overheard at Georgie’s Alibi in Wilton Manors

By the Numbers
(I’m My Biggest Diva Edition)

In 1997, U.S. News & World Report surveyed its readers as to whether they believed that various well-known figures were “very likely” or “somewhat likely” to go to Heaven. More people (87%) picked themselves as being more likely to get into heaven than anyone else, ahead of people such as Mother Teresa (second place, 79%) or Oprah Winfrey (third place, 66%).

If you’re “Open for Business”, you can contact Business Writer and Director of Sales, Cliff Dunn, with your story at Business@FloridaAgenda.com