With Memorial weekend and the Black and White Beach Ball behind us,
we’re moving into mid-June and starting to get a feel for what the
summer will be like. Though in the big scheme of things the summers are
all much alike, they each still have defining characteristics that set
them apart. For CAMP Rehoboth, 2008 will always be about our construction.
For the world, it will be about the price of oil and the economy, the
continuing war, the presidential election, and the Olympics. Here in
Rehoboth, for visitors and residents alike, I hope this summer offers a
welcome respite from the stresses we all feel both at work and in the
world around us.
At this year’s Black and White Beach
Ball, Development Advisory Board Chair, Beth Cohen, delivered a message
that included reminders of the many uncounted things that CAMP Rehoboth
does as a matter of course. She reminded me how important it is that we
keep talking about them and sharing them with everyone. In CAMPmatters on
page 6, Murray includes some of Beth’s comments, as he writes about the
things we take for granted.
I recently attended a GLAAD media seminar
in Wilmington. Aside from the information I obtained at the seminar, I was
struck by how impressed the “man from GLADD” seemed to be with the
cooperation we have in our state among the many organizations who
participate in the Equal Rights For All Coalition—a statewide coalition
of close to a dozen groups working for equal rights in Delaware. I am also
a member of the Delaware Human Relations Commission, and though the GLBT
community has not as yet achieved equal protection in Delaware—something
we’ve worked on for a long time—the commission is committed to seeing
it happen.
Last week, I was a review panelist for
Public Allies. Public Allies is part of AmeriCorp and places young adults
in a ten month program with non-profit organizations. As a part of her
presentation to the panelists, a young woman spoke about how one of the
most eye-opening things she did in the course of the ten months was to
participate in the Public Allies workshop held here at CAMP Rehoboth. The
young woman is not gay, but after her visit she was able to go back to the
conservative organization she had been placed with, and tell leaders in
that organization that anti-gay remarks they were making were
unacceptable.
Some of our readers will have noticed that
this year there is no Beach Book—our guide to summer beach houses and
residents. Though we have produced The Beach Book for 15 years, we felt
that interest was waning, primarily because everyone now has cell phones
with them all the time. Though the Book served as more than a phone book,
we thought we would see if anyone noticed that it was no longer around. If
you miss it and feel that we should do it again next year, please let me
know.
Two events loom on the CAMP Rehoboth
horizon, Love weekend events over the July 4th holiday, and the CAMP
Rehoboth Follies later in July. Love tickets, host and sponsor packages
(see page 23) are available online at camprehoboth.com or at the CAMP
Rehoboth office. Anyone thinking of entering a Follies’ troupe in this
year’s production, should call CAMP and we’ll email the the Follies
Troupe Guidelines.
Again, as I’ll be saying all summer long,
please stop by CAMP Rehoboth to see the construction progress on the new
wing of the CAMP Rehoboth Community Center. Though the CAMP Rehoboth
Courtyard is open, we are still a construction site, and we ask for your
patience throughout the summer season. This is a thrilling time for our
community, and there are many ways to help—from volunteering to making a
financial donation.
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