Hotlanta River Expo
What's the deal with HRE?After reading the story in Southern Voice, I wasn't surprised to find this ship sinking even faster. I can hardly wait to see the next news on the event. There was much speculation on www.thecircuitdog.com.
Again, this is one of those things people can complain about but who can actually do anything to change the problems. This is a group of volunteers who put their time and money into an event that represents Atlanta and what people think of us. There is no screening for intelligence or business experience. Most boards of events like this are hand picked to follow one or two people (read Atlanta Pride) so these train wrecks can usually be blamed on a few people (read Bryan Craft). I do not know Bryan so I cannot say much about him but I did have the "pleasure" of working with Stan Neal on the Gay Games bid - he actually resigned from the bid before the meeting AGI fired me and I respect him for that. I never understood how HRE kept going with Stan in charge. (Note: Stan was harchered last year!)
This is another black eye for Atlanta and HRE has always been one of those organizations that people wondered about considering the past scandals, drug-related publicity and pure lack of management. But since it is a circuit party most people looked the other way. What always bothered me was the promoting of this event as a charity function but to have raised $120,000 over 25 years is pathetic. That averages less than $5,000 a year with very little raised in the last 5 years. Compared to other events around the country this should have been a warning sign of an organization on the decline. To make matters worse, HRE most likely contributed to the AIDS epidemic - the same cause they claim to be "raising" money for.
A good example of a successful party is Black & Blue in Montreal and Robert J. Vezina. They have raised over one million dollars in 13 years. This is a very successful event with a very effective leader who also led Montreal's bid for the 2006 Gay Games - and won. A little leadership goes a long way.
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