About a month a go I received notification that My family and I had been nominated for a lifetime achievement/Leather Pride award. As you may know I am very proud of my family and the volunteer work we do to help build our Leather and kink communities.
Although we did not win, even being nominated for such a prestigious Leather award has to say the least blown me away.
At this time I want to say to all my family, past and present WAY TO GO, I’m proud of you all.
I also want to thank and congratulate Rich Stadtmiller, this years recipient for all he has done to document our Leather history. Rich is always generous in permitting bloggers such as myself to use any photo of his to tell my story and the stories of the community I live in.
From the TLP web site..
John Stephen Bassett Leather Pride Award Nominations Announced
PRESS RELEASE
July 30, 2011
For immediate release:
(Toronto, ON CA) – John Stephen Bassett Leather Pride Award Nominations Announced.
The Board of Directors of Heart of the Flag Federation Inc. (HOTFF Inc.) are proud to announce the nominations for the 2011 John Stephen Bassett Leather Pride Award.
Every community needs to recognize the achievements of its members. Toronto Leather Pride is proud to continue the tradition started by MLTC Inc. by presenting annual awards recognizing outstanding contributions of leatherfolk to the Leather/BBSM/Fetish/Kink Community and the greater sexual minority communities.
The John Stephen Bassett Leather Pride Award is presented on an annual basis to an individual or organization in the local, national or international leather community who has contributed significantly to the development of Leather Pride and/or Life Time Achievement. This award focuses on the people and organizations which have created and contributed to the vibrant and diverse Leather Community which exists today in Canada and throughout the world.
Past recipients include:
2010 – Jack Pearce
2009 – Brendan McGovern
2008 – Brandon Matheson
2007 – Peter Kincheloe
2006 – Mama’s Family
2005 – Mary Elizabeth Boyd
This year the members of Heart of the Flag Federation (HOTFF) / Toronto Leather Pride (in good standing, as of July 15, 2011), will vote on a list of community award nominations selected by the Board of Directors of HOTFF Inc. in a direct effort to bring a more democratic process to the selection of all the award recipients.
The John Stephen Basset Leather Pride Award will be presented on Saturday, August 13, 2011 during the Toronto Leather Pride 2012 Competitions. Our other community award nominations, with the exception of the Claude Brazeau Award (The TLP Volunteer of the Year), will be announced during the Toronto Leather Pride Day Celebration at Zipperz/Cellblock on the Folsom Street Events stage on Sunday, August 14, 2011 @ 4pm. The Claude Brazeau award nominations will be announced in late October.
The remaining awards, including a soon to be announced new award honouring youth, will then be handed out at a special presentation during the Toronto Bound 2011 Weekend, November 25 -27, 2011.
The nominations for the 2011 John Stephen Basset Award are:
• Tony Buff – Seattle, WA
• Master C’s Family – Sudbury, ON
• Carrie Gray – Toronto, ON
• Rich Stadtmiller – San Francisco, CA
• Robert Tomas – Toronto, ON
Please join us at the Phoenix Concert Theatre for the Mr Leatherman Toronto, Bootblack Toronto and the Mr Rubber Toronto 2012 Competitions on Saturday night of the Toronto Leather Pride Weekend to help us congratulate this year’s nominees and winner of this prestigious award. After the contests we invite you to stay around for Leather Ball 17 – Feel the Heat!
Toronto Leather Pride under the corporate banner of Heart of the Flag Federation Inc. is a member and volunteer-based, not-for-profit corporation that is dedicated to producing events that celebrate Leather/BDSM/Kink/Fetish culture while promoting our community and our city.
HOTFF is the proud producer of some of Canada’s largest leather fundraising events. We produce: the Toronto Leather Pride Weekend, which includes Leather Ball, Mr. Leatherman Toronto, Mr. Rubber Toronto and the Bootblack Toronto competitions mid-August. We also produce Toronto Bound in late November and many diverse events throughout the year.
The net proceeds of our events go to a beneficiary chosen by our titleholders and our board of directors. Our fundraising serves the greater community in Toronto. This year, our charity of choice is The 519 Church Street Community Centre. HOTFF Inc. (formerly MLTC Inc.) has supported past recipients: Canadian Lesbian & Gay Archives; Theresa Group; Camp Oasis Canada; Metropolitan Community Church of Toronto; Community AIDS Treatment Information Exchange; Toronto People with AIDS Foundation; AIDS Committee of Toronto; Casey House Hospice and the Lesbian Gay Bi Trans Youth Line.
For more information or to arrange interviews, contact Nancy Irwin, TLP Media Relations Coordinator, at Media at our domain name .ca