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San Diego Leather Pride: A Success!

By Richard Chatterton and Papa Tony

On Saturday, March 2nd 2002, Tom Dickerson was chosen out of seven high-quality contestants as Mr. San Diego Leather 2002. Tom will serve as both a leader and a representative for San Diego at local and out-of-town Leather events as well as represent the San Diego Leather Community at the International Mr. Leather contest held in Chicago.

The panel of eight judges named Bill Mitchell as First runner-up and Joshua Montgomery as Second runner-up. Upon verification of the judge's scores, an error was detected and was immediately brought to the attention of the Head Judge: Mark Holmes, the contest producer: Randy Vidal and the San Diego Leather Pride Committee. The error indicated that Joe Vitale was the Second runner-up. By a unanimous vote of the steering committee, which included the Head Judge and contest producer, the decision was made that Joe Vitale and Joshua Montgomery will both serve as Mr. San Diego Leather 2002 Second runners-up.

Kris Baker, David Lee, and Larry Minutella were also among the fine Leathermen that took part of the contest. Each of the seven candidates for Mr. San Diego Leather 2002 represented themselves with pride and honor.

Mr. San Diego Leather 2002, Tom Dickerson, has been a resident of San Diego for nine years and is an active member of the Leather and BDSM Communities. He is a member of numerous clubs and organizations such as Club X, Gay Leather Men Only (GLO), the San Diego League of Gentlemen (SDLOG), and the Red Hankies of San Diego (RHSD). In addition, he is a member of the Editorial Board of the San Diego Gay and Lesbian Times and the National Leather Association Domestic Violence Project Working Group.

Over six hundred people attended the Mr. San Diego Leather contest held at The Hole in Point Loma. The attendance makes it the largest leather contest ever conducted in San Diego. The Mr. San Diego Leather Contest was the highlight event of San Diego Leather Pride week that started on Feb. 23rd and concluded on March 3rd. One member of the audience stated, "I have never seen so many leather people at one place in San Diego before!" The extraordinary turnout revealed how much San Diego's Leather community has grown and succeeded.

The Masters of Ceremonies for the evening were Ms. San Diego Leather 2002 Naria Bullock Jordan, and Mr. Pistons 1999 and IML 1999 First Runner-Up Sean Reilly. The contest started by the parade of colors where local Leather clubs proudly displayed their clubs colors and banners prior to the National Anthem. A performance by the Drag Kings brought the crowd cheering and then the contest began where each contestant was introduced.

The process of selecting Mr. San Diego Leather 2002 started off early in the morning where every contestant was interviewed by the judging panel. During the contest, the contestants made various appearances in different attire ranging from formal leather to street leather. All contestants addressed the audience with a 90 second speech, auctioned off gift baskets filled with items donated by local businesses and organizations, and were asked to reply to a randomly drawn question. One of the seven gift baskets was auctioned off for $1900.

One of the highlights of the evening was a presentation by Nicole Murray Ramirez. Nicole, who serves as the International President of the International Imperial Court, presented Lou Sedlacek (a.k.a. "Woooffdaddy Lou") with city, state and congressional commendations for his service to the San Diego Community while serving as Mr. San Diego Leather 2001. Woooffdaddy Lou thanked the community for the support he received during his title year and gave a spectacular speech prior to the announcement of the new Mr. San Diego Leather.

The contest concluded when the MC's, Head Judge Mark Holmes (Mr. San Diego Leather 1984), Mark Chipman (Mr. San Diego Leather 2000), Michael Hargiss (Mr. San Diego Leather 1999), Jeff Barrett (Mr. San Diego Leather 1992) and Woooffdaddy Lou announced the winners. Mark Holmes presented them with medallions and the new Mr. San Diego Leather, Tom Dickerson, with his title sash. Immediately after the contest, the San Diego League of Gentlemen (SDLOG), hosted a special encore of BULC 2.0 Dance Party at The Hole, followed with a slave auction that took place at Wolfs in North Park.

Fourteen successful events surrounded the contest. A staff of twenty multi-talented individuals from various clubs and organizations united together to produce a remarkable week of activities for San Diego Leather Pride. Through the various events during San Diego Leather Pride, over $8000 was raised. The phrase "San Diego Leather Pride 2002" was a statement of fact!

The money raised will provide for the Mr. San Diego Leather Travel Fund and Something Special Food Pantry, which is a 100% volunteer organization-assisting clients who have HIV/AIDS. The Something Special Food Pantry has no State, Federal or local government funding. The work of the Pantry is made possible by the various weekly food drives and by cash donations. The staff of the Pantry is a 100% volunteer staff. The money raised by San Diego Leather Pride is a significant portion of the Pantry's annual budget.

The San Diego Leather Pride Team wishes to thank all those who attended the events during Leather Pride week and for making each and every event successful. The team will be meeting again this week to discuss long-range goals and plans for San Diego Leather Pride 2003. Please e-mail producer Randy Vidal if you'd like to be a part of the ongoing success of San Diego Leather Pride.

CONTESTANTS WANTED

Prospective contestants are warmly invited to compete in the upcoming Mr. San Diego Leather contest on Saturday, March 2, 2002. Please step forward to bring honor to our city, and for the winner to represent us in Chicago during the International Mr. Leather Contest.

For more details about the contest, for the downloadable entry-form, and for a description of the surrounding events, please visit the MR. SAN DIEGO LEATHER WEBSITE

If you are interested in running for Mr. San Diego Leather 2002, please send a message to SANDIEGODUDE@HOME.COM (and include your contact-info such as full name, address, phone-numbers and so forth) or call 619.583.9422 in the evenings. You will be corresponded with by the contest's Den Daddies, who will make sure that your needs and your questions will be handled.

San Diego Leather Pride 2002 begins with a tribal dance-party at the Hole. This event is a fund-raiser for the Mr. San Diego Leather Travel Fund, which will be used to help our next titleholder represent our city in Chicago during the International Mr. Leather 2002 contest in late May. Kick out the jams with disco and pleasing Diva-Dance music from the 70's and 80's!

NO TECHNO. NEW DJ.

Our brothers in Red Hankies are very kindly hosting a special beverage-bust party to benefit the Mr. San Diego Leather Travel Fund. As with all Leather Pride events, this event is a fund-raiser for the Mr. San Diego Leather Travel Fund, which helps our next titleholder represent our city in Chicago during the International Mr. Leather 2002 contest in late May.

Cum out and join us for some camaraderie and meet other members of RHSD. If you aren't a member yet, why not join? Only $25 a year includes free classified ads too. Tonight is the bar nite at Pec's Bar in San Diego. It is from 8-11pm, and if you can make it please do. Call your friends, fuck buddies, lover's, playmates, and have them meet you there. The last couple of months have had a slow turn out, and we need a good showing if you can come out and support RHSD.