Greetings my leather brothers and sisters,

I am very proud to be this year’s chair of the MN Leather Pride events planning committee. We have planned many activities for the 2012 MN Leather Pride celebration and the rest of the year. So come and join us during this year’s Leather Pride celebration and support your leather community and your friends. They have worked very hard to put together an awesome collection, stretching over more than a week, of educational demonstrations and seminars, social and cultural events, and of course our Leather Pride booth in Loring Park during the Twin Cities Pride Festival.

During all this planning I have had the opportunity to meet folks new to the leather community, get closer to longtime community members and renew old leather ties.  I can tell how alive, and how big, our leather community is. It’s F****NG HUGE!

You should all be proud of all your accomplishments as individuals, groups or clubs in the leather community—from the Atons of Minneapolis celebrating their 40th year, to the Knights of Leather approaching their 25th anniversary run next year, and many more achievements throughout the leather community and tribe.

We give thanks to our organizations and businesses that support us during the whole year! Please, when you see them or stop by their establishment, say THANK YOU.

As well, MN Leather Pride could not do this without the support and hard work of many leather folks like you. There are many talented people behind the scenes who help make this tribe function. People may not know how much volunteer time they put in, so I am very proud to mention and give thanks to a few individuals who make a difference:

• Mr. Andrew Bertke for our website design and updates.
• Mr. Steve Lenius for his ongoing writing contributions, proofreading assistance and knowledge of our leather history.
• Kyle Truss for his graphic art and design talent and patience in putting together this year’s MN Leather Pride flyer and dog tags.
• Mr. Sam Carlisle for accounting and bookkeeping work.
• The members of MN Leather Pride’s board.
• All of the individuals who show up at our monthly events planning meetings. Cheers!

Thank you, everyone, we appreciate all your work and all the time you have spent working to make things happen.

Enjoy your accomplishments this Leather Pride Week and the rest of the year. Get out and wear your leathers and be proud of them, and also be proud of your leather-and-kinky community.

Yours in leather,
Sir Angel
“be”
Events Chair