Letter From the Executive Director

Happy New Year -- can you believe it is 2002!?! It is my honor to welcome you to the January/February issue of Body Positive magazine as we enter our fifteenth year of service to the AIDS community. Looking back on last year, as we commemorated 20 years of AIDS and thinking about all the progress made at Body Positive has certainly brought a sense of melancholy along with a great sense of pride. Life was much different for BP and for our community in 1987 and remaining active in our work is a testament to our commitment to all those living with or affected by HIV/AIDS.

It is no secret that working to obtain AIDS funding has become increasingly difficult due to budget cuts and quite unfortunately also due to the horrific events this past September. However, BP continues to march forward and proudly continue our rich heritage and tradition of service to the HIV/AIDS community.

While marching forward and thinking about how to reach out even more to the gay community, I have convened a group of representatives from such organizations as Body Positive, GMHC, God's Love We Deliver, The Hispanic AIDS Forum, The Latino Commission on AIDS, GMAD and The Center among others. We have been meeting monthly to plan special events for positive gay men. I am thrilled with the commitment from this group of individuals and you will certainly hear more "buzz" about "The HIVe" in the days ahead...

Some exciting events lie ahead this year including our Sixth Annual Academy Awards Party on March 24th (please see the ad on the back cover). Our Fifteenth Annual Garden Gala will be "blossoming" once again this coming June. We will honor the memory of Garden Gala Founder James Revson with the First Annual James Revson Award for Dedication to Body Positive and the AIDS Community. We are also planning a Fifteenth Anniversary Gala in September... stay tuned for details!