MINUTES
INTERNATIONAL FRONTRUNNERS INVITATIONAL ("IFI")

Saturday, February 15, 1992
Long Beach, California

As part of the seminar session conducted in conjunction with this weekend's activities, an hour was set aside and simply entitled INTERNATIONAL FRONTRUNNERS. The purposes of this meeting were to bring past delegates together once again, to allow new clubs and potential delegates to participate, and to discuss what IF had accomplished to date and had hoped to undertake and carry out by 1994.

Bill W. had allotted this time and called this informal meeting to order at 2:10 PM. Bill advised the group that 1992 represented IF's sixth anniversary as an informal affiliation of Frontrunner clubs and presented a timeline of activities from 1986 to the present. (This timeline was officially documented and subsequently sent to Keith M. for the start-up packets and Tony A. who was preparing the agenda for Forum 4).

  1. Introductions were made by all 21 participants, each giving his/ her own background and involvement with prior IF activities. 
    Present were:
Alden C. - Boston
Keith M. - Boston
Mike D. - Buffalo
David R. - Chicago
Richard M. - Dallas *
Dan S. - Fort Lauderdale
Wes B. - Kansas City
Brian E. - Long Beach
Bill A. - Los Angeles
Conni M. - Los Angeles
Lorraine S. - Los Angeles
Bill W. - Los Angeles
Greg V. - New York
Jay D. - Portland
Ben F. - San Diego
Chris C. - San Francisco
Rod D. - San Francisco
Julie A. - Seattle
Donald W. - Toronto
Tony A. - Washington DC
Jose C. - Washington DC

    * - Recently relocated from Houston, whom he represented at Forum II in 1989

    For some, this was their first formal IF meeting. Others had gotten involved over the last couple years, while three attendees'

    IF experiences dated back to the first forum in April, 1987. Nonetheless, there was a good deal of enthusiasm toward this "conceptual" group and everyone was willing to share.

  2. Keith M. from Boston brought everyone up-to-date on the status of his start-up packets which had begun in 1989 and continue to grow with the addition of new clubs.

  3. Tony A. from Washington DC then addressed points related to the upcoming International Frontrunners Forum in April 1993. A committee of five would be dividing the work. A Request for Proposal would be sent out to the individual clubs to solicit feedback in order to set the agenda. These organizers planned to hold the event in conjunction with their Springfest activities. A 15K run was planned as well as other activities that would again give those not participating in the Forum something to do.

    Tony stressed that those who would attend the Forum would be sent with the authority to make decisions affecting their club. The number of delegates would also have to be limited because the number of clubs continues to grow and DC planned to keep their meeting on track. Tony felt that their RFP would be going out about six months before the April meeting.

  4. As part of the business of the IF Forum 3 in Toronto in April 1991, Keith M. had proposed that IF look into the possibility of hosting a smoke-free gathering during Gay Games 4 in New York City. Based on a successful event put on by the international swimmers during Gay Games 3 in Vancouver, this event would be under the banner of International Frontrunners. Holding this event would 1) help to raise awareness of the cities in which we were already established, 2) provide guidance in helping anyone interested in forming a Frontrunners group within their own city and 3) further our ongoing efforts as an international force in the gay and lesbian community.

This particular meeting was concluded at about 3:00 PM with various participatants adjourning to a separate room to further discuss Keith's idea about the 1994 venue in New York. Those attending this separate meeting included (but were not limited to): Tony A., Brian E., Richard M., Keith M., Dave R., Greg V. and Donald W.

Respectfully submitted,

Bill W., Coordinator

Copyright © 1996 International Frontrunners.