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GAPSN in 2001
| GAPSN in 2001 | GAPSN in 1999 | GAPSN in 1990 | GAPSN in 1988 |
By Pei-Chi Chang and Patrick Mangto
From InformAsian, GAPSN Monthly Newsletter, February 2001
Last year was a very successful year for GAPSN, as GAPSN reassessed the marginalized API community needs and attempted to address them. GAPSN has reinvented itself and the Board hopes that this year we can build on our achievements from last year.
There have been some unsubstantiated rumors circulating that GAPSN is no longer for its members and we no longer listen to what they have to say. We would just like our members to rest assured that the GAPSN you know of has not changed.
The Board is merely looking at new ways to enhance our existing programs, and to try out new programs that will attract more API LGBT to GAPSN.
However, we are looking for individuals who would be willing to help us program for socials and other activities. The Board currently has a very full plate and is open to any suggestions about how to encourage membership. However, people need to take an active role in making this a GAPSN that represents your interests – we can’t do everything!
So we are in dire need of a Social Chair – if you know of people who might be interested, please give us a ring immediately. We want GAPSN to be an enjoyable experience and to offer programming as an alternative to the bar and disco scene.
This years Pacific Bridge Awards were very successful. We had over 300 attendees, and the awardees themselves were inspirational. (Please see the pictures and accompanying article.)
The banquet received incredible coverage, including Frontiers, In Magazine, Lesbian News, AsianAvenue.com, PlanetOut.com, and Outlook, just to name a few.
GAPSN is currently reformatting the GAPSN Raps. They will now held in conjunction with API PFLAG. By co-programming with API PFLAG, we are better able to provide support members who are having issues coming out with their parents and their friends. The first rap will take place at the Village, Sunday, February 11 from 2-4 PM. Please check the front counter for the exact room.
GAPSN will be changing the format of the newsletters. They will now be send out via e-mail and distributed not only to the GAPSN members, but anyone who signs up to receive information about GAPSN. The will be in an e-zine format and the articles will be linked directly to the GAPSN Web page and other sources. The reasoning behind this change is threefold.
The increased price for both postage and copying is now becoming cost prohibitive. Each newsletter printed and mailed costs GAPSN almost a dollar. Many of our members have not renewed membership with us, yet still attend our events and receive the newsletter. We’d like to keep everyone in the fold without cutting anyone out. A huge portion of the GAPSN budget goes towards the newsletter that can be better used for programming. Most of your membership dues go to the newsletter. And we can all agree that the newsletter is not the focus of GAPSN.
GAPSN has had difficulty retaining an individual to do the newsletter. It takes up valuable time to lay out, copy, fold, and mail the newsletter. The Board member could still do an e-newsletter in an hour and have time to help program for other events with his time. We have someone who is willing to lay out the newsletter in a brief e-zine, but we no longer have a Board member to do newsletter.
The e-newsletter will drive traffic to GAPSN’s Web site at www.gapsn.org. It is important that we start using this valuable resource that is currently being underutilized. There is a wealth of information available and every GAPSN member should have the site bookmarked on his computer.
If you are not on our e-list, please go to GAPSN’s e-list, please subscribe by going to gapsn@egroup.com. If you do not have access to the Internet we can still mail you a copy of the e-newsletter but it will merely be copies of the articles directly printed out from the Web site. They may also not be mailed in a timely manner. Please let Pei or Patrick know if you still require a mailed version of the newsletter. Once again, we welcome all feedback. Please feel free to contact the chairs or any board members or email us your comments at gapsn@yahoo.com Pei and Patrick
