So, there was this meeting...

i thought it was just the 3 of us, but there ended up being 30+ years of history that bantered about the room. Ghosts of the passed on and references to people who now go by another name in another city. People before their reassignment surgery, before Aubrey's Playroom. Seminars Tony DeBlase held and things He demonstrated, the original recipes for Doomed Rabbit cookbook and Michale Young's artwork all told me an amazing tale of a city, before and during the ravages of AIDS. None of my generation is untouched by AIDS, and many of us are still scared by the experience. I read for the first time a vaccine is really in the testing stage. At last!

Northwest leatherSir, joins the Tony DeBlase Scholarship Campaign

So, BIG things are happening on the scholarship front. With the 2010 Northwest LeatherSir, joining forces with the Tony DeBlase team, there was a considerable buzz around the community this weekend. I see His support as a HUGE bonus and know He is going to do a great job and be a big help. Fundraisers are in the works and i am truly excited. It's gratifying to see the community come together and feel real support for a cause i have been a part of since it's inception. There is a lot of work, a lot of fun and a lot of surprises coming up. i can't wait to get started

Once again i would like to ask , if you haven't already, please donate $5 (or more) a month (or week) to the Tony DeBlase scholarship via the Pridefoundation.org. Please notate check or money order, with "Tony DeBlase" so it goes to the right account It's a beer or a cup of coffee, that you would be giving up for a student to have tuition, or books. To me it seems like a good value. Starbucks doesn't need the extra money! Pennies for scholars banks will be popping up soon. Please, even 1 cent will help.

Some say the speech, i gave was brilliant, other say they didn't hear it all, so i have transcribed it below

..."Any questions", He asked

"Sir, Will i look foolish?"

He smiled and shrugged and said "I don't know, that all depends on you"

With that, he shaved my head, for the first time.


That was a big step for me, but just a small particle of who i am.
How do i tell You who i am in 2 minuets or less?
i am my brothers, my mentor
i am Anita Bryant, Jerry Falwell
i am my first love, every broken heart, a haiku in Drummer Magazine
i am a pair of boots that gave me a boner, in the store window
i am a guy, who was sitting at the dinner table the evening my Mentor told us of His plan to start a scholarship fund
i am the guy who was flipping burgers down the street to raise money for the endowment
i am everyone i ever hurt or helped and all that have hurt or helped me.

i am a friend of the The Pride Foundation a worthy organization who, strengthen our community through their network of generosity

Who am i?
i am Corey Krantz
reminding you, the future is in our hands.
Please actively support the Tony DeBlase scholarship fund
(9/5/09)

It would be easy to put the contest stuff back into a box and let it sit for a year till I decide weather or not to enter again or just enjoy the experience and move on. But that isn't my style. Besides I still have the same agenda I did before the contest and see no reason why losing should change that. In reality, I have more time, with less obligations than the winners. So, my plan is to ask everyone I know to join me in donating $5 a month (or more, if possible) to the Pride Foundation. Please add a memo and mention Tony DeBlase so the money gets put in the right account. Remember my analogy about a blade of grass... one doesn't seem very significant, but a bunch of them, can make for a beautiful well manicured lawn.

The scholarship, as it stands, will help students for many years, but it is only 'seed' money, helping to cultivate, but not enough to really give the students the foundation to to thrive. I must tell you that the scholars that apply and receive money from the Tony DeBlase scholarship are an amazing group. Amazing enough, that one old man on the committee was so inspired, that he entered a contest to help raise public awareness and money for the scholarship.

Didn't win...

So, didn't win. but didn't clear the room either. The day was mostly frustrating, hurry up, to sit and wait, kill a few hours, hurry up, sit and wait. The contest was a lot of fun and I think the right guys won. The other contestants were all really excellent men who really care about the community and will do a great job. The judges , producers, sound and light and backstage crew couldn't have been nicer or more professional. So many helped and offered support I am so grateful.
i feel i have made new friends out of this and hope others feel the same way about me. my work for the scholarship and the Pride Foundation will not suffer because of this loss, but it gives me more time to concentrate on fund raising schemes. With kind people offering support only goes to encourage me
Thank you all!