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September 2016 President's Message
by Richard Mason
Urgent campaign for increased resources to Haulover Beach
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Click on banner and scroll down to SFFB/FNA Legal Defense / Political Action Fund.
"Yes! I support SFFB's efforts to obtain additional County funding for Haulover Park safety staffing."
Make a donation today to the SFFB/FNA Legal Defense / Political Action Fund to help with the added expense of having SFFB's government affairs representative lobby County officials to include this important item in the budget.
Click on the banner above or here to donate on line. (Scroll down to SFFB/FNA Legal Defense / Political Action Fund.)
Alternatively, you can make out a check to SFFB/FNA and mail it to the address shown below left in this e-mail.
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South Florida Free Beaches / Florida Naturist Association, Inc. (SFFB/FNA) has launched an intensive lobbying and government affairs program to obtain funding in the Miami-Dade County 2016-2017 Budget for additional police, lifeguards, and rangers in Haulover Park. The first public hearing of the budget is on Thursday, September 8, followed by the second and final hearing two weeks later on September 22.
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Ramon Maury
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In June, we tasked our Tallahassee government affairs representative, Ramon Maury of Maury Management Group, Inc., with the additional effort of lobbying Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez and staff as well as the 13 County Commissioners for their support in adding sufficient funds to meet our demand for improved public safety on Haulover's naturist beach and in the restrooms and parking lots.
We were disappointed to learn that management of Miami-Dade County Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces had not placed line-item funds in the budget for the added public safety personnel that we have been requesting for several years and we have determined are required to make Haulover Park safe for our beach visitors and their vehicles.
This additional staffing is needed to suppress and prevent the illicit sexual activity that is reportedly taking place in the park, restrooms, and parking lots and on the beach, due to the absence of uniformed, public safety personnel.
These activities can only destroy the reputation of Haulover's naturist beach and lead to its closure to nude sunbathing, as has happened at many other clothing-optional beaches in Florida and throughout North America. See the April 2016 issue of our newsletter for the most recent such closure, at Mazo Beach in Wisconsin, where nude use had existed for more than three decades. The same could happen to Haulover Beach if Miami-Dade County does not allocate the necessary resources to secure it.
That may very well be the hidden agenda of people allied with development interests and the public / private partnership gang of profit seekers. What else explains the blatant negligence in not providing essential staffing?
It is and always will be the responsibility of the Haulover naturist beach users, themselves, to protect their beach and to keep it open to nude use by being proactive and supporting the government affairs programs of South Florida Free Beaches / Florida Naturist Association, Inc., a Florida non-profit corporation of volunteer naturists.
The additional, local work assignments to our government affairs representative are a worthwhile use of his time and effort, but they bring an added expense, as they are outside the scope of his usual work for us in Tallahassee. Won't you please help us secure Haulover Beach by donating to SFFB for this purpose? The best way is on line at sffb.com (scroll down to SFFB/FNA Legal Defense / Political Action Fund), or you can make out a check to SFFB/FNA and mail it to the address shown at the lower left in this e-mail.
Thank you in advance for your generous support of this important undertaking.
If you are not a current SFFB member, please consider becoming one - numbers matter. Join at sffb.com or fill out an application on printed page 7 of the Naturist Beach Guide booklet found in the news dispenser boxes on Haulover Beach.
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Chance to win a nude Caribbean cruise or other great, naturist vacation prizes for two!
B.E.A.C.H.E.S. Foundation Institute and South Florida Free Beaches / Florida Naturist Association are launching on September 1 our 2016 "Keep Our Beaches Bare" fundraising raffle. Make a donation* and enter the drawing for a chance to win a balcony stateroom for two on the Bare Necessities Big Nude Boat / Dare 2 Bare Caribbean cruise on the Carnival Pride, February 5-14, 2017, round trip from Tampa, FL to the Dominican Republic with stops in Key West, The Bahamas, and Turks & Caicos, February 5-14, 2017 or one of six three-day, two-night naturist vacation packages for two in Florida (except as otherwise noted), including stays at
• Hidden Beach Resort - Au Naturel Club by Karisma (5 days/4 nights), Kantenah, Riviera Maya in Mexico's Yucatán peninsula (one hour south of Cancún) plus round-trip airfare from select U.S. gateways
• Cypress Cove Nudist Resort & Spa, Kissimmee (two prizes)
• daddy O hotel miami, Bay Harbor Islands (textile, but near Haulover Beach)
• Lake Como Family Nudist Resort, Lutz ("loots," near Tampa)
• Sunsport Gardens Family Naturist Resort, Loxahatchee Groves (near West Palm Beach)
and two lunch or dinner packages for two at Werner Staub's Peppermill Restaurant on the Intracoastal Waterway in Sunny Isles Beach (textile, but walking distance to Haulover Beach).
Get all the details and order your raffle tickets at: beachesfoundation.org/fundraiser
You may order raffle tickets on line through Friday, November 25, 2016. They will also be available soon on Haulover Beach in Miami at the SFFB information booth when it is set up at the North Chickee (thatch-roofed shade structure) near Lifeguard Tower 15. The drawing will take place in the same location on Sunday, November 27, 2016. Winners need not be present to claim their prize; they will be notified. Give your friends the above link and encourage them to get raffle tickets!
* Donations will be used for naturist education, free beach advocacy, capital improvements to Haulover Beach or other clothing-optional beach sites, disability beach access program, and other purposes as listed in the scope of B.E.A.C.H.E.S.' mission and SFFB's mandate.
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Beach Ambassador training
Do you spend a lot of time on Miami's nude beach? If so, you have a chance to give back by volunteering as a Beach Ambassador (BA) to help maintain naturist standards on Haulover Beach and keep it safely nude for all to enjoy. Sign up for and attend a training to become part of a wonderful corps of volunteers.
BAs serve as beach monitors and greeters, a combination of block watch and welcome wagon. For their service, BAs at Haulover Beach get a cool hat, ID badge, and free parking on their duty days. Seasonal residents are welcome to participate.
The final Beach Ambassador training in 2016 is scheduled for Haulover Beach in Miami on Saturday, November 12. If you have any questions or wish to sign up for a training session, contact Ken.
The naturist beach founders' plaque dedication that was scheduled for August 21, immediately following that day's BA training, was postponed to a date to be determined. The plaque was not ready due to a production delay.
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Treasure Coast Naturists September event reminders
The community meeting that the Board of Directors of Treasure Coast Naturists (TCN) had scheduled for July 17 on Blind Creek Beach in Fort Pierce, FL was postponed to Sunday, September 11, starting at 10:30 a.m. The meeting takes place under the pavilion near the parking lot trailhead of the dune crossover. All friends of Blind Creek Beach may attend, and suggestions and questions are welcome.
The 3rd Annual Blind Creek Beach Cleanup occurs on Saturday, September 17, 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., in coordination with International Coastal Cleanup Day. Volunteers and others may enter a raffle to win great prizes of nudist destination vacations.
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SFFB Board meeting
The Board of Directors of South Florida Free Beaches meets on Saturday, September 10, 2016 at 3:00 p.m. under the North Chickee (thatch-roofed shade structure) near Lifeguard Tower 15. The meeting is open to SFFB sponsors / members, supporters, and invited guests.
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SFFB information booth reduces hours for autumn
Beach Ambassadors (see related article above) are reducing the operating hours of the SFFB information booth on Haulover Beach for the autumn slow period. Weather permitting, the booth is set up under the North Chickee (thatch-roofed shade structure near Lifeguard Tower 15) on Saturdays from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., with Sunday as the rain backup. Stop by to say hello, ask questions, and pick up a wide range of naturist literature, including information on clothing-optional beaches and resorts.
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Follow-up: SFFB-backed naturist candidate defeated
In last month's issue, we reported on SFFB's support for the campaign of Bill Schroer, who was running openly as a naturist for the Republican nomination to represent District 4 on the Board of Commissioners of Calhoun County, MI. (Although not the county seat, the principal city is Battle Creek.) In a primary election on August 2 characterized by a low turnout of 14.1% for the county overall, Bill did not overcome his opponent's advantages as the incumbent.
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Follow-up: Top-free women and GoTopless Day in New Hampshire
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Click on image above for video of interview with GoTopless Day participants. (Photo and video by Rich Beauchesne)
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Click on image above for GoTopless Day photo gallery (All photos by Rich Beauchesne for Seacoastonline.com)
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We have reported in previous issues, most recently, July 2016's, about the ongoing battle over women's top-free equality in New Hampshire. Current New Hampshire statute does not address exposure of nipples, making top-freedom at the state level a legal fact for males and females alike. That legal silence has been the basis for the New Hampshire House of Representatives' rejection of two separate attempts early this year to introduce restrictions on top-freedom.
Several media outlets in New Hampshire (e.g., NH1 News) reported on July 23 that the three top-free women who had been arrested at the end of May for violating the municipal indecent exposure ordinance of Laconia, NH pleaded not guilty and waived arraignment. One of the women, Heidi Lilley, has argued that top-free equality at the state level supersedes any local restriction of it. At press time, a trial date had not been set. We will continue to monitor this matter and report on it.
Meanwhile, the Free the Nipple movement called for celebrating the annual GoTopless Day on Sunday, August 28 on Hampton Beach in New Hampshire, where similar arrests had occurred last year but were later thrown out of court. Local police announced in advance that they were making no special preparations and would respect the right of all bathers to be top-free. The day came off without a hitch, with some male supporters donning bikini tops while women went bare-chested. For a video of brief interviews with a couple of participants and a photo gallery of the event, see right.
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