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October 2017 President's Message
by Richard Mason
Everybody can win!
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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 running our 2017 Keep Our Beaches Bare fundraising raffle. Make a donation* and enter the drawing for a chance to win a deluxe, Ocean Suite stateroom for two on Bare Necessities' The Big Nude Boat Caribbean cruise aboard the Carnival Victory, sailing round trip from Miami, FL, February 2-12, 2018, to the Dutch ABC islands (Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao), the Dominican Republic, and a private island in The Bahamas, with four days at sea, or one of eight 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, Kantenah, Riviera Maya in Mexico's Yucatán peninsula (four days / three nights, all-inclusive, near Playa del Carmen and an hour from Cancún)
• Grand Lido™ Negril Au Naturel All-Suite Resort, Negril, Jamaica (four days / three nights, all-inclusive)
• Cypress Cove Nudist Resort & Spa, Kissimmee (near Orlando, two prizes)
• daddy O hotel miami, Bay Harbor Islands (textile, but near Haulover Beach)
• Lake Como Family Nudist Resort, Lutz ("loots," near Tampa, two prizes)
• Sunsport Gardens Family Naturist Resort, Loxahatchee Groves (near West Palm Beach)
Get all the details and order your raffle tickets at: beachesfoundation.org/fundraiser
Raffle ticket ordering closes on November 24, 2017. Drawing takes place on November 26, 2017 on Haulover Beach. Winners do not need to be present to claim their prize; they will be notified.
We are grateful to our prize donors, without whom this fundraiser would not be possible. Please patronize them!
* 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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How you can help get the word out
1) Visit the Facebook listing for the raffle and do the following:
• Click on Share.
• Important: Make sure that Include Original Post is checked to retain B.E.A.C.H.E.S.' introductory message!
• Share on your timeline and in every naturist group or page that you follow. (If you're not comfortable sharing on your timeline, share with specific naturist friends.)
2) Visit the tweet for this event and retweet it to your Twitter followers.
3) Download and print a flyer to give to friends, or pick some up on weekends at SFFB's information booth near lifeguard tower 15 on Haulover Beach.
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As we enter autumn, the political season at both the state level in Tallahassee, Florida's capital, and the local level in Miami-Dade County is warming up. South Florida Free Beaches (SFFB)'s lobbyist, Ramon Maury of Maury Management Group, Inc. has been working hard for several months on our behalf to execute our strategy to obtain additional funds in the budgets of the Fire Rescue Ocean Rescue (lifeguards), Police, and Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces Departments for the purpose of improving public safety in Haulover Park.
They say democracy is messy and it is never more so than during the budget process. In this republican form of government, it requires participation by the citizens. How else will the people's representatives know how to govern and what to dictate to the employees of the government of the people? Or is it? Complaining later is a waste of emotions and words.
The hundreds of nonprofit, tax-exempt, 501(c)(3) social service and community organizations who rely on a portion of their budgets from Miami-Dade County funding are pleading at public hearings for their expected continuation of funds and some are asking for an increase. County leaders are already crying they have less money than they need to operate the County during the next budget year.
The interests of South Florida Free Beaches, Inc., which represents the interests of the Haulover Beach visitor, are being advanced during the budget process for the betterment of all visitors to our naturist beach and the rest of Haulover Park.
| "It will be a very busy and crazy session, [as] everyone is running for reëlection." |
While all this has been going on locally, the Florida Legislature was to convene in September in Tallahassee, more than 500 miles to the north, to organise itself for the coming legislative session. Committee meetings began the second week of September. To quote Ramon, our lobbyist, "It will be a very busy and crazy session, [as] everyone is running for reëlection. We must begin to consider how we are going to use our membership and influence to collect rewards in line with our projects and ambitions after the election. "
Committee assignments are being fought for. Special interests are making key legislators aware of what they are expecting from the Florida state budget in the 2018 legislative session, which begins in January. Because next year is an election year, all legislators will want to have most legislative goals and the budget wrapped up neatly by the end of February.
| [W]e have to be extra vigilant in our effort to prevent any anti-nudity legislation or words from being inserted into bills... |
With 60 first-term legislators in the Florida House and Senate, we have to be extra vigilant in our effort to prevent any anti-nudity legislation or words from being inserted into bills concerning public lands, child protection, use of alcoholic beverages, etc. that could have a negative effect on Haulover Beach and other nude beaches and resort locations in the state. We must stop them from advancing to the floor of each chamber for a vote. With more than 2,000 bills being introduced, those involved in this will be busy.
We will be asking the Naturist Action Committee (see related article below) to run a computer scan of all Florida legislative bills to search for key words that may be of interest to our lobbyist to investigate further. In addition to reviewing bills for anti-nudity wording, we have to watch for what may be innocent-looking amendments to existing statutes. Because Florida counties adopt the Florida criminal statutes for their local laws, it is important to be involved at the state level.
We have been doing this since 1991 after the founding of Haulover's naturist beach by SFFB. Over those years, we have educated many legislators, enabling SFFB and associated naturist groups to defeat anti-nudity legislation before it could become law.
| There is nothing more political than nudity on public lands. Nothing! |
There is nothing more political than nudity on public lands. Nothing! Snooze and you lose. Being involved politically and with government officials is a process, mainly educational. It never ends because people in important positions who can effect change are constantly turning over.
Many beach visitors do not realize that, for a naturist beach, where nudity is practiced, there is always a threat from those organizations on the political and religious right who oppose nudity in any public place as part of their mission. These organizations strong, well financed, and politically active, most with paid staff. If they oppose breastfeeding in public well as any exposure of the female nipple anywhere, from a privately-owned nightclub to a person's backyard, you can bet that opposition doubles down down especially when it comes to full nudity on a public beach.
Unfortunately, other naturist associations and visitors to nude beaches who did not accept this reality no longer have a beach, river, or pond location where they can enjoy naturism. Haulover's naturist beach continues to exist because SFFB's volunteer members learned from the failure of other naturist groups and individuals.
| [S]ize matters. The first question you receive when dealing with elected officials is, "How many members are there in your association?" |
When dealing with government or individuals, size matters. The first question you receive when dealing with elected officials is, "How many members are there in your association?" You cant fake it! Your success is often based on the size of your organization. For them, the number of members relates to voters and potential donors to a future election campaign.
Naturists and those who seek to have naturist and nudist facilities available into the future need to support naturist / nudist associations that are also active politically for the benefit of our form of recreation.
If you are not a current member of South Florida Free Beaches, please consider becoming one — numbers matter. At $35 per year for your household, it costs just 67¢ per week. A key benefit is the continued, clothing-optional use of Haulover Beach. How much is that worth to you? Join or renew at sffb.com.
SFFB also has a separate Legal Defense & Political Action Fund that supports its government affairs efforts and assists individuals cited for nude sunbathing. Even if you're not ready to (re)join just yet, please consider donating to this fund (not tax-deductible) to help with current challenges. Donations by bank check should be mailed to the address below (in e-mail version of newsletter). Thanks!
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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 of 2017 is scheduled for Haulover Beach in Miami on Saturday, October 14. If you have any questions or wish to sign up for a training session, contact Ken.
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Naturist Education Foundation debuts video promoting its nudist research library, world's largest
by Bob Morton, Executive Director, Naturist Action Committee (NAC)
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What is NAC, and why should you care?
A leader on the political and legal fronts, the Naturist Action Committee (NAC) monitors legislative activities from city hall to the halls of the U.S. Congress and Canadian Parliament, issuing alerts and lobbying on behalf of naturist interests. When lobbying fails, NAC can be found in the courthouse, filing briefs and intervening directly on behalf of naturists and the naturist cause.
 NAC's ongoing work and vigilance, along with its sister organizations (see below left), The Naturist Society and the Naturist Education Foundation, and support from the American Association for Nude Recreation (AANR) and the Federation of Canadian Naturists (FCN), help make our continued enjoyment of the naturist lifestyle possible.
This work does not come cheaply. Sometimes grappling with several hotspots, NAC is stretched to fund it all. Please consider donating to NAC (not tax-deductible) today to help protect your right to nude recreation.
If you live in another country, your national naturist federation may do similar work. Find more information about it from the International Naturist Federation.
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SFFB-endorsed slate elected to NAC Board of Directors
NAC announced in its September 13, 2017 advisory that Doug Hickok, Richard Mason, and Bill Schroer were elected to three-year terms on its Board of Directors. SFFB's Board of Directors had endorsed all three candidates on the expectation that they would infuse NAC with new energy and perspective, grounded on extensive, relevant experience.
This was followed by a September 15, 2017 advisory in which NAC reported that one of the incumbents and a candidate for reëlection, Dick Springer, 87, had passed away on August 26.
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The Naturist Action Committee (NAC) is pleased to announce on behalf of its sister nonprofit organization, the Naturist Education Foundation (NEF), the debut of a brand new informational video that highlights the NEF Research Library.
View the new video online: http://naturisteducation.org/library
Click on the image of Library researchers. The website also contains other information about the Library.
The 3.5 minute video, which was commissioned by NEF, is a fast-paced introduction created by well known naturist director and videographer Michael Cooney. NEF board member Mark Storey, who is the Library's director, oversaw production, which was completed in September. The Library is a project of NEF, as a whole. Storey, along with NEF board members Jim Dickey and Bob Morton, make up the NEF committee that's directly responsible for it.
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| Click or tap on image to view video. |
Still in its infancy as a library with a specific nudist and naturist focus, the NEF Research Library is already the largest of its sort, anywhere. Now with more than a thousand books and more than 15,000 unique nudist- and naturist-themed magazines, the Library exists because of the generosity of its supporters and benefactors. Naturist benefactors Gary Sweetnam and Dale Giese played major roles in assuring that the Library would have a brick-and-mortar home. Naturist benefactor Charlie Perkins donated overwhelming quantities of magazines, books, and other materials that jump-started the Library, supplying contents instantly and on a large scale. The Naturist Society contributed much of Lee Baxandall's collection.
 The NEF Research Library is dedicated to Preserving Naturist History. It is located in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, in the same commercial office complex that's the physical home of The Naturist Society. NEF is lucky to have such good neighbors!
The Naturist Education Foundation Research Library is just one of the important projects of NEF, which also sponsors academic awards for high school and college students, as well as scientifically significant public opinion surveys reflecting attitudes toward nudity. NEF relies on the voluntary financial support of donors. To donate to NEF online, go to: http://naturisteducation.org/donate
NEF is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. In most cases, your donations to NEF are tax-deductible. Consult your tax professional.
Enjoy the new NEF Research Library video. http://naturisteducation.org/library
[Editor's notes: The above article is a Naturist Action Committee advisory, issued on October 2, 2017. The side panel is my addition. Other nudist research libraries in the United States are the American Nudist Research Library, located on the grounds of Cypress Cove Nudist Resort & Spa in Kissimmee, FL, and the Western Nudist Research Library, located on the grounds of Glen Eden Nudist Resort in Corona, CA. All of these libraries depend on the donation of materials and funds to fulfill their missions.]
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Florida free beach updates
Treasure Coast Naturists (TCN)'s annual coastal cleanup is rescheduled for Saturday, October 21 on Blind Creek Beach from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. It was postponed from the original date of September 16, due to Hurricane Irma. The storm caused serious erosion. At high tide, there is barely a beach at all. TCN reminds patrons to stay out of the dunes and be patient for sand to return naturally.
Included in the event on October 21 is a fundraising raffle with great prizes centered on the theme, nudist destination vacations and gear. Raffle tickets are available at the TCN booth on the beach until 1 p.m., and must be submitted for the drawing before 2 p.m. Raffle rules, terms, and conditions are posted on the events page of TCN's website.
TCN actively welcomes new members and donors to help care for Blind Creek Beach, including the expense of maintaining port-a-potties in the parking lot, which TCN provides (not St. Lucie County). Annual dues are $20 per household, and you can find a TCN membership form via the first link in this paragraph.
Tampa Area Naturists (TAN) cancelled its 1st Annual TAN Tribal Council & Fall Equinox Beach Dayz!, which was to take place September 22-24 at a couple of naturist resorts and beaches on Florida's east coast. TAN is looking into rescheduling the Council portion for a Tampa Bay Area venue. Watch for dates and details of this and other TAN events at facebook.com/TampaAreaNaturists/events.
As TAN continues to build support for a clothing-optional beach in the Tampa Bay Area, it is actively seeking additional signatures on its online petition. Please sign it if you haven't done so yet, and ask your friends to do the same.
Reminder: Palm Beach Naturists (PBN) has a new website at palmbeachnaturists.org. Keep checking back for additions.
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Haulover Beach reopens after post-storm cleanup
Haulover Park was closed to the public for cleanup until September 21, when it reopened partially. Lot 1 and the dog park remained closed for several days longer. Hurricane Irma brought additional sand to Haulover Beach, burying the beachside edge of dune vegetation and covering the normally hard-packed strip along the dune line with soft sand that is difficult to walk or pull a cart through.
Correction: The new, Haulover Beach towels mentioned in the previous issue are available for a donation of $22 for the embroidered ones and $18 for the few without embroidery.
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SFFB Board meeting on Haulover Beach, October 14
The Board of Directors of South Florida Free Beaches usually meets on the second Saturday of every month at 2:00 p.m. under the North Chickee (thatch-roofed shade structure) near Lifeguard Tower 15 on Haulover Beach unless another date and time or location is announced. See below for the remainder of this year's schedule. Any planned exception to the second Saturday pattern is noted with an asterisk.
The meetings are open to SFFB sponsors / members, supporters, and invited guests. Prior to setting out, check the upper left-hand corner of SFFB's home page at sffb.com (under Today's Beach Reports) for any change in date, time, or location due to unavailability of Board members or in case of bad weather, when the meeting may take place indoors.
Don't miss an SFFB Board meeting — add the schedule to your calendar now!
| October 14, 2017
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November 11, 2017 |
December 9, 2017
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GNI launches early registration for 2018 men's nude Gathering
Gay Naturists International (GNI) has launched a soft opening of registration for next year's edition of its signature nude event for men, the 33rd Annual International Gathering of Male Naturists, or the GNI Gathering for short. It takes place in a rustic, but comfortable resort in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania, August 17-26, 2018, with shorter attendance options available. The location is about an hour-and-a-half's drive west of New York City, and GNI provides optional bus transportation from Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) and Midtown Manhattan.
GNI will fill in details on its website and provide a formal announcement later, but is making registration accessible much earlier than in the past, when it typically opened in late winter or early spring, to provide the maximum opportunity for registrants to make plans and to take advantage of early registration pricing.
Hundreds of men come together at The Gathering for up to ten days of naked fun, camaraderie, education, and relaxation in a beautiful, rustic but comfortable setting with a lake; two heated pools; gym and courts for tennis, volleyball, and other sports; wooded trails; and rolling, manicured grounds.
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Check 2017 Gathering app for an idea of what to expect!
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The registration fee covers housing in dormitory-style cabins (camping optional; RVs welcome, but utility hookups are not available), all meals, snacks, and beverages (including beer and wine), and events, activities, and entertainment (except the optional Body Electric massage weekend workshop and add-on excursions, which require additional fees).
Regular programming includes seminars and workshops, sports instruction and tournaments, massage and yoga, contests, shows, parties, bonfires, a nightly, naked Dance Club with live DJs and fantastic sound and lights, and much more! The Gathering is open to men aged 21 or over, regardless of orientation. Get info and register.
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