Category: President’s Message

Hello Gentlemen,

I am looking forward to seeing you at one of the several upcoming potlucks this summer. I would like to thank all the members who joined us on our Duck Boat for the Pride parade and especially the members who walked in front carrying our banner and greeting onlookers. Participation like this increases our profile and invites potential new members to check out the club.

I would like to thank Coley Kelly and Helder Lemos for their participation and fundraising for the AIDS Walk every year as well as the members who donated money to support them. (More about this here.)

The last Tuesday of the month is our monthly dinner at Club Café (but remember, there is no dinner in August). The dinner is typically $28, but Jim Morgrage welcomes anyone who wants to come by and order off the menu if you wish to join your friends.

Also, the Boston Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence have invited us to Club Café for their Sister Stories Book Tour on Saturday, July 13^th. (See this page for additional information.)

Save the date: August 24th from 1-5 PM for our 32nd Anniversary Party. The cost this year is $30 and guests are welcome.

Don’t forget the Seacoast Gay Men are holding their 40th Anniversary party on August 10th. We have been invited to attend. You can purchase tickets by visiting their website at seacoastgaymen.org. (See this article for more information.)

Finally, please welcome our new board members: Norman Pelletier, James Garrity and Paul Cram.

Have a great summer!

Hello Gentlemen,

I am very excited about our Ogunquit Spring Fling. It is going to be a great time for everyone. We have 33 rooms sold at this time and a total of 55 members and guests, with more to join us for our Friday evening party.

There will be members of the Seacoast Gay Men and North Shore Men, as well as our brothers from the Rhode Island and Connecticut chapters of the Prime Timers.

See you on May 31^st for a great weekend!

We will be having an Italian buffet and soft drinks for Friday evening’s party. For anyone wishing to have adult beverages, you will need to bring your own. Should you want a bottle of wine, Perkins & Perkins is just down the street at 478 Main St. and the Ogunquit Wine Cellar is 2 minutes south of the resort at 59 Shore Rd. (turning southeast off of Main St.) on the east side of the road.

For the stragglers who have yet to pay for their lodgings and the Friday evening party, please get your checks into the office ASAP or contact me at (781) 587-1429 or everharry@aol.com about paying with a card.

We have an exceptional guest speaker lined up for the May 18th meeting. David Velasco-Bermudez was present at the Stonewall Inn during the 1969 riots. This incident is widely credited with spurring the modern Gay Rights movement. David, accompanied by his partner Robert Isadore, will speak to us about his experiences that night, as well as his activism since then. We are opening the presentation to anyone who wishes to attend. Please invite your friends or anyone you feel might be interested.

We have reserved a Boston Duck Boat for the Boston Pride Parade. We are looking for volunteers to help decorate and ride with us. David Velasco-Bermudez, Robert Isadore, Lady Di and a number of our friends from Club Café will be on the Duck Boat. If you are willing to voluteer to decorate or would like a seat on the Duck Boat, please contact me at (781) 587-1429 or everharry@aol.com.

The Boston Pride Parade this year will be at noon on Saturday, June 8^th.

I look forward to seeing you in Ogunquit, at the next meeting and at Pride!

Hello Gentlemen,

I would like to thank everyone who donated to my birthday fundraiser through Facebook. My set goal was $500, but in the end, we raised $836. This money will be used for the Pride Event this year, to help pay for a duck boat for us to ride during the Pride Parade. The folks from Club Café will be joining us. This year will commemorate the 50^th Anniversary of the Stonewall Riots.

Should you wish to help with Pride, we need a decorating committee to brainstorm ideas and help make them happen. We want to make a big impact this year, honoring a significant milestone in gay history. Please get in touch with me if you are interested.

As of writing this, we still have 9 tickets remaining to the Hasty Pudding Theatrical performance this year. The show, France France Revolution, is on March 7^th at 8 PM. Tickets are $28. You may be able to get tickets at the February meeting, if they are still available. That will be the last day; any remaining discounted tickets will be returned to the Hasty Pudding box office. (See this page for more details.)

In place of the March meeting, please join us and enjoy a boiled dinner served by Club Café on March 16^th. The cost is $25.

I have been told by several members that they are happy with the direction of the club. I want to thank you, but it takes a team to maintain this and keep it going. Some members are leaving, so we will need others to step up!

The April elections are approaching rapidly. I need your help to run the club. I am asking members who have time and energy to contribute to please join the board. If you are interested, please send in your biography to be posted in the March Prologue. (E-mail your bio to prologue@bostonpt.org or mail it to the office.) If you have any questions, please contact me.

Thank you,

Harry

Hello Gentlemen,

The Halloween trip to P-Town is coming up soon (October 26-28^th). I hope you all have your costumes ready. Check-in is 11 AM on Friday 26th. Explore and have fun around town, but join us for an informal cocktail and snacks hour at 5 PM. Thanks to Roy Moeckel and the Connecticut group, as they do a wonderful job every year. The dinner, dancing and costume show will begin at 6 PM on Saturday. The parade through town will be happening most of the day. If you have not sent in your Tear Sheet with payment, please do so soon. Rooms are going fast. The website was just updated to show the latest list of available rooms. We are already out of rooms with more than one bed.

If you would like to host a potluck, please contact Norman Pelletier or Tom Gaudett [see roster]. Norman and Tom will assist you in setting up a wonderful day with friends.

If you have ideas for a speaker for one of our meetings, please call Harry at (857) 544-3630 or e-mail me at everyharry@aol.com.

We have 2 open seats on the board. Please see me if you are interested in helping out.

Gentlemen, we have a few members who now reside in nursing homes. It’d be wonderful to reach out to them to let them know they are not forgotten. Cards and letters are great ways to do this. A visit or phone call may be even better. The members and the info to reach them are in the Prologue under Member News.

A Thanksgiving dinner will be served on November 17^th’s meeting at Club Café. This is a time for all of us to get together and give thanks for the many blessing in our lives. Details will be released soon.

Save the date December 8^th for our Holiday Party. Details will be released in next month’s Prologue. I am working on a big surprise.

Hello Gentlemen,

Spring has just about sprung. I am looking forward to the warmer weather and longer days. Our new location for meetings has been very successful. This coming meeting will feature a traditional Irish boiled dinner served by Club Café. The regular menu is available to those who may wish an alternative meal. In the next few months, we will be organizing the Ogunquit Trip. We are continuing to work with the Rhode Island and Connecticut chapters to organize a BBQ/Clambake at one of the state parks.

We will be marching in the Pride Parade this year and will have a bus to seat 15 people also. The theme is #Rainbow Resistance. For more info on Pride, see the bostonpride.org website. If you have any ideas and/or wish to participate in decorating the bus please let me know ASAP.

Jim Morgrage (from Club Café) participates in the annual Harbor to the Bay Bike ride to raise money for HIV prevention, research and education. Please see him if you wish to help in any way. Remember, he has been very good to us, so we should certainly return the favor. It is also a very important cause. See harbortothebay.org to learn more about the event.

Gary Gropman is holding his annual Mardi Gras-themed potluck at the Gropman museum and estate on March 24^th. Please see the listing on page 5 for more details. Philip and I will be hosting a BBQ as soon as the weather is more agreeable. (Philip will do all the work, of course). Contact Norman Pelletier if you wish to host a potluck at your home. Our Host(ess) will help you every step of the way.

Each month in the Prologue we will feature a member who will share with us a story about their life and experiences. Some have written about their time with the Prime Timers and others are sharing more in-depth life experiences. All have been very interesting and some very surprising. Norman Pelletier’s article is featured this month (on page 2). If you wish to participate, please contact me.

Elections are upcoming in April, so look for the biographies and don’t forget to vote!

Hello Gentlemen,

Happy New Year!!! There are several new faces in our group. I’d like to ask everyone to make an extra effort to reach out, introduce yourself and welcome new members when you meet them. Assimilating into a new group can be daunting for some so we’d love to make it a little easier for new folks. We’ve all seen new guys come by meetings, sit quietly and then never return as we’re all caught up with chatting with the friends we usually associate with. This is an area where we have been weak in the past. We can do better. A hello or chat at a meeting or perhaps making the extra effort to invite them to a potluck, event or dinner would be helpful. Learning their name and introducing them around will help them feel more comfortable and invited.

We will be sharing pictures of club events in the Prologue and/or website soon so if you take photos, we’d love for you to share with other members. We will not post your photo if you do not want it. Please let us know if you do not want a photo in the Prologue. If you have not yet filled out a photo release form, please contact the office. Over the years, many of you have chatted about and shared interesting and important stories about your lives. If you’d like to write and share a story in the Prologue, please let Harry know. It can be about an experience as gay men, as seniors, an important life event or experience, your travels, your experiences with Prime Timers… We all have a story and we’d like to hear them!!!

The Mohegan Sun bus trip is February 24^th (see below for details). The Hasty Pudding show is March 1^st. Tickets are on sale already. Make sure you sign up!!! There are a few upcoming potlucks. Norman and Jim’s party is on February 10^th. Gary Gropman’s Mardi Gras party will be on March 24^th. As always, please contact Tony and Steve to set up a potluck event at your home. Thank you to Ben Gallo and Jim Sutfin for a fantastic party this past week.

We will not have a speaker at the March Meeting. Jim Morgrage and Club Café will be preparing a delicious Boiled Dinner for us in celebration of Saint Patrick’s Day. This will be $25 per person and you can sign up for this on the tear sheet now. We look forward to seeing you there!

Hello Gentlemen,

The New Year is upon us and I would like to thank all my friends who helped make 2017 a success for the Prime Timers. The volunteers are the backbone of this organization. In the coming year, we would love for other members to step up and show us what you can offer and assist with organizing events, activities and meetings. Suggestions are always welcome, but please pitch in and help out.

Thank you for all the positive feedback about the Holiday Party at Club Café. A great time was had by all. The Sister Santa Toy Drive was a big success. In addition to the toys for children in foster care, we raised quite a bit of money to help with the Sisters’ efforts. You should all be proud of your contributions. We are at our best when we can help others in our community when needed. Thanks again to Jim Morgrage for his great work and generous gifts to the club.

The History Project will do a presentation at our January meeting. If you have any memorabilia to donate they may be interested in please bring it in. Please see their website or more info on their mission.

The History Project is a volunteer-driven organization focused on several important initiatives:
• Conducting research on lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, and transgender people in Massachusetts
• Preserving the documentary record of that community’s social and historical contributions
• Providing a forum for educating the general public.

We are talking with the folks at Gay4Good about visiting us at one of our meetings to tell us about their organization.

In the pipeline we are working on a Casino trip, the Hasty Pudding Theatrical and are talking with the other New England chapters about ideas for a spring/summer gathering for the Rhode Island, Connecticut and Boston Prime Timers. Please contact Tony and Steve to organize a potluck at your home.

I am looking forward to new faces, fun and adventures in the coming year.

The Holidays are upon us. The Thanksgiving Dinner at Club Café was a success. Jim Morgrage, as always, did a beautiful job. The Holiday dinner is just around the corner on December 10^th 1-4 PM. The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence will be in attendance enjoying the time with us. They will also be collection donations for their sixth annual Sister Santa Holiday Drive. The Boston Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence are working with the community again this year to provide gifts to the less fortunate children who are being cared for by the Department of Children and Families and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Please bring an unwrapped non-violent toy or gift to the party. The Sisters will be happy to take your cash donation as well. Please visit their website at thebostonsisters.org/sister-santa-returns/ for more information.

2017 is just about over, so I’d like to thank you for a great year of fun and memories, especially those of you who volunteer your time and efforts to make it so. You are the backbone of this group. I’d love to see more members participate. Voicing opinions and ideas helps, but active participation is what will really keep this a great fun club.

In the coming New Year, we will be looking to grow our group with new outreach campaigns. We will be updating the webpage to make it more useful and user friendly. We will be creating new activities and events for you to enjoy, some with the other New England Prime Timer chapters. We are looking for more hosts for potlucks. A great group of people have formed to look for new and interesting speakers for our meetings. If you’d like to volunteer to join a new committee to reach to reach out to members who are under the weather please call Harry or Jim Buckley. We’d like to increase our presence in the 2018 Pride Parade, possibly with a float. In the past, our floats have been award-winning. Money constraints, parade rules and lack of volunteers have prevented us from entering floats in recent years but its time for the Prime Timers to show our community what we can do! As always, any ideas and help will be graciously accepted and greatly appreciated.

It has also been a challenging year for our community. The rights and freedoms we have gained over the past few years are being attacked and some are being reversed. It seems we take two steps forward and one back, but we will continue the battle and we will win. Remember it gets better and it will.

I’d like to remember our friends who have passed. Some of the gentlemen who have gone on to a better place left a lasting impact on our group and community. We thank them for their service and friendship and we hold them in our hearts and minds forever. These are big shoes to fill but some of our members have taken that challenge and we thank them for it.

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday and a Happy New Year!

Hello Gentlemen,

Summer has come to an end. The leaves are changing color and the weather is getting cooler. Holiday season is upon us. We are looking forward to spending our holidays with friends, enjoying their company and delicious meals. If you are able to host, please think about spending the day with some other members who may normally stay home alone, whether it be a smaller or larger group. We would love to see everyone have a place to go.

I hope everyone enjoyed the entertainment at last week’s meeting. Thanks to Elizabeth Anker and to Bob Kingston-Parrott for finding these talented singers for us. Again, if you know of anyone (group or individual) you’d like to see at a meeting please contact Harry or Bob.

Club Café will prepare a delicious turkey dinner during our November Meeting so come with an empty belly. You will find the Thanksgiving dinner on the tear sheet in this month’s Prologue. Thanks again to Tony and Steve for all their hard work in the past, preparing dinner for us.

The Halloween trip to Provincetown is days away as of this writing. Join us at the Mount Vernon on November 1^st at 6 PM. Please see Harry or call (857) 544-3630 if you are interested in attending.

The Holiday Party will be at Club Café on December 10^th. The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence will be collecting gifts for their Sister Santa toy drive. The drive benefits homeless children. Please open your hearts and wallets. Bring a non-violent gift if you can, but any donation will be graciously accepted also.

If you have any questions about any of the upcoming changes or events feel free to contact me at everharry@aol.com or (857) 544-3630.

Hello Gentlemen,

We’ve just had our first meeting at our new location in Club Café. It seems everyone enjoyed the new venue and Jim Morgrage once again took good care of us. If any of you have ideas or contacts for speakers for one of our meetings, please contact me or Bob Kingston-Parrott (see roster or contact page). Bob has been doing a great job helping but it is a difficult job to find new and interesting presenters.

Fall is now upon us and the annual Halloween invasion of Provincetown is a few weeks away. The reservation date was September 29^th, but if you didn’t get a reservation in, you can contact the Inn directly. See September’s Prologue. The meet and greet cocktail hour with the other chapters will be Friday around 5 PM in the main lobby. Sister Bingo with the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence will be Saturday afternoon at the Inn. Expect lots of laughs and prizes to the winners.

Dinner will be Saturday night with the Costume Party immediately following. We’ve made many friends over the years who’ve supported us so we’d love to return the favor. Please join us every last Tuesday of the month at Club Café for the monthly dinner. Paul Fanizzi has been very generous to the Prime Timers for years. In return, there will be a group going to dinner Friday night in P-Town at Fanizzi’s on Commercial Street. His food is outstanding. All are welcome. Also on Friday night is The Sisters’ Hairspray Sing-Along fundraiser at the Crown & Anchor to benefit the Sister Santa Fund. Doors open at 7 PM and the show starts at 8 PM. All these folks have been very generous financially as well as with their time. Please show them love.

Tony and Steve have organized a bus trip to Stockbridge and the Norman Rockwell Museum on December 17^th. Reserve early as the bus will accommodate 56 people. You may also contact them if you wish to hold a potluck at your home.

If you have any questions about any of the upcoming changes or events feel free to contact me at everharry@aol.com or (857) 544-3630.