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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (April 1, 1990)
Staff Profile Alan S rally and Chris Maier liante. H hen people get comfortable with a place of business, an institution or a publication, they arc wary of change. Yet change is what Just Out is going through, and lots o f it. or nearly seven years. Jay Brown and Renee LaChance have co-published Just Out, with Jay as editor, Renee as business manager and production director, and Ann Hinds as creative director. They’ve been the ones to make sure Just Out comes out every month. Jay and Renee have felt that, though the changes seem overwhelming at times, the paper itself will reflect those changes more slowly. New voices answer the phone and lots of new energy reverberates in the office, but the premise behind Just Out remains the same—to protray a positive image of the lesbian and gay community and to represent its diversity. So, without further ado, meet the staff: Littlejohn keo<>h F ( hris Maier “There are two types of dyke,” Just Out board member Chris Maier explained. “One type has cats and writes poetry. One type has a dog, a pickup truck and plays softball. I have cats and write poetry.” The 10-member board of directors is concentrating on getting the paper out and finding people as committed as Jay Brown, Rene6 LaChance and Ann Hinds “who did everything.” “The board is taking over some of that capacity for now,” Maier explained. “Eventu ally our job will include community outreach, publishing and trouble shooting.” Maier has been involved with Just Out since January 1, 1989. She was an advertising representative for the paper until March 1, 1990 and now does some writing and editing in addition to her board position. “I am involved with Just Out,” Maier said, “because I like working for a newspaper, and newspapers like Just Out are a crucial part of the community. And partly I’m involved because I ’m emotionally committed to the people and the paper.” Maier makes and sells jewelry, likes to write and read, enjoys going dancing and has cats. “My personal goals and my goals for Just Out are parallel,” Maier said. “Personally I want to become financially solvent and realize that abundance is something I can have in my life. My main goal is to live the best I can, right now. I ’ve learned that making big specific plans for the future doesn’t work for me. I’m learning to deal with what I’ve got at the moment.” “For the paper, I have a goal of financial solvency and community involvement We have to reach out to more diverse parts of the community, to people of other races, to people on the fringes.” ju st oui T 12 Y A pril 1990 said. “I need to be in a place where I feel accepted and where my potential is being used. I watched the paper from its inception and I came to value the information. Prior to volunteering at Just Out, Looney was the director of classified advertising art at Willamette Week. Looney is a musician who likes to play piano, sing and have “hootenannies with her neighbors. Looney also worked in the graphic arts department of the Washington Park Zoo before her unfortunate tenure at Willamette Week. She plans to return to school for Fall Term, 1990 to pursue a teaching certificate in the fine arts, while continuing here at Just Out. Annclee Hochman As advertising representative and calendar editor, Keogh has worked at Just out since January 1989. Keogh logs about 30 hours a week at the paper. He is also pursuing his studies at Reed College where he is on the verge of graduating with a degree in philoso phy. Keogh is writing his thesis on the ever- popular subject, “Responsibilities of the Kantian Moralist” “Love of publishing and pride in our newspaper” are the reasons the Portland near native gives for his involvement with Just Out. Keogh is intimately involved with the ongoing acquisition of a new Macintosh computer system for Just Out and will be the computer czar. “As far as my goals for the newspaper, I it’s important to move to a twice-a-month publica tion schedule. Too much news happens too fast in this community for us to continue as we have been. We need to deepen our outreach to the community, increase coverage, widen circula tion - our personal commitment is on the rise.” Keogh worked at the OMSI Planetarium during high school and is now an accomplished skydiver with 175 jumps to his credit. He enjoys motorcycling and long distance walking. “I live in a student apartment with my boa constrictor, Rey,” Keogh said. Other than jumping out of airplanes, running a newspaper, attending a topnotch college and raising a large reptile, he says he doesn’t do much. Staff reporter Anndee Hochman was up to her elbows in hamantascher dough when first contacted for an interview. Pinned down the next morning devoid of pastry fixings, Hochman granted an interview. Hochman began writing for Just Out in November, 1987. She has been a staff reporter since June, 1988, which means she is respon sible for a set number of articles each month. “I believe in the value of Just Out,” Hochman said, "as a vehicle for members of the gay community in Portland to speak to each other and read about events that affect them. The newspaper was a key part of my own increased openness about being a lesbian.” Hochman is a regular contributor to Northwest Magazine, the Sunday Oregonian’s feature magazine. She has also written for the Portland Jewish Review and Portland Maga- ne. The Philadelphia native was a reporter for the Washington Post until joining VISTA in 1986. As a VISTA volunteer she was placed at Outside In, working with street kids in Portland; she continues to work at the agency one day a week. At Outside In Hochman is an emergency services worker, doing crisis counseling, help ing street youth find medical and other resources, and co-teaching a creative writing workshop. Her personal goals are to continue top learn how to be a better writer and journalist, “to write things that make a difference.” “For Just Out,” Hochman said, “I ’d like to see the paper become more responsive to all segments of the community, particularly to ethnic and cultural minority groups within the gay community.” Jell Fritz Jeff Fritz, a board member, has been with Just Out for three years. He began as an advertising representative, and after a year and a half was promoted to advertising coordinator. Last December, Jeff stepped down from his po sition because his own business required more of his energy. He earned his B.A. in English and Humani ties from Valpardiso University in Valpardiso, Indiana. Bom and raised a Hoosier (that means he’s from Indiana), Jeff has lived in Oregon for five years. He’s a witty, intelligent, very cute and very married. He and his partner of four years, Brady Jenson live in Lake Oswego with their cat and two birds. Rumor has it that they may be moving back into^Portland soon, however. He wants to see Juat Out “become a profitable concern and continue to be a viable voice in the gay community.” His personal goals center around self-actualization. Yxonne Mammarelli Carla Jean Loone\ Production director Looney does any needed chore - from driving 1,000 papers to Eugene every month, to making coffee, to paste up, design and dealing with the public. Looney became involved at Just Out in December, 1989 as a volunteer. Effective this issue, she is our production director, respon sible for all aspects of graphics. She had always wanted to be a part of the community after her brother died of AIDS last September. “I feel a very strong commitment,” Looney in Florida and was a commercial loan officer in a bank for seven years. I basically got sick and tired of working in a heterosexual corporate world. Serving as ad director and business manager fulfils a dream I ’ve had of working in the gay and lesbian community with a high- quality publication like Just O u t” Mammarelli was bom and raised in Pensacola and earned a business degree from Pensacola Junior College. She compared the gay community she knew in Florida to what she’s found in Oregon “There is no comparison. There was little or no involvement in Florida. One of the first things we learned was that the community here is much more involved. It’s a lot more advanced here, and easier to be out.” “As the business manager, I ’m in it to make the paper the best it can be. That’s the personal goal I ’ve had for everything I ’ve been involved in.” Mammarelli loves to play softball and racquetball and “all sports” and is looking for a softball team to play on. Yvonne goes by the name Baby Huey at home and office, and she cross stitches on the weekends - unless Nancy Neat, her alter ego, escapes and then she cleans closets. She’s the new advertising director and business manager at Just Out starting January 1990. Her accent betrays an origin far beyond the borders of Oregon. “I moved here from Pensacola, Florida with my partners, one of whom is attending the Oregon School of Arts and Crafts. We flew out the last week in November to check out the area, and I saw an ad in Just Out for this position. “I had worked for BellSouth Yellow Pages Jim joined Just Out in January as the new proofreader and recently began doing copy editing as well. He started at Just Out after closing Teddy Bear Express, a business he owned and operated with his partner, David McCartney. He had been looking for part-time work, and, since one of his goals was to get involved with the publishing business, Just Out was just right Jim has a B.S. in Communications from the University of Southern Indiana in Evansville. He lived in Alaska for ten years before moving to Oregon in 1986. He and David met in Alaska, and they have been together for the last five years. Jim says they lead “pretty quiet lives,” although they enjoy having small parties in their house and are politically active. The goals he set for himself as a younger man have all been m et and now he concen trates on maintaining a balance in his life, and learning to choose his battles and see them won. He would like tQ see Just Out come out twice a month, and add new features, including fiction and more work by local writers. He adds, though, that he “really likes what the paper is doing and what it stands for.”