Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (June 19, 1998)
19.1998 nnïïîTlnetvs What do successful SMALL businesses have in common? ▼ They have a business and marketing plan. S teps to M ovin ’ on U p Esteemed Texan activist takes the reins at Cascade AIDS Project, S uccess ' fulfilling a lifelong dream to live In the Pacific N o rthw e st is a marketing and business development process that offers one-on- one professional consultation and step- by-step guidance for new and growing businesses - all at an affordable price. C y m it a r In c . Building business dreams into reality. 1 - 800 - 755-5399 web: http://www.cymitarinc.com I am a) alive, b) well, and c) still showing homes and educating buyers and sellers. Let's meet in person to discuss the process & prequalify you at no charge. My RMLS computer search locates the right home for you anywhere in the Portland metro area. Fred and I are "ruff & ready" for today's hectic market. Let me show you how it's done—with 19 years of experience. Sue Standard Davis, GRI Associate Broker ® fc e 6ecK yn eatttf exayyenated. S U E S T A N D A R D D A V I S , w/ “ F R E D ” properties 9981 SE 32nd Ave., Milwaukie OR 97222 503-653-7669 OR 503-653-8378 sstandardda vis@msn.com tv s AN PARTY IN ACONEI ^ BEN&JI VERMONT’S FINEST • ICE CREAM &> FROZEN 1428 SE 36th Ave., Portland, 97214 at the comer of SE Hawthorne Blvd. 503-234-2223 he new executive director of the Cascade A ID S Project in Portland is already a well-respected A ID S activist and community leader, but now he is following his dream. Thomas Bruner, the founding director of the organization credited with making the pandem ic a topic for open conversation in much of northern Texas, resigned from Fort Worth’s A ID S Outreach Center in May. About a year ago, he told other leaders in the organization that he was accelerating his search for a job in the Pacific Northwest because he has always yearned to live in that part of the coun try. After declining about five other offers in the region, he accepted the job at CAP. “ Portland’s beautiful. It’s G od’s country. People are good, kind, loving and outgoing,” says Bruner, 37. While he grew up in Texas and enjoys the people there, he says the state is “not a place overflowing with natural beauty.” Bruner adds that Portland has a reputation for being more gay- affirming than Fort Worth and says the change “sounds real appealing” to both him and his partner. Bruner says he initial ly planned to stay in Fort Worth only two or three years, hut he remained with the A ID S Outreach Center for a decade. “1 don’t know how we are going to replace him,” the organization’s hoard president, Roy Brooks, Thom as Bruner told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the city’s mainstream daily newspaper. The publication covered Bruner’s resigna tion in its Metro section rather than on the front page, which is ironic given that the paper credits Bruner with making A ID S front-page news in Fort Worth. “His name has become synonymous with A ID S education, services and advocacy in Tarrant County and Texas,” said the Star- Telegram. Roger Wedell, the executive director of A ID S Interfaith Network of Tarrant County, also offers praise. “[Bruner] has been one of the trailblazers in Fort Worth and Tarrant Giunty regarding HIV and A ID S issues, as well as full civil rights for lesbian and gay persons,” Wedell tells Just Out. He cites Bruner’s numerous appointments to boards and commissions, as well as his extensive volunteer work. “He also has an excellent working knowl edge of government processes and how to use those processes to address real human con cerns,” Wedell says. The A ID S Outreach Center was founded in 1985 by a lesbian activist who wanted to offer mental health and A ID S services to lesbians and gay men in the area. It was incorporated as a social service agency in 1986, and by 1987 the organization had changed its focus to concen trate on HIV and AIDS. In March 1988, it hired Bruner, its first exec utive director. That month, the center served 25 clients, all white gay men. With Bruner at the by Gip Plaster helm, the agency’s $40,000 budget increased to $3.6 million, and the staff grew from one to more than 50, with over 1,200 volunteers annu ally. T he organization now serves 2,000 clients— women, men and children of diverse backgrounds. It operates four facilities across Tarrant G iunty and serves a nine-county area. Bruner says he is proud of several things he has accomplished in Fort Worth. He takes pride in the center’s satellite offices that reach under served communities. He says he has helped the A ID S Outreach G n t e r maintain a stable financial situation and create a “family system” of service delivery through which services are offered to friends, spouses and parents of clients. Bruner adds that he is most proud o f his work to expand the center’s focus: “A O C had to mainstream itself in the community-at-large very early on to maintain itself. Fort Worth is not known for having a large gay community infrastructure.” PHOTO BY COURTESY OF AIDS OUTREACH CENTER 10 Bruner says C A P has fewer staff members than his former employer and has a slightly smaller cash budget. He believes, however, that the two organizations are very similar overall. Although Bruner has already spent a number of hours at work in Portland during a recent trip and is in frequent contact with CAP, he is not ready to announce what changes he is planning for the agency, which is O regon’s largest provider of nonmedical HIV and A ID S services. During his first few weeks on the job, Bruner says, he will follow workers to learn what they do. After that, he will spend a few weeks visiting other HIV and human service providers throughout the metropolitan area to see how they get things done. “ I think it would he very presumptuous of me to think that I know how Portland, Oregon, works,” he says. “ I think my first order is to go and listen.” Bruner will move to Portland in July with his partner of more than two years, Kevin Hendrick, an accounting student. Bruner’s stint at C A P officially begins July 18. Bruner says he and Hendrick intend to have a visible role in their new community, volun teering for local organizations, attending sym phonies, concerts and operas, and enjoying the natural beauty. “(We’ll be found] on or around Mount Hood learning how to ski, or camping, hiking, fishing and combing the Oregon coast,” he says, “and at home reading, chatting with friends and enjoy ing the company of our two dogs. We’ll have a diverse, balanced life in Portland.”