6
n ort h w est news-
MAY 6, 2011
WWW.JUSTOUT.COM
BY RYAN J. PRADO
Bears Growl Toward Summer
W ith a new board of directors in place and
a new president in Brent Marr, the Oregon
Bears are gearing up for another summer of
fundraising
and community
awareness
campaigns.
O n March 2, the Bears elected Marr to their
highest post, following his reign as Mr. Oregon
Cub in 2007, and his position as an art con
tributor since his move to Portland in 2003. As
Marr reports to Just Out, his main focus is on
furthering the legacy o f inclusivity that distin
guishes the Oregon Bears— the largest Bear
organization in the country with more than
500 members.
“We don’t discriminate against anybody just
because they don’t fit a physical parameter or
because they’re a different sex or anything like
that,” explains Marr. “My focus is going to he
to reach out to the entire community and make
them realize we’re well aware that we’re part of
the entire community and not just another
little clique.”
•
Part o f that awareness includes traditional
Bear events for members and nonmembers
alike, such as the weekly Friday Happy Hour
at Fox and Hounds (217 N W Second Ave.),as
well as the monthly BearPaw Busts and Bear
Busts at the Eagle Portland (835 N. Lombard
St.). Additionally, the BearTown committee
has secured dates and a schedule of events for
the organization’s 16th annual festivities.
From June 9 to 12, the Bears have slated an
action-packed weekend of furry, fabulous fun.
Be it the Shed the Shirt Happy Hour and T -
shirt exchange on Friday, June 10 at Local
Lounge (3536 NE M artin Luther King Jr.
Blvd.), the Underbear Dance Party later that
night at CC Slaughters or the Mr. Oregon
Bear and Mr. Oregon Cub 2011 contest at the
Jupiter Hotel on Saturday, June 11, this year’s
BearTown casts a wide net.
This 2011 BearTown beneficiary is the Sex
ual and Gender Minority Youth Resource
Center (SMYRC). As a new charity for the
Bears to work with, members are excited about
the opportunity to support the community
resource.
"I was myself a homeless gay youth, lost in
Spokane, W ash.,” explains Marr. “So having an
outlet like that is something that’s always had
a place for me. There just weren’t those kinds of
resources when I was a kid.”
“1 believe [SMYRCJ deserves and needs our
help,” says Mr. Oregon Cub 2010 Corey For-
tuna. “I think that sometimes organiza
tions like SMYRC get overlooked, so I am
proud the Bears have decided to make them
our charity.”
Fortuna will hand over his title during the
June 11 Mr. Oregon Cub contest, as will cur
rent Mr. Oregon Bear Don James. At press
time, candidates for this year’s contest were
still trickling in, but after a few years of low
applications for contestants, Marr and Fortuna
hope this year sees a renewed interest— partic
ularly when it comes to the titleholders’ fund
raising duties throughout the state.
“I am hoping that the new Cub and Bear
will do their best in continuing [to make] the
club fun and exciting,” says Fortuna. “I hope
they will continue on with fundraising efforts,
which Don and I have made an important part
o f our reign.This last year of being Mr. Oregon
Cub has been amazing. It has been so nice to
give back and be part of.an organization that
loves to raise money and have fun at
the same time.”
Most imminent in the Bears’ pre-summer
planning is its long-awaited website overhaul.
Marr says his hopes are that the new site will
he operational by the end o f May.
For more information on upcoming summer
Say it ain’t so, Tim Joyce!
events, as well as a fu ll schedule o f events fo r the
16th Annual BearTown, visit oregonhears.org.
prompted several encouraging remarks for Joyce
and some less-than flattering missives for
KOIN 6. Still, though Joyce describes his reac
KOIN 6 Declines Contract
tion to the news as “utter shock,” he reports that
Renewal for Tim Joyce
he’s moving on slowly from the layoff.
Longtime KOIN 6 News meteorologist and
“I think everyone always feels like they want
reporter Tim Joyce was informed Friday, April more of an explanation,” says Joyce. “But the
8 that his contract with the company would nature of the world is that things happen all
not be renewed. The popular, openly gay the time where we never fully can understand
weatherman-about-town was told by his em what’s going on— either behind the scenes or
ployers that the decision was not personal, and sometimes in plain view. So I’ve kind of ac
that it was just business.
cepted that and am sort of, ‘Okay, well, I guess
The reasoning didn’t sit well with followers of I’ll just see whatever happens to me next.’”
Joyce on Facehook, as word of his dismissal
Casey Wenger, KOIN 6 human resources
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