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Does Savannah Need an LGBT Center?
By Richard Gourley, FCN Co-Chair

Does the LGBT community in and around the Savannah, Georgia area need a Gay & Lesbian Center? This is a question many have asked over the years and more recently. We are not fully aware of the size of the LGBT community here in Savannah but we know it is large and spread all over Chatham County and the adjoining counties of Bryan and Effingham. We also have two major military instillations, Hunter Army Air Force Base in Savannah and Fort Stewart in Hinesville. In addition to the LGBT residents, Savannah has about seven million visitors each year. If 5% to 10% of those visitors are gay there is an additional 350,000 to 700,000 coming through Savannah each and every year staying in our inns and hotels, frequenting our restaurants and bars, visiting our historic sites and museums and just possibly looking to connect to the local community.

Well, we are going to find out. On June 19th, FCN hosted a general meeting at Los Robles to discuss the topic of a Savannah Gay & Lesbian Center and hear from the Executive Director of CenterLink, Terry Stone. CenterLink is a non-profit organization, based in Washington, D.C., which supports the development of strong, sustainable LGBT community centers and helps to build and maintain a strong, nationwide center movement. About 20 members of the community attended, including members of FCN and its Board, Stand Out Youth and Georgia Equality. Pride members were absent due to a wake, but voiced their support. The pros and cons were all discussed and it was decided that a center might be a good thing for Savannah but that the center’s mission or “raison d’etre” needed to be made clear before officially forming and beginning any fundraising efforts.

Four individuals, Charlotte Rehmert, Carol Hodges, Pam Miller and Larry Brown, agreed to vanguard the Feasibility Committee, work with Terry Stone and CenterLink, establish a comprehensive survey for the community, tally the results and see what we all think and desire in an LGBT Community Center. We need as much input as possible and we solicit all of your support whether you are living in Savannah or just visiting here. Anyone interested in getting involved with the initial study or the follow up effort to launch a center, if decided upon, should contact Charlotte Rehmert at carehmert@bellsouth.net. At this date only one meeting has taken place as well as a conference call with CenterLink and I believe a general survey format has been selected. The survey, once fully created and set, will be widely distributed in the Savannah and surrounding areas over the next few months and through the Pride Festival in September so as to get the broadest input possible.

Again, I cannot stress the importance of completing the survey when you receive one and then sending it in. If you are not a member of any Savannah LGBT organization, please make yourself known to any one of these organizations (First City Network, Savannah Pride, Stand Out Youth or Georgia Equality) and they will make sure you get a copy of the survey when it is ready for distribution. First City Network, in addition to its web site, www.FirstCityNetwork.net, has City Line (912-236-2489) where you can leave a message to receive a call back and/or leave your name and address for a copy of the survey.

Fellow community and family members, this Center will be for all of us, residents and visitors alike, not for just a few organizations. Please offer your input when asked and please offer your support when the Center begins its efforts.