From: [email-masked]
Date: Sat, 18 Jan 1997 18:42:55 -0500 (EST)

MEETING NEWS
The Newspaper for Meetings, Convention,=20
Incentive & Trade Show Professionals
Vol. 21, No. 1, January 20, 1997

=93NEW ASSOCIATION FOR GAY & LESBIAN MEETING PLANNERS=94

NEW YORK =97 Gay and lesbian meeting planners have gained an organized fo=
rum
with the creation of a new association.

The American Society of Gay & Lesbian Meeting Planners (ASGLMP) has a dua=
l
mission =97 to provide an arena for communication among gay and lesbian m=
eeting
planners, and to acknowledge publicly which suppliers are "gay-friendly."

"The world of meeting planning has a disproportionate number of gays and
lesbians, but no identification of such,=94 said Jim Luce, executive dire=
ctor
of the American Academy of Psychoanalysis and ASGLMP's national coordinat=
or.
 "We want to pull together."=20

He added, "There exists a need for networking with our lesbian and gay
counterparts in the meeting planning arena, and ASGLMP has been created t=
o
fill that need."

So far, awareness of the group has been passed along verbally, and curren=
t
membership stands at about 24.  Since members are spread across the count=
ry,
Luce said he hopes to conduct most of the group's business via e-mail.  H=
e
added that meetings of other industry associations may be used to bring
ASGLMP members together.

The group's first major project is to publish the Directory of
ASGLMP-Approved Destinations/Facilities in the fall.  The directory will
highlight those CVBs and meeting facilities that the organization has dee=
med
gay-friendly and has awarded its seal of approval.  The seal consists of =
a
lavender map of the U.S. surrounded by gold stars with the organization's
initials superimposed.

Membership is not restricted to gays and lesbians, Luce said.  The group'=
s
e-mail address is [email-masked]. -- SETH GOLDSTEIN