Date: Sun, 16 Aug 1998 01:33:19 -0700 From: Eros Publishing Subject: Press Release An Important Announcement from Beyond the Edge Cafe August 15, 1998 A New Proprietor Dear Friends, As many of you may remember, late last fall the Cafe was perilously close to disappearing for a variety of reasons, and I was in the midst of one of the bleaker months I can remember. And then a couple of miracles happened. One was that the community stepped in and came to the Cafe's assistance. Our community's generosity enabled us to paint, remodel, catch-up on bills and pay extra help. It was an inspiring experience to see our community rally as it did. The difference it made was enormous. The other miracle that happened was that Ralph Ragsdale started working at BTE last November. His amazing energy, incredible creativity and willingness to sacrifice himself to the Cafe were the boosts we needed to keep going without missing a beat. It was the combination of the community's deep support and Ralph's inexhaustible talent that made the difference. The Cafe survived and Ralph played a big part in that. And now Ralph is going to be playing an even bigger role. As of today, August 15, Ralph Ragsdale is the new proprietor of Beyond The Edge Cafe. While I will continue as Cafe "Mom", (and sometimes Cafe Goddess), I am going into semi-retirement. I will not be leaving BTE. I will continue to be there on Tuesday nights and will also be the Cafe's catering manager. In addition, I will be running the Cafe's kinky events, keeping up the cafe's e-mail list, monitoring the webpage and will be conducting the BTE Workshops on the second and fourth Friday's. Some of you may even see more of me than before as I'll now be able to occasionally stay late at Fetish Night. :) In fact, I'm going to be organizing a new BTE Ambassadors Group to assist newcomers in finding their way around the intricacies of being new in the community and at BTE parties. There will be more on that and other new events in later mailings. This decision to hand the reins over to Ralph was not an easy one for me to make. I made this choice primarily for health reasons (both emotional and physical). I am very proud to have been a part of creating something as unique as BTE and I will continue to support the Cafe every way I can. Part of supporting the Cafe is knowing when I need to step away and take care of myself. I am leaving you in good hands. Ralph will continue to make the wonderful improvements he has been making since the day he first arrived, such as remodeling the kitchen and expanding the menu. If you have any thoughts on the Cafe, run them by Ralph. He is a most talented restaurateur and cafe manager. Ralph is open to your ideas, and is always coming up with new ones of his own. However, don't always expect miracles! Ralph is only human and he will need your support too to make things happen. Beyond the Edge Cafe will remain Seattle's Kinky Cafe, where kinky people will be welcome, and where the Cafe is the leather/fetish community's living room. Many of you already know Ralph, but if you haven't met him yet, take a minute to stop by and meet him. Wish him the best and let him know that you're there for him. My husband Steve and I thank you all again for your tremendous support in the past and for the continuing support you have given Beyond The Edge Cafe. We wish Ralph the best as the new proprietor and we hope you will too. Love, Allena Gabosch P.S. If you wish to e-mail me or have me relay e-mail to Ralph about any of this, feel free to do so right here at ladysun@eskimo.com http://www.wolfenet.com/~aubrey/aubrey.htm