Pink Prom was a success, thanks to all its fabulous contributors

(Part 2 of 2)
As the Pink Prom was a successful event, it was a slightly difficult event to  put together .
But even though it was a fabulous event, it couldn't have been a worthwhile event without the help of several important individuals.
When I decided to put together the Pink Prom, I was nervous that this event wouldn't be the best event  it could be. I thought it would be a good event with a lot of things left out. But after all the planning, it turned out to be the best event that it could possibly be.
If I had to list all its fabulous contributors, I would be here all day. The event was a success, thanks to many generous contributors. Even though the prom was one of the most fabulous events of the season, it would not have been a great event without the help of certain people.
I have to give a big shout-out to Ryan Jimenez, the person who helped me to put this entire event together. I had no idea what to do to make this event a success, but Ryan had the know-how and knowledge to turn this event into one of the most fabulous events in Asbury Park's history.
I wanted to make as much money as possible to give back to an organization that has done so much good for the community, so this event was so worthwhile. The Leather Community, DragonsLair, put together the silent auction, and we were able to raise a good amount of funds for a good cause. Paradise and the individuals in charge of the club helped in the organization and helping to make this event a success.
I never wanted to shine any attention on myself and let anyone know that I was behind the funding for this event because I believed the most important thing was the cause. But I guess it is okay that people know what the purpose of this event was for, and who was behind the fundraiser.
I never realized that even though this was for a good cause, not all the supporters of the gay community would be behind this. So when some organizations who have usually supported the gay community did not have our backs, I was taken aback. I'm usually in a position to have faith in all organizations supporting one another, but when I pounded the pavement to get companies to give back to the gay organizations who have put themselves out there to make things better for the LGBTQ organization, I came up short.
I won't guesstimate why, but I am just hoping that the many organizations and companies unite to help the gay organizations make a difference. Some of them haven't done it yet, but down the road I am hoping they do it. The only way we can make a difference is by supporting ourselves and giving back what we already put out there.
I, myself, support the companies that are supportive of the gay community. I'm just hoping that it doesn't continue to be a one-way street.

Hey you, I know what you tried to do to hurt the Pink Prom ~ but you failed!

(Part 1 of a 2-part blog post)

This past Friday, the 1st Annual Pink Prom debuted in Asbury Park. I was so nervous and excited, and I feared that maybe it wouldn't be a success.
Well my worst fear was not realized, and the prom was a stellar event that made me so damn proud.
Now as mentioned earlier, this is the first part of a two-part blog post. This first one will primarily be me venting about a couple of things that pissed me off; the second part will be more on a positive note, thanking many individuals for all their work and going into detail about who helped, who wore what and a shout-out to the prom's king and queen.
So many people came together to support a great cause. All of the prom's proceeds went to The Pride Network, an organization that supports, benefits and helps the LGBTQ community. I was so happy that we made so much money to give back to the community.
There were a couple of bumps in the road. The printing place messed up the commemorative books last minute, so Ryan (who is the prom's co-founder, general manager/event planner at the prom's location, Hotel Tides, and my best friend) and I had to do a lot of scrambling to make sure the books were ready.
The other bump came in the form of someone who couldn't get tickets for the prom, so this "person" allegedly attempted - and failed - to have the prom possibly not even happen.
Okay, once again for all those who couldn't get a ticket before they were sold out ~~ we set the number of attendees at a certain number so the place wouldn't be too crowded and individuals could move around easily in their finest prom tuxedos and gowns. Another reason ~ we didn't want to have it overcrowded and have a problem with the fire marshal or any other officials who might have an issue with the number of people.
Well, an official had an issue with something for the prom, and contacted us to inquire. The official was given incorrect information by someone, and the issue was solved because it was a moot point. It was from a tipster, and since I'm an investigative reporter by trade, it wasn't too difficult to do a little sleuthing and find out who this "tipster" was behind that mess.
Okay, this is where Bernadine (my rattlesnake, no-holds-barred, take no prisoners diva alter ego) is making her debut ...
This "tipster" is a person who isn't well-liked or respected in the community, despite his feeble efforts to be a force or presence of some sort of importance in the LGBTQ community. That a person of such little standards would go to such underhanded methods, crying and boo-hooing that he couldn't get in to the event because he is under the false impression that he's important ~ well he ought to be ashamed of himself!
By doing what he did, he almost caused a real issue for us and the prom ~ a lovely event whose sole purpose was to donate a bucketload of money to an LGBTQ organization that is helping our community out in so, so many fabulous ways! Not only was he attempting to harm the prom, he was attempting to push his dark soul on to everyone who gave their all in making this event a success.
Well, that wasn't the worst! This person had the gall to show up at this event that he tried to cause a problem for! A couple of people couldn't attend last minute, so despite efforts to stop it, they sold their tickets to this person.
Well Bernadine will be having a one-on-one "conversation" with this cad, this hypocrite who would be so atrocious as to smile in my face after trying to cause me a problem. Especially since every time people in the community would trash this person in my presence, I'd always say, "Hey, he's not such a bad guy, he just has some issues."
Well don't I feel like the fool?!? Well fool me once, shame on me; fool Bernadine once, shame on YOU!
But I digress ...
So after my first foray into event planning in the LGBTQ community, I've learned a number of valuable lessons. Next year, we will do what we need to do to open the prom up to a few dozen more people and will do what's needed to include more individuals so thay can attend this fabulous prom.
I've also learned that some people in the LGBTQ community will bend over backwards to help you and make sure your event is a roaring success, while others will do whatever it takes to hurt you and try to make sure you fail.
Well the prom was a great event for the community with much success. We were able to donate a hell of a lot of money to The Pride Network, and that was one of the major purposes of this event.
Now that I've had my venting session in this one, part two of this blog post about the prom will be a shout-out of thanks to certain individuals, the lovely aspects of this event, and plans that are in the works for the 2nd Annual Pink Prom.
But before I close out Part One, I just want to say how blessed I feel to know that Ryan and I have begun something so amazing in the LGBTQ community! It was worth all my burnout and stress!