Camp holds the distinction of being the longest-running magazine now being published for the LGBT and allied communities in Kansas City. This issue marks 10 years since we launched at Kansas City’s 2004 Gay Pride festival.
That was also the year that Massachusetts became the first state to legalize same-sex marriage and the year that the voters of Missouri and many other states created constitutional amendments banning same-sex marriage. Since that time, same-sex marriage bans have been thrown out in many states, and gay marriage, as many call it, is now legal in 19 states. And there are lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of same-sex marriage in all but two of the remaining U.S. states without legal marriage equality.
We could not have reached this milestone without the support of hundreds of advertisers, writers, editors, graphic designers, web designers, photographers, stylists, models and more. Our current roster of writers, like Ron Blake, Leo Buck, Kelly Luck, Schaeffer Nelson, Monica Soto and Susan K. Thomas, has been contributing without fail. And we have special columns with multiple writers -- from Passages youth group, from Lambda Legal, and from the Therapists Guild, with contributors like Kyle Danner, Chris Davids and Jeff Lubsen. Most recently, the Kansas City Anti-Violence Project has started contributing its “Empowering Voices” column, written by KCAVP staff such as Victoria Pickering or Jessica Farmer. And we’ve enjoyed a great relationship with the Mid America Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, featuring their business profiles written by Andrea Martin, with photography by Landon Vonderschmidt, in our center spread.
Two writers in particular, Bradley Osborn and Paul Donovan, deserve kudos for writing for Camp since our very beginning, and thankfully, they continue to write for us today.
To the many volunteer writers in our 145 issues, some of whom have moved on to other parts of the country, thank you again. To our founding editor Anne Grant, founding partner Jim Gabel, current editor Juli Warren, and senior graphic designer Deanna O’Byrne, thank you for your talents and great professionalism. It shows in our pages.
Camp has been complimented many times about its unique covers. They are created with the great pro-bono work of photographers like (in alphabetical order) Ron Berg, Ann Brown, Dusti Cunningham, Sam Eubank, BP Fish, Terry Newell, Tim Pott, Vixen Pin-up Photography and Denise Whithorne, and stylists like Chadwick Brooks, Andy Chambers and Jim Gabel. We also thank the organizations that have contributed by sending us photos they have commissioned.
Our models stand out. We featured Kansas City Mayor Kay Barnes, while she was still in office, in one of our classic Gay Pride covers. Missouri State Sen. Jolie Justus has appeared twice on our cover. Todd Tramp was one of our sexiest shirtless cowboys in a rodeo issue. And Kansas City’s creative entertainers and actors like De De DeVille, Daisy Buckët, Chadwick Brooks, Missy Koonce and many others have graced our covers.
Then there is actor and director Ron Megee. He has appeared on the most covers of Camp in our history – some of them as a male and some in gender-bending roles. Maybe we should create a club for those models on the most covers of Camp, like Saturday Night Live’s Five Timers Club for hosts.
Camp has had too many advertisers over the years to list. We don’t want to exclude anyone. But please show your appreciation for our advertisers by patronizing their organizations and businesses.
Camp is grateful to all of its contributors, even if we haven’t been able to include your name here.
And to all of our readers, our sincerest thanks for your interest and support. Here’s to another 10 years!