Orlando gay center looks for director with the Midas touch

The rainbow mural was painted on the side wall of the The Center on Mills Avenue after vandals defaced the gay community center and other gay-owned businesses in November 2009. Executive Director Micheal Vance turned the vandalism into a fundraiser, charging each participant $5 to complete a portion of the painting and raising $1,000 for the center.

It was one small instance in the 32 months that Vance headed the Gay, Lesbian & Bisexual Community Center of Central Florida, where he raised money, awareness and his voice on behalf of the gay community.

"The messages of hate … were not just sprayed on our walls and our doors, but etched onto the backs of our entire community," Vance proclaimed at the time.

Vance announced last month he was leaving the community center for another job. His departure raises some concerns that The Center may retreat from its vocal, high-profile presence in the gay community in the selection of his successor.

"I just hope they stick with that focus of being an advocacy organization fighting for the things important to their constituents," said Mary Meeks, head of One Orlando, a consortium of gay activists and organizations. "I think it would be a huge loss for The Center to change direction in that regard."

Board Chairman Jay Lovell said advocacy will remain a focus of The Center under the new executive director, who should be hired sometime after June. "As far as things that affect our community, absolutely we have to be more vocal," he said.

Vance brought stability to The Center, created in 1987, at a time when it was struggling to survive financially amid questions of its purpose and relevancy, said Joe Saunders, field director for Equality Florida, a gay civil-rights organization.

Vance worked at opening The Center to gay groups and cooperating more with other organizations such as the Metropolitan Business Association. Vance started regular gatherings of gay leaders so they could get to know each other better, said MBA president David Baker-Hargrove.

With The Center no longer in survival mode and having established itself as a voice and a presence in the gay community, it is time to expand its scope and reach, Saunders said.

"It's the right time for someone with an expanded skill set to take it to the next level," Saunders said.

That next level requires someone who can elevate the financial support for the center, which has a budget of about $100,000 and no paid staff other than the executive director and a part-time assistant Lovell said. To provide the services and meet the needs of the gay community, The Center needs more money and staff, he said.

Lovell said 60 percent of the executive director's job is fundraising: "That is their main goal — bringing in money. And it's not the one dollar here, five dollars there. We are looking for more of a commitment."

Others argue that a one-man office can only do so much and adding fundraising to the job of the executive director could detract from the advocacy and social services The Center provided under Vance.

"[Fundraising] should be the board's responsibility," said Matthew Sayti, a former board member. "You can't expect an executive director without support staff to do all those things."

Lovell contends that with more money comes the ability to hire more people, expand existing programs such as HIV testing and mental health counseling, and broaden the scope of the The Center to include more social events and organizations.

But in addition to someone who can write compelling grant applications and establish relationships with generous donors, the gay community center's next director must also be able to work with and coalesce the sometimes contentious organizations within the gay community.

"You have to be able to get along with a lot of people," Lovell said. "We need to keep our agenda neutral and partner up with everyone else. That's what a community center is."
Orlando Sentinel