Our thoughts are with Brent Nicholson Earle

Our thoughts are with Brent Nicholson Earle, a hero of the Gay Games movement, who is currently hospitalized in New York City after a heart attack.

His Wikiepedia entry:

Brent Nicholson Earle (born 21 January 1951) was an early activist in the effort to promote awareness and prevent the spread of AIDS, notable for his long-distance runs to support his cause and raise money for AIDS service organizations.

People Magazine named Earle one of its "20 individuals who shaped the 80's." His first major run, in 1986-87, the American Run for the End of AIDS (A.R.E.A.), started and ended in New York City, covering 9,000 miles around the perimeter of the United States. His second, in 1990, went from San Francisco to Vancouver, the site of Gay Games III. His third, in 1994, this time leading a seven-person team and using roller skates, went from San Francisco to New York, site of Gay Games IV. He was also active with ACT UP and was made an Honorary Life Member of the Federation of Gay Games. In 2010 he was named as the winner of the Tom Waddell Award, the highest honor of the Federation of the Gay Games. He also created the International Rainbow Memorial Run, which carries a rainbow flag from San Francisco around the world to the city hosting the current Gay Games. It promotes both AIDS and breast cancer prevention.


In his professional life, he worked in New York City as an actor, writer, stage manager, lecturer, archivist, photographer, optical designer, curator and art gallery administrator.

He was born in Niagara Falls, New York, and grew up in nearby Lockport. As of 2011, he is still an AIDS activist in New York City.

Learn more about Brent HERE.

News from Chicago: Belated decision in Gay Games VII case, Tom Waddell Award winner at library event, 70-year-old marathon runner

A verdict on the appeal of a case concerning Gay Games VII in Chicago 2006 has finally been announced, in favor of the defendants, the city of Chicago et al. The plaintiffs were "Christians" who used various Gay Games events to harrass participants and spectators. Read it HERE.

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Brent Nicholson Earle, winner of the 2010 Tom Waddell Award, was the keynote speaker at the 30th anniversary celebration of the Gerber-Hart Library. Read about it HERE.

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Ross Forman reports on a Gay Games medal winner who will be competing in this weekend's Chicago Marathon in the 70-74-year-old category. Read it HERE.

1 October 2011 / 2010 Tom Waddell Award winner to keynote Chicago library 30th anniversary event

A message from our friends at the Gerber/Hart Library in Chicago, which hosted the Gay Games Memorial Quilt exhibition at Gay Games VII in 2010n (find all links HERE):

You are cordially invited to join us on Saturday, October 1 at 7 pm for Making History: One Step at a Time as we celebrate both the 30th anniversary of Gerber/Hart and the 25th anniversary of the American Run for the End of AIDS.Brent Nicholson Earle Our keynote speaker, Brent Nicholson Earle [winner of the 2010 Tom Waddell Award], ran a 9,000 mile journey around the perimeter of the United States and raised over $300,000 for AIDS charities. He departed New York City on March 1, 1986, and returned 20 months later. A quarter-century later, the efforts of Earle and his support team stand out as one of the most inspired responses to the early years of the AIDS crisis.

Our benefit moves to the Richard J. Klarchek Information Commons, 6501 North Kenmore Avenue. The Information Commons is a spectacular new venue on the campus of Loyola University Chicago situated right on the shore of Lake Michigan. An outdoor balcony will afford attendees a chance to soak in the splendor of the lake while making new friends and renewing old acquaintances.

Tickets are now available for Making History. Admission tickets are $75 and include a dinner buffet, open bar, and entertainment. Benefactor tickets are $130 and include all admission benefits plus a 6 pm pre-event champagne reception with Brent Nicholson Earle, acknowledgment in the benefit program booklet, and a special gift. Tickets are available via PayPal (choose general admission or benefactor), by stopping by Gerber/Hart during open hours, or by calling Gerber/Hart at (773) 381-8030 .

If you would like to be a sponsor of Making History: One Step at a Time, please complete a sponsorship form and return it to the library.

The first prize in our drawing this year is an Apple iPad. Tickets are $5 each or 6 for $25 and can be purchased at the benefit. Can't attend? No problem! You can still support the library by purchasing tickets in advance via PayPal, in person at the Library during open hours, or by phone: (773) 381-8030 .

Our benefit silent auction moves online this year and will begin on October 15. We enthusiastically welcome your donation of goods and services to our online auction. Download an auction donation form and send it in with your item(s) today.

Parking is available at the Loyola University parking ramp for $7. Enter the campus at Sheridan Road and Winthrop Avenue. Proceed approximately 150 feet. Turn left. Signs on the parking ramp say "Welcome to Loyola, Parking Entrance." The Richard J. Klarchek Information Commons is a three-minute walk going east from the parking ramp.

Hometown newspaper looks at contributions of FGG's Brent Nicholson Earle

Brent before opening ceremony
of Gay Games III

The Niagara Gazette looks back at the history of AIDS in the region, featuring the story of the FGG's Brent Nicholson Earle, winner of the 2010 Tom Waddell Award, and a native of Lockport, New York:

Brent Nicholson Earle, who had been born in the Falls and grew up in Lockport, was a gay off-Broadway actor and playwright in New York who saw 70 friends and acquaintances die of AIDS. In March 1986, he set out on a 9,000-mile run around the perimeter of the United States to draw attention to the epidemic. It took him 20 months and he drew a lot of publicity. All over the country he got police escorts into towns and cities, but when he reached Lockport, the police refused. “Why?” he wondered. “Oh, I think it has to do with bigotry and prejudice against gay people.” But then as he set out down Transit Road into Lockport, then-Mayor Raymond C. Betsch and his son suddenly showed up and escorted him in. At City Hall, old childhood friends were waiting to cheer him, and the mayor issued a proclamation.

Earle, who learned in 1989 that he was HIV-positive, went on in 1990 to run from San Francisco to the Gay Games in Vancouver, and in 1994 from San Francisco to the Gay Games in New York. He’s been profiled in Parade magazine, and was named by People magazine as one of “20 individuals who shaped the ’80s.”

Today at age 60, he lives in New York and remains an AIDS activist.

Read in full HERE?