Photo Credit: Succo/Pixabay
Milwaukee GAMMA just held its 41st Annual Meeting and Banquet. Appropriately enough, it took place at Emerald City Catering, a Wizard of Oz-themed venue replete with an enshrined pair of ruby slippers. About half of the organization’s membership of 85 was in attendance, and GAMMA president “Bim” Florek gave his state-of-the-organization address. It was his sixth. His speech was noteworthy not only for its litany of the past year’s accomplishments, activities and programs but also for the subliminal message of GAMMA’s impact not only on the lives of its members but of the LGBTQ community as a whole.
Founded in the late 1970s, the GAMMA acronym, according to those who seem to recall, stands for “Gay Athletic Milwaukee Men’s Association,” or some variation thereof. Originally, the athletic component was the draw. The first GAMMA events were touch football games. Then, decades before the formation of the Milwaukee Gay Volleyball Association (MGVA), GAMMA hosted volleyball games at various venues around the city and held an annual tournament at PrideFest. In the late-’00s, it coordinated with MGVA to bring that group to PrideFest, eventually ceding the courts to them.
But as its members matured, so has GAMMA’s mission and dynamics. Today, the largely senior-aged membership has settled into less vigorous activities. Nevertheless, the same camaraderie pervades. Florek’s speech mentioned the monthly standard calendar items like cribbage and sheepshead evenings, dining out, the “LunchBunch,” fish fries and cocktail hours. Then, there are other activities, some seasonally inspired, that include frequent theater nights, museum tours, seasonal gatherings, hikes, camping, picnics and painting parties. But GAMMA is anything but insular. It also marches in the annual Pride Parade, and it’s a member of various community organizations like the LGBT Chamber of Commerce.
In recent years, GAMMA has added a charitable program, GAMMA-Gives, to its mission. Each year, it collects gifts at its holiday party to be donated to a selected beneficiary. Past recipients include Penfield Children’s Center, Pathfinders’ Youth Shelter and Courage MKE. This year, Pathfinders has again been chosen. When a Pathfinder staff member was asked what sort of items they might prefer to be donated, the immediate response was, “hand warmers.” No doubt they’ll get a good supply. GAMMA has also instituted an arts scholarship fund. It hopes to award its first scholarship to an LGBTQ-identified student in 2020.
For this group of gay seniors, GAMMA provides a social, recreational and cultural outlet that, although not particularly extraordinary in its structure, nonetheless creates a connection to an active community. However inadvertently, the group has become a reliable resource for those seeking to maintain a healthy level of interaction with contemporaries and to enjoy a full range of engaging activities with them.
The group’s board of directors also includes a wellness director. His tasks include sending cards to members when they are sick or grieving. It’s a small gesture, but an uplifting one. One couple who’ve been together for 64 years now lives in a senior facility in Hartford, Wis. Another member chauffeurs them to events in Milwaukee so they can still participate in GAMMA events, and all of this is made possible through volunteers.
You can learn more about GAMMA by visiting milwaukeegamma.org.
