August 2019 Editor's Message: by Seth Paronick Organized naturist industry / community recognizes Tampa Bay Free Beaches as mentor for Tampa-area nude beaches

South Florida Free Beaches has new mailing address Please note our new mailing address, which is effective immediately. Our old PO box will be closed soon. South Florida Free Beaches (or SFFB/FNA, Inc.)

PO Box 601683

North Miami Beach FL 33160-1683 Naturist Action Committee / Naturist Education Foundation (NAC/NEF) Board of Directors election ballot return deadline Reminder to members of The Naturist Society Foundation (TNSF): Ballots were mailed in mid-July to TNSF members in good standing at that time, and must be returned and post-marked no later than September 1 to be counted. Read the article in last month's issue for details.

I reported in last month's issue and in the June 2019 issue of this newsletter on the formation of Tampa Bay Free Beaches (TBFB), a new group working to obtain a clothing-optional beach in the Tampa Bay Area. TBFB has been busy, holding its first town hall meeting on June 29 and staffing an information table at naturist events such as Lake Como Family Nudist Resort's Annual Corn Fest on June 8 and the Annual Blind Creek Beach Skinny-Dip on July 14. To keep up with news, "like" TBFB's Facebook page.

In light of their growing, coordinated efforts in support of TBFB's goals, the undersigned, Florida and national naturist organizations have joined in the following resolution and statement of support for Tampa Bay Free Beaches as the designated entity to take on the responsibility of being the on-site mentor of the proposed, clothing-optional beach site(s) in the Tampa Bay Area.

The statement is long, but it's important to read through all of it to grasp its full context. Because of the importance of the statement to the organized naturist industry / community, this issue of the newsletter is being distributed not only to regular subscribers and newsletter exchange entities, but also to naturist organizations, businesses, and other entities that are part of an extended, Naturist Unity distribution that B.E.A.C.H.E.S. Foundation Institute maintains. If you don't receive the South Florida Free Beaches newsletter but would like to get on its monthly distribution, you may .

IN SUPPORT OF TAMPA BAY FREE BEACHES

WHEREAS, until the early 1980s, Florida had approximately 100 clothing-optional beach sites throughout the state and;

WHEREAS, at least four of the most popular, clothing-optional beaches were at beach parks that were on state-owned lands and;

WHEREAS, these popular, state-owned and -managed beaches were at Bahia Honda (Florida Keys), Honeymoon Island (Dunedin), MacArthur Beach (Palm Beach County) and Navarre Beach (Santa Rosa County) and, during the early 2000s, Navarre Beach was turned over to Santa Rosa County and is no longer under the ownership of the Division of State Lands and;

WHEREAS, presently, Florida has only four recognized, safe, clothing-optional beach sites at Apollo Beach (Volusia County), Blind Creek Beach (St. Lucie County), Haulover Beach (Miami-Dade County) and Playalinda Beach (Brevard County) and;

WHEREAS, these four beaches host domestic and international naturist tourists representing more than 1.5 million visitors annually with an annual economic impact exceeding 1.6 billion dollars for their communities and;

WHEREAS, it is our mission to expand safe, well-managed, designated, clothing-optional beaches by reclaiming three of these beaches at state parks that were lost, due to the anti-nudity rule in the Florida Administrative Code, 62D-2.014(7)(b) and;

WHEREAS, the two most successful, clothing-optional beaches in Florida — Blind Creek Beach, established in 2014 by Treasure Coast Naturists, and Haulover Beach, established in 1991 by South Florida Free Beaches, Inc. / Florida Naturist Association (SFFB / FNA) — were created and mentored by all-volunteer, naturist, "friends of" groups working closely with (and, in the case of SFFB/FNA, as a chapter of) B.E.A.C.H.E.S. Foundation Institute, Inc. (Beach Education Advocates for Culture, Health, Environment & Safety), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and;

WHEREAS, more than 14,000 signers, including Florida residents as well as domestic and international tourists, have voiced their desire, through a petition, to have an established, safe, clothing-optional beach on the West Coast of Florida and;

WHEREAS, local naturist residents in the counties in and around the Tampa Bay Area have dedicated themselves to be advocates for working with local businesses, state and local government entities and communities to adopt and mentor a clothing-optional beach for this innocent, recreational activity and;

WHEREAS, it is imperative to have a professional, responsible organization as the on-site team to mentor the proposed beach site and;

WHEREAS, while the naturist world contains many different constituencies, as do most social movements, its philosophy has some fundamental tenets, including but not limited to:

Body acceptance

Tolerance for differences

Belief that non-sexual nudity is a healthy and positive way of living

Commitment to promote naturism / nudism in a positive, proactive, cooperative and non-coercive fashion and;

WHEREAS, as in any movement, there can be people who claim to represent the naturist philosophy but whose behavior is, at times, inconsistent with those tenets and does damage to the image and progress of naturism / nudism and, when they assume leadership roles and attempt to speak for the movement, they do it a disservice and;

WHEREAS, Tampa Area Naturists, Inc. (TAN), the first entity with a declared mission to re-establish a clothing-optional beach in the Tampa Bay Area, under the leadership of one person, its President, John Palm, for more than 20 years and often without a functioning Board of Directors or body of members, has made almost no progress beyond the collection of petition signatures referenced above and;

WHEREAS, individuals from the undersigned organizations have for multiple years offered TAN advice, support, recommendations, technical assistance, and coordinated action toward building community support for the mission, but have seen most of that ignored or undermined while TAN has instead taken erratic and counterproductive actions that create needless complications for our statewide mission and alienate prospective members and well-meaning, qualified volunteers and;

WHEREAS, the organized, naturist industry / community has lost confidence in TAN's ability to contribute to our shared mission and has concluded that John Palm does not represent the mission credibly and;

WHEREAS, Tampa Bay Free Beaches, Inc. (TBFB), the regional, "friends of" mentoring organization, has attracted seasoned free beach activists and professionals who bring experience from successful, clothing-optional beaches around the United States and;

WHEREAS, the undersigned, well-established, Florida and international naturist / nudist organizations have recognized, vetted and accepted Tampa Bay Free Beaches, Inc. to be the designated entity to take on the responsibility of being the on-site mentor of the proposed, clothing-optional beach site(s) in the Tampa Bay Area and;

WHEREAS, Tampa Bay Free Beaches, Inc. will be promoted and supported in its mission by the undersigned, well-established, Florida and international naturist / nudist organizations;

THEREFORE, we, the undersigned organizations, welcome Tampa Bay Free Beaches, Inc. to the organized, naturist industry / community and encourage the public and government to accept and support their mission for the greater good.

Meanwhile, if you are not a current member of South Florida Free Beaches, please consider becoming one — numbers matter. At $35 per year for your household, it costs just 67¢ per week. A key benefit is the continued, clothing-optional use of Haulover Beach. How much is that worth to you? Join or renew at sffb.com.



SFFB also has a separate Legal Defense & Political Action Fund that supports its government affairs efforts and assists individuals cited for nude sunbathing. Even if you're not ready to (re)join just yet, please consider donating to this fund (not tax-deductible) to help with current challenges. Donations by bank check should be mailed to the address below (in e-mail version of newsletter). Thanks!

SFFB Board meeting on Haulover Beach, August 10 The Board of Directors of South Florida Free Beaches usually meets on the second Saturday of every month at 10:30 a.m. (an earlier time than last year's meetings) under the chickee (thatch-roofed shade structure) near the beachside showers just inside the entrance to Haulover Beach behind lifeguard tower 15 (see related article below) unless another date and time or location is announced. See below for the remainder of this year's schedule. Any planned exception to the second Saturday pattern is noted with an asterisk. The meetings are open to SFFB sponsors / members, supporters, and invited guests. Prior to setting out, check the upper left-hand corner of SFFB's home page at sffb.com (under Today's Beach Reports) for any change in date, time, or location due to unavailability of Board members or in case of bad weather, when the meeting may take place indoors. Don't miss an SFFB Board meeting — add the schedule to your calendar now! August 10, 2019 September 7, 2019 October 12, 2019 November 9, 2019 December 7, 2019 Building relationship with Haulover State Senator Florida State Senator Jason Pizzo's District 38 in north-eastern Miami-Dade County encompasses Haulover Park. Following up on then-Senator-elect Pizzo's invited presentation at last September's Beach Ambassador Training Conference, Shirley Mason, Executive Director of B.E.A.C.H.E.S. Foundation Institute, chatted with him on July 23 after attending a meeting that he held with Florida Department of Transportation officials. Shirley briefed Senator Pizzo on statewide efforts to restore and expand clothing-optional beaches on state park land (see related article above), gave him a copy of B.E.A.C.H.E.S.' booklet, Years of the All-Over Tan at Haulover Beach (PDF, 12.6 mb), and pointed out to him that his positions on the Finance and Tax and Criminal Justice Committees could be helpful in marshaling support. The Senator suggested making an appointment at his district office to delve further into these topics. Shirley submitted a schedule request to Senator Pizzo's staff, and a written confirmation to meet in August was pending at press time. Naturist youth campers enjoy day at Haulover Beach On July 17, Beach Ambassadors served box lunches and watermelon to participants of Sunsport Gardens' Annual Naturist Family Youth Camp. Miami-Dade County lifeguards shared safety tips and gave a tour of the Fire Rescue Ocean Rescue Building, including its tower with sweeping views.

SFFB information booth upgraded to permanent chickee at Haulover Beach entrance by lifeguard tower 15 For the past several months, members of South Florida Free Beaches (SFFB)'s Executive Committee (Board officers) have worked with Haulover Park management and employees to designate a permanent hospitality point for SFFB on Haulover Beach. As a result, space is now reserved next to the beachside showers that B.E.A.C.H.E.S. Foundation Institute built some years ago with SFFB's support, just inside the entrance to the beach opposite lifeguard tower 15. SFFB's information booth originally consisted of a canopy, tables, chairs, souvenir towels, suntan lotion, various naturist banners, and informational brochures. On each day that the booth operated, these materials were loaded onto vehicles, transported to the site, unloaded, set up, taken down, reloaded, and unloaded and stored remotely, which was a lot of work for Beach Ambassadors and other volunteers, some elderly. A chickee (tiki hut) was moved into place (see photo at right) several months ago next to the showers, eliminating the need to lug and set up a canopy. SFFB Vice President Paul Friderich, Jr. and SFFB Executive Secretary and Beach Ambassador Captain Ken Tauer designed and constructed a durable locker to store tables and chairs, etc., further reducing the physical effort to set up and break down the information booth. The new setup has already proven its value recently for the 28th Anniversary of Haulover's Naturist Beach on July 14 and the naturist youth camp excursion on July 17 (see related article above). A few more features are to be completed, but many thanks are in order to the SFFB volunteers who have brought it to this point. SFFB's information booth usually operates one day per weekend, from late morning to mid-afternoon. If you would like to volunteer to help staff the booth, especially if you can help expand the schedule, please contact SFFB.