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The following list includes all candidates for the upcoming 2012 FSC Board of Directors election to be held this month. Only active FSC members may vote in the election; electronic ballots will be sent by online survey service Zoomerang.com.
FSC members may vote for four seats available in this year’s election, from the field of seven candidates. First-time nominees are Adam & Eve’s Bob Christian, performer/activist Kara Price, Wasteland.com’s Colin Rowntree, and Bright Guys Inc./Adult Webmaster Empire’s Doug Richter.
If you are an active FSC member and DO NOT receive your electronic ballot by Dec 12, please contact the FSC office at (818) 348-9373 or email joanne@freespeechcoaliton.com. If you are interested in information about the election or in how to join the FSC, please use the same contact info.
PLEASE REMEMBER TO VOTE! This is an opportunity for active FSC members to choose those who will represent the FSC and the adult industry’s business & legal interests for the coming year. Thank you.
In alphabetical order by last name (* indicates incumbent status).
Bob Christian
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Has been with Adam & Eve/PHE Inc for over 15 years. Currently serves as GM for Adam & Eve Pictures, as well as a member of Adam & Eve’s senior management/marketing team. Was part of the creation of our Adam & Eve Retail Stores company, currently with 41 franchised stores open, and of Temptations Parties – Adam & Eve’s Home Party company. Holds the title of President of the retail stores company – AEFC, Inc. – but not involved in day-to-day.
Prior to Adam & Eve, worked as GM of General Vitamin, one of Phil Harvey’s non-adult businesses. Proud of graduating from Duke University and from University of North Carolina (MBA) – especially proud during Basketball season.
Why do you want to run for the FSC Board of Directors?
With all its aggressive programs, the FSC gives so much to our industry. I feel it is important to give back, and I want to serve FSC as best I can, to sustain the good work it does. It’s that simple. The FSC unites all of us to focus our efforts on common causes and needs which are bigger than any of us individually. PHE and Adam & Eve have been solid supporters of FSC for many years. I just want a little more hands-on involvement to encourage FSC’s positive impact on our businesses and lives.
If you haven’t looked at the FSC’s Mission Statement lately, take a glance again now. This is what I want to be a contributing part of:
Free Speech Coalition Mission Statement
- Lead, protect and support the growth and well-being of the adult entertainment community. ??As the trade association for the adult entertainment we do this by:
- Being the legislative watchdog for the industry;lobbying in California and in Congress.
- Providing public education, research and reports to gradually change public opinion about adult entertainment.
- Providing member publications, seminars, updates, advisories and coordinating member activism toward legislative change.
- Improving members’ business profit margins by introducing ‘value-added’ benefits, such as insurance, risk management programs, discounts, etc.
- Engaging, as a last resort, in litigation.
Larry Garland*
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As an entrepreneur and 37-year business veteran, CEO and founder Larry Garland is an invaluable asset to Eldorado Trading Company. Over the years Eldorado has become one of the top international distributors in the adult novelty business offering over 15,000 best selling SKUs throughout the world.
Garland sticks to the basics and follows the simple, guiding principle he used to transform a homespun basement business into an international pleasure products dynamo: “making sure customers get what they want in salable condition, on time, and at a fair price.” In addition to heading up Eldorado since 1974, Garland is a board member of the Free Speech Coalition, as well as an active and vocal advocate for his local community. For the last several years, Eldorado has held fundraisers and food drives for the Community Food Share program, helping put Thanksgiving dinner on the table for thousands of Colorado families in need.
Why do you want to run for the FSC Board of Directors?
I hope to make a positive impact for the industry.
Christian Mann*
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A 32 year veteran of the adult business, Christian Mann has worked in various capacities including magazine publication, mail-order, production, sales and marketing. As owner of Video Team, he pioneered niche marketing with the popular all-girl series “No Man’s Land” and the urban series “My Baby Got Back.”
Christian is no stranger to the challenges faced by Free Speech Coalition members trying to earn a livelihood marketing adult products for adult consumers. He was Federally indicted in 1989, withstood an obscenity trial in Texas in defense of the 1st Amendment, and was eventually acquitted of all charges. 20 years later, as Evil Angel’s General Manager, Christian assisted the legal team in John Stagliano’s succesful obscenity defense in Washington D.C.in the summer of 2010.
Today, Christian Mann focuses his attention on Evil Angel’s marketing and brand position with an emphasis on both subscriber and advertiser funded new media.
Christian currently serves on the FSC Board of Directors as he did once before in the mid 1990’s. In this capacity Christian was instrumental in launching FSC’s Adult Production Health & Safety Services initiative in the wake of the closure of AIM.
Christian is the recipient of AVN’s 1st Amendment Defense Award in 1991, the Free Speech Coalition “Good Guy Award” in 2000 and most recently has been inducted in the “AVN Hall of Fame – Founder’s Branch” in 2010.
Kara Price
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Kara Price is a California native with an educational background in human sexuality and applied statistics. Kara entered the adult industry during college as a 2257 compliancy auditor. She soon realized that she would have more fun and make more money as a performer. Since her debut in February 2011 she has preformed in over sixty films and directed ten yet to be released scenes Kara is an active member of the FSC and can often be found rolling her eyes at CalOSHA hearings.
As a FSC board member Kara will represent the interests of performers, producers, and distributors by addressing key issues including piracy, .XXX, and the current condom crisis.
Kara is interested creating resources for FSC members. She is excited to create and maintain the FSC’s free guides on Health Standards, 2257 compliancy, and anti-piracy solutions. She is interested in updating the FSC website, creating online networking opportunities, and helping the FSC represent the interests of all members.
Kara is committed to fighting against all laws that strain adult businesses. To this end she is prepared to be active in all FSC lawsuits. As a working performer and FSC board member with an educational background in sexuality Kara will be in a unique position to speak out against mandatory condom legislation and aid in the development of the APHSS.org health & safety program.
Theresa “Darklady” Reed*
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Theresa “Darklady” Reed has been a contributing writer/editor for AVN for more than a decade and began her work in adult as the editor of Exotic Magazine in the early 1990s. She is president of Darklady Productions, Inc., based in Portland, Oregon, a current FSC board member, and on the Woodhull Freedom Foundation advisory council. She is also the “voice” of the DotXXXOpposition.com site.
As an FSC board member, Reed was instrumental in the creation of the organization’s Code of Ethics, drawing upon her experience with all areas of the adult entertainment industry, including online, DVD, and in-person performance.
Passionately devoted to the ideal of responsible self-government, Reed is a strong defender of the First Amendment who unapologetically believes that explicit sexual expression is a valid and valuable form of artistic and political speech whose creators deserve respect and fair treatment.
When not hosting wildly innovative, pansexual fundraising and promotional events, Reed’s work appears in various erotica and sexuality anthologies, including Stanford Press’ “Prostitution and Pornography: Philosophical Debate about the Sex Industry.” She is also an accomplished screenwriter, public speaker, publicist, and sex educator who has run for public office twice. Her work can also be found on HuffingtonPost.com and Alternet.org.
Why do you want to run for the FSC Board of Directors?
I’ve been a board member for several years now, love working with the current board members, and remain passionate in my appreciation for and desire to help promote, improve and protect the adult entertainment industry. I think it’s good for the board to have non-LA-centric voices and perspective, as well.
Doug Richter
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Douglas Richter, a graduate of the University of Minnesota, is currently the CEO of Bright Guys Inc the Senior Authorized Consultant for AWEmpire.com the affiliate program for popular live video sex chat sites LiveJasmin.com & CameraBoys.com and a variety of other niche webcam sites. An active supporter for Adult Industry Trade Organizations, Douglas has been serving for the past 2 years participating on the Advisory Council for ASACP.
Douglas began his career in adult more than 14 years ago as a chat host for ifriends so it is fitting to find him today in a position with the World’s largest provider of live video sex chat. Douglas has also held several high level and leadership positions in several key verticals over the years in the gay adult industry from production, to sales and operations before he began consulting for AWE. Having witnessed many changes in the industry he can offer a wider perspective on the trends facing membership sites specifically regarding how to correctly compliment your products with the right live tools to boost revenue. For the past 4 years he has contributed with his efforts focused on growing the AWE affiliate program in the United States where he has found great success for both AWE and their growing network of Affiliates and White Label sites.
Why do you want to run for the FSC Board of Directors?
Over the past two years I have been actively participating on the Advisory Council for ASACP; an Adult Industry sponsored trade organization dedicated to protecting children. I support our industry trades both for amazing work they accomplish, but more importantly because they are here to ensure that our business playing field remains intact.
Over the past year I have become increasingly involved with the rallies and press conferences held by FSC and find this work to be both important and gratifying. Having a keen understanding of the industry and the challenges that we currently face as a collective group of business people, I feel that I will add a lot to the FSC Board. People who know me know I get the job done and am not afraid to stand up for what I believe in. Ultimately I feel I would add significant value to the board should I be elected.
Colin Rowntree
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Colin Rowntree wasn’t officially at the birth of the adult internet, but he was definitely in the vicinity. Born to a Michigan union organizer who survived police beatings, Rowntree grew up with a thirst for social justice, free speech, and creativity.
Whether it was fishing with Allen Ginsberg, student activism, a Fulbright scholarship to the Soviet Union to study orchestral conducting, part-time work as an English language editor for Pravda, post-grad studies with Leonard Bernstein at Tanglewood, piercing his navel, or selling angel pendants, he has kept his eyes on the prize.
Prior to entering the adult industry, that included performing for and lunching with the Dalai Lama, a strange elevator ride and beer chat with Louis Farrakhan, and an impromptu nursing home serenade of Richard Nixon.
Since launching Wasteland.com in 1994, the prize has expanded to receiving a number of adult industry awards. Most recently, induction into the 2011 AVN Hall of Fame’s Founder Division and receipt of the 2011 FSC Leadership Award. Not bad for a guy who initially hoped simply to make a buck by selling kinky content on that newfangled internet-thing and wound up having his work featured in Wired Magazine, Time Magazine, The Economist, Sunday London Times, and on both HBO and the BBC.
Between 1998 and 2011, Rowntree has acted as an adult industry liaison to Visa/MC International, the US Department of Justice on Internet Safety Issues, Interpol on financial scam tracking and prevention – and more.
Now Rowntree’s eclectically diverse personal and professional quest for justice and appreciation for human sexuality and the businesses that depend upon it has lead him to seek a seat on the Free Speech Coalition’s board of directors.
Why do you want to run for the FSC Board of Directors?
I believe with my many years of experience in the adult industry, I can bring a wealth of skills, perspective and creative enthusiasm to contribute to FSC’s ongoing mission of protecting free speech and the integrity of the adult industry.”
