1999 IFGE Convention Cancelled

The IFGE convention planned for Orlando, Florida in the spring of 1999 has been cancelled.

According to executive director Nancy Nangeroni, "The reasons for the cancellation are many, and force this decision on me. I regret the change this makes to what many members of our community, and particularly IFGE's supporters, view as an important recurring event. More often than not the IFGE 'Coming Together' convention has served to widen acceptance for members of our community in the host city, and it has been a powerful force in many people's lives. I do not make this decision lightly."

"Unfortunately, IFGE has repeatedly proven itself incapable of running a convention that is consistently successful financially, logistically, and -- most important for it's continued health -- emotionally for it's organizers. Moreover, there is currently nobody with the know-how, experience, desire, willingness and commitment to run this convention without undue risk of another deficit for IFGE. Meanwhile, the Southern Comfort and other conventions continue to be run capably and to provide a forum, while not the same as what IFGE has provided, certainly covering the bulk of the need not better served elsewhere."

"At the same time, I believe IFGE's constituency is better served by a focus within the organization on improving delivery of a more limited set of services, rather than by trying to be everything to everybody. Over the last 10 months, we have instituted many changes here in Waltham, some of which you may see reflected in the increasingly fascinating pages of Transgender TAPESTRY magazine, which is reinstituting itself as the leading print forum for reasoned discourse in our community, moving into a larger role within a rapidly expanding community."

"We've also seen improvement in our bookstore, which is now the most well stocked on the subject, with timely service and a growing reputation as a good place to shop. Our web site is fast becoming a leading resource on the internet, though there are quite a few very good sites out there, and we cannot claim to have outdone some. We do, however, have a trans news and announcements archive, extensive and thorough book descriptions, community calendar, and much more."

"But IFGE needs to do more, and postponing for a year the extensive effort that goes into planning and running a convention will afford us the opportunity to find further ways to improve on the quality of the services we provide to our community. Our apologies to the good people in Orlando who were looking forward to our visit, and we will hope to gather there another year."