Kevin Grice, chair of Thanet Pride resigned last month. In an email to many of the organisations who had supported Thanet Pride he said the bank account was currently showing a zero credit and he would close it in seven days unless he was approached by someone who could legally show they had taken on the responsibility for Thanet Pride. He went on to say he had throughly enjoyed his four years with Thanet Pride, however due to the total lack of interest in the day-to-day management and organisation of the event he felt it was time to pass the torch on to those with more flair. In his closing statement he said: “The gay community generally will take anything that is free but ask them for help and you’re dead”.

Kevin has worked in education for the last 30 years as a teacher, lecturer and deputy principle for mainly disaffected young people, apart for a three year spell as manager of an Adult Education Centre in Essex. He retired in July 2010 as a direct result of an accident. The accident is still a mystery and a blur in Kevin's mind but he is alive and fighting back.
I was particularly interested in Kevin's comment “The gay community generally will take anything thats free but ask them for help and you’re dead” and asked him to write more about his experiences of trying to keep Thanet Pride going for the last few years.


Thanet Pride - a vision for the Future by Kevin Grice

We have experienced four wonderful years of Thanet Pride and I’ve endeavored to maintain a balance of interest amongst the committee, local and national businesses and public groups such as Thanet District Council (TDC) and Kent County Council (KCC).

The committee have evolved over the years and managed to maintain a balance of success within the financial restraints in which we have found ourselves each year.

I’ve been able to get adequate funding each year and secured Thanet District Council, who have supported us from the beginning, Kent County Council who came on board in 2010, the National Lottery and others.

Local businesses including Leisure Force and Sundowners maintained interest until 2010.

In the past year we have all seen and felt the economic effects of the financial crisis and are all making the necessary alterations to manage these austere times.

We’ve also been able to secure support and coverage in the media both nationally and locally, without whom our promotional challenge would have been even greater.

In particular I’d like to thank Gscene and Kent Messenger who have supported us with press releases and editorials as well as full coverage of our shows.

I was new to Thanet in 2005 so I tried to involve myself in the social aspects of the area. As part of this I was voted Chairman of the Committee to Sundowners Private Members Club, the gay club in Margate.

In 2006 a committee was set up to organise a Pride in Margate. For reasons known only to themselves they did so without any communication or involvement of Sundowners, the only gay venue in Thanet!

Kevin Grice

The Pride group secured funding from a national union but because of management issues the whole enterprise fell apart. Having dedicated funding nationally to Thanet Pride, Unison, approached Sundowners and asked if we could save the event. We accepted the challenge even though it gave us only a ten week deadline. We succeeded in our venture and continued to carry the mantel for five years with four Pride events.

This level of energy and commitment has been exhausting. It can be argued that managing such an event is almost a full time position and fundraising has to be collaborative and continuous.

As the only person willing to commit to securing major funding it isn’t possible for me to carry on. In late 2008 I was involved in an accident and at the time it was only the manner in which the committee rallied around as a team that allowed me to continue. Since then, as Chairman of Pride, I’ve secured our position financially in Thanet, although this isn’t enough for the event, and I’ve become a member of local Compact, a fundraising support group. I have also attended most of the financial conferences and seminars set up by Compact and others. Now however, I’m at the point where my health won’t let me continue and I need to focus more closely on personal goals.

Through their own experiences and in these difficult financial times I hope that the gay communities in Thanet come to understand that Pride events are not ‘our right’ but have to be worked at, and I hope that they never forget why they started years ago. It was a display of our existence, human beings who experience feelings and pain and who have a part to play in our communities.

We now have more freedom and involvement than back then, although it’s not all roses just yet, but in order for if it to become even better we have to be prepared to get involved and give a little too.

I hope sincerely that there is a group of people out there in the gay community of Thanet who will be willing to take on this enjoyable and fulfilling role. They must understand however, that the whole enterprise is an ongoing challenge. It is not simply about turning up to committee meetings in order to claim involvement, but about actually working at it on a daily basis and take satisfaction in the sweat and tears from the full and fabulous event that follows.

I’d like to thank all those who have shared my vision and wish others who may choose to pick up the mantel, great success and enjoyment. I will of course always be there, if required, to offer help and support at whatever level is within my limits.