In this Issue
- Trynudethon Adds a Lite Division
- Changing of the Guard
- August Attendance Is High
- Read the National Publications
- It's a Slow Political Year...So Far
- Trends in Naturism
- Announcements
Days To Remember
SEPTEMBER
- 01 - Lake open Monday
- 05 - Full-Moon Skinny-Dip
- 14 - Board meeting
- 28 - Trynudethon, Picnic & college activities
OCTOBER
- 03 - Last Full-Moon Skinny-Dip
- 12 - Board meeting
- 26 - Last monthly picnic
NOVEMBER
- 09 - Board meeting—Calendar planning
DECEMBER
- 14 - Christmas banquet & board meeting
General Information
- THE LAKE IS AVAILABLE EVERY WEEKEND ALL YEAR.
- Families with children are especially encouraged to come on picnic days.
- Meetings and picnics usually start at 2:00. If both are on the same day, we start at 1:00.
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Tallahassee Naturally is a non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of naturist recreation in north Florida and nearby areas. The club is an affiliate member of both the Naturist Society and the American Association for Nude Recreation. Bare and Free is the official Newsletter of the Tallahassee Naturally Club. Articles appearing in Bare and Free may be reprinted by other naturist publications, provided that credit is given. Photos, however, may only be reprinted with written permission. Club members are encouraged to submit , articles news items, and photos for publication. Please address all submission to: Tallahassee Naturally, P.O. Box 6866, Tallahassee FL, 32314 or info@tallahasseenaturally.org.
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Trynudethon Adds a Lite Division
Our third annual Trynudethon (nude triathlon) happens Sunday, September 28. Competitors will swim the length of the lake and back, jump on their bicycles and peddle 4 kilometers through various trails, then run 2 kilometers to the highway and across to the sandy field—wading a shallow pond at the end. For that, the fastest three men and the fastest three women get medallions. There is a $20 entry fee.
The last two years, the swamp trail has been too wet, but this year looks dry enough to run the race as planned. We also have the new bicycle trail connecting the sandy field to the Nature Trail. (Thanks to Jim P., Paul, Mark, Steven H., Bruce K., and Bruce H. for their work getting that ready.) Though shorter than some triathlons, ours is probably the most challenging course anywhere that can be done nude.
For people who are reasonably fit but not into extreme athletics, we are this year offering an easier half-course called Trynudethon-Lite. It doesn't require a mountain bike, but can be done with any kind of street bicycle. Competitors in the Lite division will swim across the lake and back (not lengthwise), bicycle to the highway and back, then run to the athletic field. The fastest three men and fastest three women will receive certificates, instead of medallions. This first year, there will be no registration fee for the Lite division, but that could change in future years.
Registration starts at 9:00, with competition at 10:00, before the day gets too hot. And it is a picnic day; we eat at 2:00. That same day, we offer free admission for college students. Maybe we can get a volleyball game going in the afternoon.
Changing of the Guard
We have been fortunate in a strong and diverse core of experienced leaders on our board of directors these last several years. That is changing.
We have several new faces on the board this year. In March, we elected Doug and Jim. Then in July, we elected Dustin to replace Paul (who is still around part of the time, waiting for his house to sell). In August, the board appointed Robyn to replace Rick. Her appointment needs to be ratified by the membership right after the September picnic. (The meeting will be so short that we don't need to change the 2:00 picnic time.)
August Attendance Is High
Back in August of 1998, we set a record of 215 visitors. Ever since then, August attendance has run lower than July, as people went on vacations. This year that didn't happen. Thanks partly to enthusiastic new members, we ended August with 199 visitor-days at the lake—our second-highest August ever.
Full-Moon Skinny-Dips have also been running higher than usual this summer,
while many students were out of town. In the last four years, we have broken all
previous full-moon records. Current monthly records are:
44 April 2012
30 May 2011
42 June 2011
56 July 2014
43 August 2014
67 September 2013
53 October 2013
Read the National Publications
The current Nude & Natural was written entirely by women, and includes many insights from a woman's point-of-view. Wendy wrote one of the articles. (She uses a pen name, but you will recognize her pictures of Richard.)
The September Bulletin contains a picture and story about our Trynudethon— also Paul's latest movie-review column for naturist families. This time, he looks at southern movies. This month's Bulletin is also significant for its strong support of gay nudists—an issue the organization has tiptoed around in the past.
We bring both publications to the lake every Sunday. Better yet, join one or both of the national organizations, and read all this good stuff at your leisure at home.
It's a Slow Political Year...So Far
For some reason, there are few local candidates running for office this year. We didn't see them at our Open House. And there are just a few whose position on nudity issues we didn't already know.
Back in 1994, Tallahassee Naturally became the first nudist group in the nation to evaluate political candidates, and notify our members where they stood. Again, this year, we checked with other clubs around the Florida to see what they knew about some of the state-wide candidates from their areas. And again, that got other clubs to thinking about informing their members.
Bruce K. is gradually taking over our political committee from Paul.
Politics should get more exciting over the next few months, as there are hot contests for congress and governor.
Trends in Naturism
Gradual changes can sometimes be hard to notice until afterward. But changes are happening.
Lots of nudist clubs used to send us newsletters, and we posted them on our bulletin board at the lake. Then everybody went electronic. Unfortunately, many of the electronic newsletters have become just calendars, or have fizzled out completely, as people communicate by Facebook or Twitter. The American Nudist Research Library reports that it now receives only 41 club newsletters from across the country. Ours is one of them.
In Florida, the majority of clubs have decided there is an unending stream of retired people moving to the state. So they recruit among those easy pickings, and see little need to concern themselves with young people. Landed clubs that used to have lots of children are becoming retirement homes. Only Tallahassee Naturally and Sunsport Gardens have active youth programs. And ours is one of only four clubs in the state with playground equipment. This trend is happening less in other states, where they really do have to worry about where future members will come from.
The number of card-carrying nudists is declining. That is partly because young people are not joiners as much as earlier generations were. They participate more at random. In Florida, some of the biggest privately-owned clubs decided there was more money in sex than in nudity, and have ventured beyond anything the national organizations can accept. That too has cut down on our numbers.
Old fears about single men, gay and lesbian members, and body piercing have pretty much evaporated.
Much of the sensationalism has gone out of nudist reporting. The ordinary has become ho-hum. It has gotten very hard to get any press coverage for events open to the public.
For a while, nudist publications grew more open about listing people's full names. But lack of privacy on the Internet has forced a retreat there, and our club has gone back to publishing partial names unless specific permission has been granted. With cell phone cameras and the Internet, photography remains controversial.
Announcements
On Saturday, October 11, we will for the first time set up our recruiting table at the Gaines Street Fest in Tallahassee. The music festival runs from 1 P.M. to past midnight, so we will need lots of volunteers taking turns at our table. If you can spend an hour or two, let Dustin or Paul know. The event is free, though parking and FAMU football traffic may be problems.
When Sunburst Resort near Pensacola went clothed a few years ago, some of the members rented a lake like we do, and started a new club called Sunnier Pines. We announced last time that the new club had failed for financial reasons. But some people were not ready to give up, so they reorganized at the same lake under the name, Hidden Lake. Shortly afterward, the owner of Sunburst and still-nude Riviera Resort died, throwing the future of yet another panhandle club into doubt.
Single men especially, remember the club in your will or as the beneficiary of your life insurance policy. You can discuss details with Paul.
We Are Extraordinary
At the beginning of October, Tallahassee Naturally will be 28 years old. Grant
concluded the August board meeting by listing some of the reasons our club is
extraordinary:
We have the largest percentage of young people in the country.
We have the only college group functioning today.
We have run the College Greek Athletic Meet for nearly 20 years.
We were the first club in the nation to compile a voter's guide.
We produce the family values booklet, bought in bulk and distributed to
lawmakers across the country.
We are mentioned in The Bulletin more than almost any other small club.
In addition, we are probably the only nudist club offering sinkhole tours or a serious triathlon. We are extraordinary, indeed.