Started by DON SPRADLIN & TOM ROTH, The Mr. Gay Competition network was established in 2003 with solicitation of contestants and sponsors via advertising with the initial contest in San Francisco held in 2004. That contest was named the "Cutest of the Castro Contest", and was the first of a series of USA City Contests leading up to the 2005 national finals. The USA National Finals and the International Mr. Gay Competition was awarded to Palm Springs for two years for the month of October in 2005 and 2006.
Preliminary contests leading up to the North American Mr. Gay Competition are held in various cities in the United States, Mexico and Canada. These contests are produced by licensed City Producers who will select and sponsor all Finalists who will compete for their national title for Mr. Gay every year. Mr Gay grows the network of City Contests every year by licensing additional City Producers and we are actively seeking qualified City Producers to support this growth plan.
Alliances with existing international producers and license agreements with other national producers have allowed The Mr. Gay Competition to establish the first and only International Mr. Gay Competition, which will host over 20 national representatives during the Competition’s Grand Finale every year.
ABOUT THE FOUNDERS
Don Spradlin has been producing national events since the late ‘80s. He has created and managed such events as ReUNION@CityHall, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (in both LA and SF), HellBall, SplashSF, Score!, The Maitri Art Sale and, most recently, the US and International Mr. Gay Competitions. Don is also a Co-founder of the Electric Dreams Foundation, a Co-founder of the LA Lesbian & Gay Psychological Association, has served on the Board of the Victory Fund, LA Shanti, and the Harvard Business School Alumni Association of Northern California. He is currently on the Advisory Board of the Craigslist Foundation.
Don grew up in Oklahoma on March 19, 1957 and graduated with degrees in business from both the University of Oklahoma and the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration. Don went back to school for another Masters Degree, this one in Clinical Psychology at Pacifica Graduate Institute in Santa Barbara, graduating in 1994.
Tom Roth In 1992, Tom Roth established Community Marketing, Inc., an independent gay market research and communications company based in San Francisco. Utilizing Tom’s experience, marketing skills, MBA training and innovative approaches, Community Marketing, Inc. develops products and services to help clients reach and serve the gay and lesbian community. Included in Community Marketing, Inc.’s portfolio of services is the Gay & Lesbian World Travel Expo series in major markets (now in its 13th year); the International Conference on Gay & Lesbian Tourism (in its 6th year); market research and strategic consulting; Gay Travel News; the annual Gay & Lesbian Travel Industry Directory; and speaking engagements at conventions, conferences and trade shows including ATME, IACVB, IGLTA, HSMAI, WTM, NTA and The Travel Institute (formerly ICTA), among others. Launched by Community Marketing in Spring 1997, the "Travel Alternatives Group" (TAG) division of Community Marketing is a national organization of travel professionals serving the gay and lesbian community. The group has over 200 TAG Member Agencies and more than 50 TAG Benefits suppliers. In 1998, Community Marketing introduced the TAG Approved® Accommodations program, a collection of over 700 qualified properties worldwide.
Tom holds an MBA degree in marketing from Maharishi University of Management in Iowa, and the Certified Travel Industry Executive (CTIE) certificate from The Travel Institute (formerly ICTA). He volunteers time and marketing services to the AIDS/HIV Nightline in the development and promotion of its successful fundraiser, the "World Travel Raffle," provides pro-bono consulting and marketing services to non-profits, and served as an officer on the International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association (IGLTA) board of directors. He also volunteers with the Permanent Peace Project and is a long-time instructor of the Transcendental Meditation program.
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