About The Leathertarian Award
The award was originally given in 2006-7 at a local fetish event in Florida. It subsequently died. I had attended both of those events over that period and I was there when the "award" was presented. I had several problems with it. The producers of the event were the sole decision makes on who received the award. There was no outside participation or input. Second, giving someone a piece of printer paper for hard work and service didn't seem right to me. I had been thinking about this for years before finally deciding in the fall of 2013 to do something with the name. Leathertarian/Humanitarian. I loved it but I wanted it to be for everyone in the leather community not just for a local event in Florida. I secured an attorney and begun the process of having the name "the Leathertarian Award" Trademarked with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in Washington DC. In addition I purchased both the fictitious name in the state of Florida and the website name I am on now. This award is for those of you out there. Its for ALL of you. Those of you who work so hard and are never recognized. Those of you who never seek anything other than service; not just for the community but for the betterment of humanity either on your local, state or national level.
We have so many who are not recognized for all their good works and service. I wanted to give back to the community in a way which would pat you on the back and say "good job." I am however the founder, and as a result, cannot EVER be the recipient of this award, either as the winner of a year OR the lifetime award. This is not a contest. There are no producers, fundraisers, events. The recipients do not spend a penny. There is no fee, no dinner, no traveling to accept the award, nothing expected. The cash awards will be mailed to the recipient at their home along with a pin, certificate and T shirt of their size. NO ONE receives any of these items but the recipient. As for the cash awards? That money comes from my own personal accounts so there is never a question of mismanagement, misappropriation, or absconding. It is unfortunate but there has been too much of that and I want to avoid those pitfalls. It's my own money and I certainly cannot steal from myself. The panel of six will relay to me who they have chosen. I will get the persons name address and phone number and off goes their prizes!
In the Statement and Procedures section will be listed the process and the "meat" of how the recipients will be chosen. Anyone is free to ask questions on the process and you MAY use any in part or all of these procedures for your own ideas or organizations. I believe in transparency. There are no secret behind the door deals of how this is done. This is an award for the community chosen by members IN the community for those IN the community! Presently, the Award is given only to those living in the United States.