He’ll always be our guru
Too few voters showed up at GayTravel.com to support Robert Geller, who was vying to be the travel site’s second Travel Guru in 2013. The Tampa resident made it through several rounds of the site’s contest in hopes of traveling and blogging the world throughout the upcoming year in an official capacity for the site. He was one of 30 contestants hoping to move onto the Top 5 finals who posted a video showcasing the things he loves about his hometown. Site visitors were encouraged to vote up to 10 times a day for their favorite Travel Gurus, and Geller had enough support to land him in the Top 10. “I did not make the top 5 to move onto the finals. But I placed in the top 10 and had a blast getting there,” Geller posted on his Facebook wall. Geller handled the disappointment with dignity and a little bit of humor, which is his style. He posted a shirtless photo of himself wearing a “Miss Congeniality” sash. Geller will continue to focus on his successful Outings & Adventures business, promoting activities for LGBTs in Tampa Bay and across the country.
ProSuzy set to retire
On Jan. 12, Suzanne Noe will retire and hand over the reigns of her popular women’s networking business, ProSuzy.com, to a new generation. Noe, who lives in Pinellas County, started the women’s network 12 years ago as a way to unite the women of Tampa Bay through technology. Over those 12 years, ProSuzy.com built an extensive newsletter list and has organized countless events catering to women – both gay and straight. Her retirement is well deserved and will give her a chance to focus on other interests. She’s quick to add that she’s not moving away and will still be visible, she just won’t be as involved as before. A celebration of her retirement is scheduled for Jan. 12 at the Gulfport Casino. Tickets are $20 and guests are encouraged to wear ties of any kind, since the theme is Tie-ing the Community together. Tickets can be purchased at ProSuzy.com. More on Noe’s retirement and the future of ProSuzy.com will be featured in the Jan. 17 issue of Watermark.
He gave us 20 thousand!
Chip Wright succeeded in at least part of his December goal. The St. Petersburg-area personal trainer pumped out 20,000 pushups in the last month of 2012 to raise money for the American Cancer Society. His “Give Me 20” program encouraged those who donated to his cause to push him to reach his lofty fitness goal. The money he raised – nearly $2,500 – went directly to the ACS’s fight against cancer. Wright said support from his clients, friends and community leaders helped pushed him both physically and financially, and he plans to do a similar program sometime in 2013.
