SouthernVoice.com – By Zack Hudson
Military supplier says event matches its company values
For the first time in its 16 year history, the Southern Comfort Conference for transgender people and their families has attracted corporate sponsorship, including money from a company which provides U.S. military forces with missiles and airplanes. The move marks a shift by conference organizers toward empowering attendees beyond the transition process, raising visibility in public and the workplace.
“This is the first year that we’ve ever attained meaningful corporate sponsorship. This is just really the start of what we think is going to migrate into the next generation of what this conference should be,” predicted Kristin Reichman, chair of the 2006 event, which kicks off Sept. 19 at the Sheraton Colony Square hotel in Midtown.
Organizers advertise Southern Comfort as “the world?s largest transgender conference.” Reichman said that approximately 650 reservations had been booked by press time, and expected more as the conference begins.