1. The Killing of SAPD Officer Benjamin Marconi The death of Officer Benjamin Marconi, who was shot in his patrol car in broad daylight outside police headquarters on November 20, stunned the citizens of San Antonio and the nation. Officer Marconi had scores of close friends in the LGBT community and supported the cause of…
SAAF Closing Its Nursing and Hospice Care Unit
Thirty years after it began providing medical care to those who were sick and dying of AIDS, the San Antonio AIDS Foundation announced on December 9 that it will close its nursing and hospice care unit at the end of the year. It was in 1986, at the beginning of the AIDS epidemic in San…
‘Papa Bear’ Founder of San Antonio AIDS Foundation Has Died
Out in SA has learned that Robert “Papa Bear” Edwards, founder of the San Antonio AIDS Foundation, died of natural causes on November 10. According to a source close to his family, Edwards had been hospitalized several times and eventually passed away at home while under hospice care. It was in 1986, at the beginning…
The World According to Karlos
Karlos Anzoategui’s Closet Is Wide Open When you pass the whitewashed stucco walls, go through the gate on Queen Anne Court, and head into Villa Sol, Karlos Anzoategui’s work-and- life HQ, you leave earthly concerns behind. Like Gloria Swanson’s Sunset Boulevard manse, or, say, the Vatican, you’ve entered a self-contained world where, if the walls…
Moving Forward: Cynthia Nelson’s Vision for SAAF
“I’m happy to be out there and say that SAAF is alive and well.” As the San Antonio AIDS Foundation prepares for its 30th anniversary in 2016, the organization announced in October the appointment of its new president, Cynthia Nelson. Founded in the back of a gay bar by Robert “Papa Bear” Edwards in 1986,…
San Antonio AIDS Foundation at a Crossroads
Nearly 30 years ago, Robert “Papa Bear” Edwards started the San Antonio AIDS Foundation (SAAF) in the back of a gay bar. From those humble beginnings, the organization has flourished, and now appears to be ready for another growth spurt under newly hired president Cynthia Nelson. However, for Edwards and some supporters, that growth has…
SAAF appoints new president
Seven months after they fired their executive director, the board of the San Antonio AIDS Foundation announced on October 9 that they hired a replacement who will now hold the title of president. The appointment of Cynthia Nelson as president of SAAF ends a months-long search to replace former Executive Director David Ewell. Nelson has…
Ewell issues statement on departure from SAAF
David Ewell is speaking out for the first time since the board of directors of the San Antonio AIDS Foundation, under the leadership of President Anne Marie Simmons, terminated him from his job as executive director on April 20. Ewell’s firing was first made public by SAAF founder Robert “Papa Bear” Edwards, who forwarded Out…
SAAF board fires executive director
The board of directors of the San Antonio AIDS Foundation, under the leadership of President Anne Marie Simmons, has fired Executive Director David Ewell. The termination was effective Monday, April 20. Out In SA learned of the Ewell’s firing from SAAF founder Robert “Papa Bear” Edwards, who forwarded the magazine an email from the board…