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The Bay Area Reporter did a story about The 15 Association turning 35....read it here: B.A.R. Online: The 15 Association — 35 Years of BDSM Camaraderie

As Chairman of The 15 Association, it is my pleasure to invite you to Anniversary Weekend XXXV. Please join us as we renew old friendships, make new ones, and enjoy the company of our members and guests in the friendly and relaxed environment that has become a tradition for us. And of course, there will be plenty of opportunities to play.

The Anniversary Banquet will be at the Verdi Club, 2424 Mariposa St, San Francisco. Please be respectful of our venue and dress appropriately!

For Anniversary XXXV, the schedule is:

• Friday Night Play Event, February 27th, 8PM to 1AM. This event is not prepaid. Admission is $10 for members with anniversary registration, $15 for members without anniversary registration, and $20 for guests. Snacks and beverages will be served.
• Saturday Anniversary Banquet, February 28th, 6:00 PM at the Verdi Club. Bar and appetizers start at 6:00 PM, dinner served at 7:30 PM. Cost is $60 with your choice of entreée. Pre-payment is required to attend.We will also be having our silent auction. If you have fetish-related toys, gear, art or services to donate, please contact Dustin Yeager at Dly44boy1dr@yahoo.com.

Menu Choices for Anniversary XXXV: 

• Beef Tenderloin w/ green peppercorns
• Chicken Piccata
• Halibut with Lobster Sauce
• Vegetarian

• Sunday Alchemy Dungeon Play Event, March 1st, 2pm to 6pm at 1060 Folsom (at 6th). It’s got some unique features, including a medical room, electric hoist, and a shower area for watersports. Admission is $10 for members with XXXV anniversary registration, $15 for members without anniversary registration, and $20 for guests. Snacks and beverages will be served.

To apply and pay for the Anniversary Banquet, please fill out the application form below. You can either pay online by credit-card (preferred), or mail us a check or money order.  The deadline is February 23rd.

A limited amount of funding is available for 15 members from the Jones fund to assist those who cannot afford to attend. If you need assistance, please include a request with your application. If you can offer assistance, we would appreciate your contributions* (see application for details).

I look forward to seeing you there.

In Brotherhood,
Steve Gaynes
Chairman, The 15 Association

To register, just click here.

Come Celebrate the 15 Association's Anniversary

This year marks the 35^th anniversary of our club. Who knew in 1980 that a small group would create an organization that would put on thirty-five years of some of the best BDSM parties on the West Coast, and have a large, active, dedicated membership to boot!

If you haven’t purchased your tickets for our anniversary dinner yet, you still have a few weeks to do so. https://the15association.org/members/anniversary.php.  We will need to cut off registration by February 23rd so don’t delay because the spaces are filling up fast.  Come and celebrate with us.

We have chosen a brand new venue for our dinner, the Verdi Club. http://www.verdiclub.net.  A few of our members went to a private tasting last year and the food is absolutely outstanding.  Street parking should be much more accessible and of course so is public transit.

We have some fabulous items for our silent auction including Jennett Heartwood Floggers!

We still need additional items for our spectacular silent auction.  Please dig through your closet and find an item or two or three. If you have fetish-related toys, gear, art or services to donate, please contact Dustin Yeager at Dly44boy1dr@yahoo.com.

Back by popular demand we are gathering for a dim sum brunch Sunday before the play party.  Once again we are going to grace the Canton Dim Sum and Seafood Restaurant from 11:00 AM until 1:30. http://www.cantonsf.com.  It’s only a few blocks from the Alchemy dungeon so you can make a day of it.

Anniversary Weekend Events Schedule:

Friday, February 27 from 8PM to 1AM – Play Party at The Citadel 181 Eddy Street
Saturday, February 28 from 6PM to 10PM – (Prepayment Required)
Sunday, March 1 from 11AM to 1:30PM – Brunch at Canton Dim Sum
and a Sunday Play Party from 2PM to 6PM at Alchemy Dungeon 1060 Folsom Street

Our Sunday March 1st party will be held at Alchemy Dungeon on Folsom Street in the South of Market neighborhood. Many of our future parties are scheduled at the more intimate Alchemy Dungeon in response to your input via our recent survey. Thank you for your response to our request for input. We are listening.

Please vote for 2014 San Francisco Bay Area Leather Fetish Community Awards

To all who have participated in the SF Bay Area Leather/Fetish/Motorcycle Community during the year 2014: Please help us determine the winners of the 49th Annual Leather/Fetish/Motorcycle Community Awards for 2014. The Awards will be announced at the Awards Brunch during the 2015 Leather Alliance Weekend. To see the entire Weekend's activities and purchase tickets please see http://leatherallianceweekend.org/calendar/. The Awards Brunch is Noon Sunday, March 8, 2015 at BeatBox. PLEASE VOTE BY GOING TO THIS LINK:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/LFM14AWDS

POLLS CLOSE AT MIDNIGHT SUNDAY,  FEBRUARY 22, 2015

The San Francisco Bay Area Leather Alliance Weekend is March 5th – 8th, 2015

The weekend consists of both the Mr SF Leather Contest and the Leather Community Awards which honors Groups and Individuals who create and support our Leather, motorcycling, fetish, and kink communities through events and projects. The 15 Association is a member of the Bay Area Leather Alliance and encourages participation in its events including the Weekend events which consist of:

Thursday, March 5th, 7 to 9PM - Making the Connection: PreP Symposium by Eric Mr LA Leather

Friday, March 6th, 5 to 7PM – Mr SF Leather Meet & Greet @ Mr S Leather 385 8th Street

Friday, March 6th, 9PM to 2AM – Men Only Play Party @ Alchemy Dungeon 1060 Folsom

Saturday, March 7th, 11AM to 1PM & 2PM to 4PM – Making the Connection Seminar @ Hotel Whitcomb, 1231 Market Street

Saturday, March 7th, 7PM to 11PM – Mr San Francisco Leather Contest @ Hotel Whitcomb, 1231 Market Street

Sunday, March 8th, 12:00 noon to 3PM – Community Awards Brunch @ Beatbox, 314 11th Street

Sunday, March 8th, 3PM to 6PM – Victory Beerbust @ SF Eagle, 398 12th Street (corner Harrison)

It is time to start planning for Boot Camp 2015:  Registration is now open to guests. Boot Camp 2015 will take place from 2PM Wednesday, June 10 through 10AM on Sunday, June 14. Boot camp registration opened for members on January 2 and for guests February 1. Check the website for details. Register yourself and your guests while space is still available. You can use a credit card or send a check for your registration.

The donation for parties in 2015 is: $15 for members, $20 for guests. $10 off for volunteering and free if you do clean-up at the end of the evening. Contact Volunteer Coordinator Jonathan Domash for more information. No one is turned away for lack of funds.

Note to our Guests: First-time guests must arrive at parties with a member, or request an invitation via our website. However, if you have been to a 15 Association party in the last year, you are automatically in our system and do not have to be invited to come to our regularly scheduled parties. Just show up with your ID! 

Interested in Prospecting to join the club? Come to parties, play hard, volunteer, and get to know the Associates and the guys on the Fraternal Committee, especially but not only Andrew Coile our Membership Chair, and Alan Wein, our Membership Recruiter. They can tell you All about it!

Want to know more about how the club runs? Have you got something to say? Or are you just kinky for meetings? Fraternal Committee meetings are open to all members, plus prospects and interested others, and usually happen the same afternoon as the parties at 5:00PM but check with a current fraternal. The time and location of fraternal meetings does change from time-to-time as necessary.

Events of interest to The 15 Association members:

February 15, 2015 from 3 to 6PM – Mr & Ms Alameda County Leather invite you a “Kinky Bake Sale” to be held on Sunday, February 15 at The White Horse Bar, 6551 Telegraph Ave, Oakland, CA. Enjoy tasty treats, raffle prizes, and entertainment!  The event benefits Our Space, BAYC’s community center for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning (LGBTQ) youth ages 14 – 21. (http://www.baycyouth.org/lgbtq-community-center.html)

February 25, 2015 from 7:30 to 9:30PM – Leathermen's Discussion Group presents Puppy Play – with Brue at the Mr S Studio, 385A 8th Street (above Mr S store) The event will include a demo and Q&A.

February 27 – March 1, 2015 – The 15 Association celebrates its 35th Anniversary with a Friday play party, an anniversary banquet on Saturday, and a play party on Sunday. See the home page to order tickets to the banquet. The banquet will feature a silent auction. Please contact Dustin Yeager at Dly44boy1dr@yahoo.com if you have leather/kink items to donate for the auction.

March 6-8, 2015 – Leather Alliance Weekend and the Mr SF contest.
Friday, March 6 – Mr SF Leather Contest Meet & Greet
Saturday, March 7 – Mr San Francisco Leather contest
Sunday, March 8 – The SF Leather Community Awards

Other News:

Worn Out West will take 10% off for anyone who mentions The 15 Association!

San Francisco Leathermen’s Discussion Group is an independent, all-volunteer, not-for-profit organization of men serving the educational needs of the BDSM/Leather community. With a few of our own club's members on their board, we have a lot of intersection. 

For those in the Leather Community who find themselves in dire financial straits due to injury or illness, San Francisco Bay Area Leather Alliance sponsors a fund to help out with emergency expenses. If you need financial help to pay bills due to a serious injury or chronic/life threatening illness, please contact the Leather Alliance to see if you qualify for help. Al Parso is the 15 Association's representative on the Leather Alliance board. He can be contacted through our website.

The 15 Association supports the Leather Archives and Museum in Chicago. This is an important institution that is dedicated to preserving the histories of our communities, clubs and scenes. No trip to Chicago is complete without a visit!  

Got News?  We want it. Contact the newsletter editor, Al Parso with any news or event that is of interest to members of The 15 Association.

We are very proud to invite you to the 27th Anniversary Boot Camp, Wednesday, June 10 to Sunday, June 14, 2015. Yes, you read that right, by popular demand we have kept the extra day!

Please take a few minutes now to review the following points. Since we anticipate very high demand for Boot Camp yet again, only 15 Association Member applications will be processed during January. Priority guest applications will be processed beginning February 1, 2015. Register by going to BootCamp Registration in the "Members & Guests" menu.

Rates: Members: $425 for camping; $475 for bunk rooms; or, $525 for double rooms.
Non-Members: $470 for camping; $520 for bunk rooms; or, $570 for double rooms.
If you will be arriving Thursday instead of Wednesday, subtract $50 for lodging or $25 for camping.

Applications, reserved space, and dates: We will not be accepting money or reservations unless they are accompanied by an appropriately filled-out original application. Your reservation is not transferable. Also, you may name priority guest(s) only if you are applying to attend. We will not process your guest’s application until we have received yours. If by February 25 there is still space available, applications for additional guests will be sent out. All applications will be processed in the order received. Once space is filled we will maintain a waiting list.

Name on application and release: A signed release is an integral part of the application. The name on the application and the release must be the same and must be a legal name (which we will handle as confidential information). We will not process applications that do not include a release containing your original signature. Please note that this is a new release form. Read the release carefully (both front and back), as well as the “Policy and Behavior at SM Events.”

Payment and cancellations: To simplify our record keeping, you are requested to submit full payment with your application. If this is not possible, you must include the minimum deposit noted on the enclosed application, or your application will not be processed. Full payment must be received by April 15, or your reservation will be canceled. Cancellations received by April 30 will be entitled to a full refund; those received by May 15 will be entitled to a 50% refund; no refunds after that date.

Financial help: The Seibert-Click fund provides for a limited number of Boot Camp scholarships and partial scholarships. If you cannot afford to pay the full amount of the fee, send what you can now and include a letter of application for help from the Seibert-Click fund. Your letter will be forwarded to the Seibert-Click Fund Committee. Space, if available, will be reserved for you pending the decision of the Fund Committee. The Seibert-Click Fund Committee plans to consider additional applications in the order received.

Special needs: You must state in your application any dietary, mobility, or other concerns that may affect the planning of meals and housing. We will do our best to accommodate your needs. Please tell us as soon as possible; last-minute requests may not be fulfilled.

Transportation: Transportation to and from the run site is the responsibility of each man attending the run. We will make an effort to find rides for those who need them. If you need a ride and we can’t find one for you, we will try to put you in contact with other men in the same situation, so that you can share car rentals.

Set up/tear down: If you would like to volunteer to help with Set Up (June 8-10) or Tear Down (June 14), you will be able to eligible to attend a special pre-run Dungeon Christening Party Tuesday, June 9. In order to attend this event, you must contact me (msterjeffrey@comcast.net) to register for either Set Up or Tear Down prior to the run. Both Set Up and Tear Down are hard work, but we have a lot of fun while we do it, and the pre-run party is a blast. Space on the Set Up and Tear Down crews is limited.

Run Directory: Since it was so popular last year, we will be handing out a Run Directory to all Boot Camp 27 Participants. Your application has spaces for you to select what of your information (if any) you wish to have in the Run Directory.

The past six Boot Camps (2008-2014) have been our most successful ever. We hope that you will be able to participate in Boot Camp 27 and make it even better.