Report on Southern Comfort 2013

Alexis Dee

My name is Alexis Dee, As chairperson for the upcoming 2013 Southern Comfort Conference in September, I am writing this column to share information about Southern Comfort Conference (SCC) with the TGForum readers. It will be my goal in writing future articles to continue to bring worthwhile information to the TGForum users and our TG community at large.

A bit about me:

In 2003 I volunteered at my first SCC gathering and have been dedicated to serving this organization and our community ever since. Over the past 10 years I have worn many hats:

• SCC Conference Chair three years

• Member of SCC Board of Directors for 4 years

• SCC Board President for one year

• Currently serving my 4th year as business/hotel liaison for SCC INC.

• Board member of IFGE until 2010

• Current member of Out & Equal’s Transgender Advisory Committee.

• Instrumental in the organization and production of the SCC/ WPATH collaboration at Emory University in 2011. The new and revised “Standards of Care” for our community were introduced here.

• Currently working with Dr. Walter Bockting from WPATH on a research project.

If you think that I don’t have much time to myself you’re right! But the truth is, I feel fortunate that I am able to devote time and energy to these very worthy causes.

And now, here is the scoop on the Southern Comfort Conference:

SCC was started in 1991 by a group of transgendered individuals. The original purpose of the conference was to supply much need information to the transgender community, this was accomplished by bringing together doctors, therapists and other professionals dedicated to helping the TG community. SCC became a 501C corporation in 2003. Over the twenty three years since our humble beginning, SCC has evolved into one of the largest LGBT conferences in the United States with over 800 attendees in 2012. Our mission statement has remained the same, plain and simple, “Provide up to date info to our community”.

SCC prides itself on helping people understand that they are not alone. The minute you walk through our hotel door, you realize that you are with friends, and by the time the last day of the conference rolls around, you will know without a doubt that you are a welcome member of the SCC family. At the end of the conference, when you are checking out, your only regret will be, that SCC 2014 is a year away.

We proudly host 90+ seminars over the course of the conference. These seminars are carefully screened and selected to ensure there are germane topics for all our attendees, seminar topics include Male to Female, Female to Male, Intersexed, Gender Queer, and Cross Dressing, just to name a few.

Some of the best doctors in the field of Facial Feminization surgery and Gender Reassignment Surgery, both MTF and FTM, will be offering seminars this year at SCC. We have doctors coming in from Belgium, Mexico and Argentina; we are a global source of information.

This year we offer seminars presented by voice therapists, electrolysis experts, make-up artist, hair professionals, etiquette specialists, and many other related subjects.

The joy of shopping!

You won’t want to miss our Marketplace area with vendors offering products and services to start, compliment, or finish your unique “look.” A variety of products are available for purchased here at our Marketplace. Some of the best make-up artists available, offer make-overs at the Marketplace. Wig professionals will style your hair piece, and really, can you ever have too many shoes?

2012 SCC Attendees

Support

One of our most successful programs here at SCC is the SCC Scholarship program. We are committed to helping folks who cannot afford the registration cost to attend. Our scholarship program allows those in need, the opportunity to experience SCC at minimal or no cost. Over the years we have awarded thousands of these scholarships. Last year we handed out over 135 scholarships, all of which were paid for by generous donations.

We are also very proud of our Robert Eads Health Partnership (REHP).

For those of you unfamiliar with the Robert Eads story, he started to transition from female to male in 1980. He was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 1996 and died in 1999, because he was refused early treatment of his ovarian cancer because he was transgendered. It was not until 1997 that Eads was finally accepted for treatment by the Medical College of Georgia hospital, where he underwent surgical, medical, and radiation therapy over the next year. At the time Southern Comfort was filmed in 1998, his cancer had metastasized to the uterus, cervix, and other abdominal organs, and his prognosis was poor. Despite aggressive treatment, Eads died in a nursing home in 1999 at the age of 53. The movie documentary Southern Comfort is a glimpse into his life journey. Our REHP program supplies free medical check-up for any registered FTM at our conference. We are proud to have been offering this service for many years, and will hopefully continue for years to come.

And now, the fun stuff!

All work and no play make Jack/Jill a dull boy/girl right? Well, no worries, SCC has tons of stuff to do in the evening. We have social outings, a golf tournament, dinner theater, Karaoke, Casino night, Heather’s pool party, and the Grand Ball Saturday night. If past years are any indication, do not plan on getting much sleep!

Our conference is organized and produced by a very dedicated group of volunteers. SCC has no paid employees. Most of these people contribute their time to SCC because their lives were made better by the SCC experience. Many (including me) want to give back to the entity that helped us understand who we are and that we “are not alone” in this world.

Southern Comfort 2013 will be held September 4th through the 8th in Atlanta Georgia at the beautiful Crowne Plaza @Ravinia.

Registration is now open. Please visit the conference website for more information and conference schedule, or drop me a note at via email, I answer all emails.

I do hope to see you in Atlanta in September, please make a point to introduce yourself to me and my staff. They will welcome you to our “Family.”

Alexis Dee
2013 SCC Conference Chair

Tags: conference, featured, Southern Comfort

Category: Transgender Community News