I found a “home” in 1982 when I joined the Band and what morphed into the Jon Sims Center for the Performing Arts. Queer band geeks who played recordings of symphonic band music at parties, YEAH! A true sense of the community with the other Foundation groups that came after, such as SF Tap Toupe, Vocal Minority, Outlook Video,…and of course the life-changer for me when as an outgrowth of the Band, myself and the Three 3 Jims founded City Swing Big Band. I’ve served on the Band’s board and lots of committees; produced, co-wrote, and directed several Dance-Along Nutcrackers (as well as performed in the first one in 1985!); and been a guest conductor for the Band numerous times. The rest is history! I still have that home and I still love the people, the music, the mission, and playing my trumpet, as well as being an old-timer who can help share the bands’ and our communities’ past, but more importantly, be a part of what is yet to come.