Richard Dopson: First Meeting with Tom Waddell

MVAAA Board member, Richard Dopson, is interviewed on Sunset Beach park. He recalls his first meeting with Tom Waddell in San Franscisco in August 1982 at Gay Games I. 

Dopson: “I went over to Castro street and walked in and there was a chaotic scene of phones ringing and people coming and going and I said, ‘Well, I’m here to meet Dr. Tom Waddell if possible.’ And he just happened to be in at the time. So I was shepherded into his office and sat down and said how excited I am to be here and I’m one of the coordinators for the team from… representing Vancouver and we brought so many athletes and it’s just very exciting, you know. We’re thrilled at the concepts of the Gay Games. We just really buy into them and love them, and we’re looking forward to the week. So, we exchanged pleasantries and chatted and then it just popped into my head and out of my mouth: I said, ‘Well, so how does Vancouver get to bid for these Games?’ And he… I’m sure he was at that time thinking, ‘God I don’t even know how the week’s gonna go and someone is interested in Gay Games II!’  So, he was taken aback and thought about it for a sec and then he seriously said, ‘Well, there’s two criteria. Number 1) support from the city police, and number 2) city government support.’ So, we chatted a little more and then I left the office and walked out feeling quite smug because I knew at the time that we had support of by then-Mayor Harcourt who had sent a letter of support for the team going to San Fran…representing Vancouver in San Francisco, and so I was pretty sure of city government support. And I also knew we had the ongoing gay and lesbian police liaison committee.”