Jump to content
  • Welcome to the TransPulse Forums!

    We offer a safe, inclusive community for transgender and gender non-conforming folks, as well as their loved ones, to find support and information.  Join today!

Keystone Conference 2022


Sally Stone

Recommended Posts

Good news on the conference front.  TCPA (Trans Central Pennsylvania) has announced plans for the Keystone Conference in 2022.  The website is up https://www.keystone-conference.org/ and the dates are March 23-27.  

 

It's been too long since the last conference and I miss so many of my friends.  I plan to be there.  Maybe, I'll even be asked to present again this year.  It will be nice to have the conference back.

 

I know I've mentioned this before, that Keystone is a great conference for all, but it is especially great for anyone just coming out.

Link to comment
  • Forum Moderator

Than you for bring this up Sally.  I have never been there but have been interested.  At one point i went by as it was going on.  I  was in the  as i was showing some paintings nearby and saw the streets full of folks who were obviously enjoying themselves as gender diverse people.  Perhaps i may have the chance to be one of those folks.

I got on the mailing list.

Hugs,

 

Charlize

Link to comment
  • Admin

Thanks for letting us know, Sally.  I hope its a roaring success.

 

Carolyn Marie

Link to comment
  • Forum Moderator

You know what? I promised myself that I'd attend the next one and it happens on my freaking Birthday. I'm GOING in 2022. Joined the mailing list. Ready to rock-and-roll.

 

Hugs!

Link to comment
  • Admin

I have wanted to go to that one but it is the other side of the country from me.  Maybe by that time I will be able to make that long a trip again.  (I have been to Atlanta and Ft. Lauderdale).  I have other friends that have gone to it in the past.

Link to comment
  • Forum Moderator

If you do make it let me know.  I'm about 45 to 50 min. away from Philly with extra bedrooms.

 

Hugs,

 

Charlize

Link to comment

We should all stay in touch regarding our plans, because it would so awesome to have a Trans Pulse meet and greet sometime during the conference.  If I do a workshop this year, I'll be sure to let everyone know.  Anyone attending can join me for the workshop. 

 

Now, I'm really excited!

Link to comment
  • Forum Moderator
1 hour ago, Sally Stone said:

We should all stay in touch regarding our plans, because it would so awesome to have a Trans Pulse meet and greet sometime during the conference.

 

You're right, it absolutely would. Woot!

 

Hugs!

Link to comment

Just thought I'd let anyone who thinks they might be attending Keystone know that the Sheraton has started taking room reservations for the conference.  Not sure what this year will look like but the rooms sold out really fast in previous years.  If you want to stay at the conference hotel and get the conference rate, you should act fast.

 

You can make a room reservation through the Trans Central website, which is in my post at the top of this thread.

Link to comment
  • 4 weeks later...

Update:

I'm thinking this year's conference is going to be well attended judging by how quickly the conference hotel sold out.  There are no rooms available at the Sheraton for conference weekend.  However, there are several other hotels nearby, a couple within walking distance.  Every year they do a great conference "overflow" business and in many cases, the room rates are better than those offered by the event hotel.  

 

I'm still waffling about facilitating a workshop this year; fortunately, I don't have to commit until the end of December.  In years past my workshop has been titled: "Making the Most of Part-time Womanhood," but I'm thinking it is time to refresh the workshop so that it is more inclusive.  If I do the workshop this year, I plan to tile it: "Making the Most of Your Gender Expression." Instead of focusing on my experiences as a part-time woman, I think it is important to expand the discussion to all gender self-expression experiences.  So many of the personal experiences I have spoken of in previous workshops are applicable to all genders.  The greatest number of Keystone Conference attendees are still trans women, but each year there is a growing population of attendees whose gender identities span the spectrum.  It only makes sense that my workshop should support them as well.

Link to comment
  • 2 months later...
  • Forum Moderator

A friend is presenting a workshop on wigs and i'm going to be be a model for a video she is doing.  Being a bald trans woman has the occasional advantage.  At this point i can only hope that Covid takes a break or i won't even consider going in person.  With my wife and i to consider i simply can't risk it so being in a video may be my only presence there.😒.

 

Hugs,

 

Charlize

Link to comment

Right now the organizers are taking a wait and see approach.  Hopefully, this surge will die down so the event won't have to be cancelled or scaled way back.  The other big conference, First Event, had to scale back, but this is due to the fact the conference is scheduled for January.  

 

Charlize, I'm looking forward to the video, but it would be so much better to meet in person.  I am still planning to go to Keystone in March.  I hope COVID has settled back down before then.

Link to comment
  • 2 weeks later...

On this past Saturday, Keystone opened registration.  At this point, the conference is a go.  I have been asked to be one of the restaurant hostesses for the Friday night dinners in downtown Harrisburg.  I will be one of the hostesses for "Café Fresco," one of several restaurant choices.  In years past, Friday dinner night has always been extremely well-attended.  

 

Because there is still some uncertainty regarding COVID, refund and cancellation rules have been updated this year.  Hopefully, this latest surge will have run its course by conference time.

Link to comment
  • Forum Moderator

I really hope so. I've got my room. I'm registered. I'm going to be so very disappointed if we have to go virtual.

 

Hugs!

Link to comment
  • 1 month later...

As this year's conference grows near, I am excited it is happening.  I think I mentioned this before, but I have been involved in this conference every year since it began, so except for the COVID cancelled years, it is a perfect streak for me.  This year, however, the conference is going to be different for me.  Last year, I lost two dear friends, both of them integral parts of my personal Keystone history.  First, is my best friend Willa, who passed in November.  Years ago, she and I attended a spring formal in Harrisburg, PA together and it was there we met the girls from the TransCentral PA organization.  At that event they told us their spring formal was going to morph into the Keystone Conference, the following year.  

 

One of the TransCentral girls I met that first year was Katie Ward.  She was a TransCentral officer and over the years, she and I became best friends.  She and I spent lots of time together supporting the conference, but we also got together several times a year for girl's weekends.  Katie was an amazing woman, but sadly and suddenly she passed away last year.

 

So, it is with a heavy heart that I attend Keystone 2022, because two of my best girlfriends won't be there.  I'll miss them both, but the upside is that I will get to see a lot of other close friends that I've missed since the COVID plague has kept us all apart.  It won't be quite the same without Willa and Katie, but I plan to celebrate them by remembering the great times we had.  Rest peacefully, ladies.  I love you and I miss you both.❤️

Link to comment
  • 1 month later...

Well, it's been a week since the Keystone Conference concluded, and like so many years past, I'm left with so many fond memories.  I have to say that one of the highlights for me this year was getting to meet our very own Jackie C in person. Jackie, it was a pleasure meeting you and I will cherish the time we spent hanging out together and chatting.  If I'm gushing stop me, but I thought you were absolutely adorable.  

 

Keystone this year, was a bit different in that there were so many first time attendees.  Because of this, I got to meet a whole bunch of new friends.  Friday evening I played hostess for the downtown dinner crawl.  I was supposed to have 20 people in my restaurant group but when we finally sat down to eat at Café Fresco, there were only eight of us.  It turned out to be an intimate group and I think it helped us get to know each other.  It was so much fun herding my "cats" onto the bus, off the bus when we arrived at the restaurant, and then back onto the bus for the trip home later that evening.  I think everyone had lots of fun.

 

On Saturday evening, the conference Gala had us all dressing in our finest evening wear.  The outfits were all spectacular.  I danced and drank too much, but these were things were the result of having so much fun.  

 

If you've never attended a trans conference before, you owe it to yourself to go, and I am certain, anyone attending the Keystone Conference would not be disappointed.

Link to comment

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Who's Online   2 Members, 0 Anonymous, 93 Guests (See full list)

    • VickySGV
    • Abigail Genevieve
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      80.6k
    • Total Posts
      768k
  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      12,014
    • Most Online
      8,356

    Quillian
    Newest Member
    Quillian
    Joined
  • Today's Birthdays

    1. l.demiurge
      l.demiurge
  • Posts

    • Abigail Genevieve
      By which I mean there is a cultural stereotype of what a man is, and one of what a woman is.  Even worse, of what a transgender person is.   You be you.   I read of a boy who thought he was a girl because he did not adhere to some (rather toxic) conceptions of what it means to be a man, so he decided he was a girl.  He was told he didn't have to conform to stereotype and got happy. "You mean I don't have to transition?" He didn't want to, and was relieved.   Once upon a time if you were transgender they told you either you transition or die.   Incorporate the best of what it means to be a man and the best of what it means to be a woman as much as you possibly can, and let the rest go.  Be fully human. Be alive. Don't conform to some cultural crud.
    • Abigail Genevieve
      On the way back to her desk she was interrupted by six short, urgent conversations that had to be attended to. Then she slipped into the women's room and locked the stall door.  She took a deep breath, then another, and allowed herself to shake for five minutes,  Then deep breathing, ten in and ten out, stretch up, touch the floor, neck rolls and she was fine. She used the toilet and a woman knocked and said, "Taylor, are you okay?"   "Ready to conquer the world!"  on her way out she found her makeup was fine.  Three stalls, two sinks.  If she ever designed a women's room with three stalls, there would be four sinks, with plenty of space to plunk your stuff down between them.   She met a deferential Karen.  "Here is the branding I came up with," she said.  And she went back to working as hard as Brenda and Mary, who looked up worriedly and then went back to the proposal.   Shortly before 5:00 she received an email with the title Consolidation and Compensation.  In it she learned that the position of office manager was eliminated, and the current office manager was to become the chief executive officer. The former CEO, along with the CFO, the chief legal officer, and sundry staff, had been terminated, per the Board of Directors.  Effective immediately everyone would receive a base salary of $20,000 with a commission to be set by the individual's supervisor.  Each supervisor would be given a certain percentage to distribute.  Most functions they had been handled would be outsourced as needed.   "The question of what profit was made last year is frequent enough to be answered.  The company lost over 500,000 in fiscal 2023.  At this point further cuts are not anticipated.  We will be strategically adding positions that will enhance our profits. Hard work is expected of everyone."   Her two web guys had been complaining because their games had been remotely uninstalled.  After the memo came out they were absolutely silent.  That gave her an idea, and after an exchange of emails they were reassigned to maintenance out at the plant, effective tomorrow morning.  There were lots of weeds that needed pulling, if nothing else. That email went out after they left early, for the day.  The maintenance foreman was a no-nonsense type who did not tolerate slacking, and they would learn a thing or two.  This also freed up two spaces for her to put new people.
    • Davie
      Except for this thung thwister: Theophilus Thistle, the successful thistle sifter, in sifting a sieve full of unsifted thistles, thrust three-thousand thistles through the thick of his thumb. Now if, Theophilus Thistle, the successful thistle sifter, in sifting a sieve full of of unsifted thistles, thrust three-thousand thistles through the thick of his thumb, how many thistles can'st thou thrust through the thick of thy thumb . . . in sifting a sieve-full of unsifted thistles? Success to the successful thistle sifter!
    • VickySGV
      You have given you and us a big clue right there.  I hope you have shared this observation with your Endocrinologist and are willing to take their advice about changing that behavior.    Non prescribed herbal or animal supplements can have a negative effect on your body's use of your available hormones.  Also, your genetics are going to be controlling what your body is going to do with your hormones, and again, that is for you to consult with your Endocrinologists.  On this site none of us are licensed medical personnel and we cannot give you advice on your health more than what your doctor can.  We have rules that we enforce against our members advising about "Folk Remedies" because we have had members who have gone that route and badly damaged their health and quality of life.  Only thing I can go anywhere on, is that maybe if you change your expectations of what should happen, you will at least not be in danger of harming yourself from anxiety.
    • Timi
      Hi @violet r!    Thank you so much for sharing. I'm so glad you found this place. I hope you find as much comfort and support here as I have.    -Timi    
    • marysssia
      Hi lovely people,   I'm a 25 yo MtF woman, and I've been suffering from low estrogen issues since October 2023. I completely lost my feminine libido, my breast completely stopped growing, my estrogen levels dropped by a lot (despite NOT decreasing my E dosage) and thus my dysphoria drastically increased. I think it is worth mentioning that, for my health issues, I had been taking ----- Lamotrigine for months & had been on ketogenic diet, and these things seem to be a culprit of my current issue. I weaned off Lamotrigine some time ago and gave up on keto diet, but it still doesn't seem to help. My estrogen is still low (44 ng/ml) and my libido hasn't come back yet. In general, I struggle with my dysphoria so much because of that and, to be honest, I don't know what to do. I've tried so many dietary supplements, yet I didn't get any effects from them. My endocrinologist didn't know how to help me. She only suggested to increase my daily estrogen dose (to 3x per day ------sublingual estrogen tablets and 3x per day ------ estrogen gel applied to armpits or thighs), which I did, without any effect.   Please, help me. Prior to keto diet & Lamotrigine treatment, I'd never had experience like that. I'm basically helpless and have no clue what to do. Having to deal with low estrogen is a horrible experience to me and it affects my life severely.   BTW, my T levels are always within female range.   Do you have any clue what exactly I should do?
    • April Marie
      I love wearing a jeans skirt!! That looks like airport carpet. Safe travels if you're flying!!
    • Maddee
      Flight faraway forthcoming Fabulous forum friends 😊😊🎸🦂
    • Maddee
    • KathyLauren
      One of our cats is polydactyl.  He has 7 toes on each front paw and 5 on each back paw, for 24 toes total.   Another one, an ex-feral who, at the time, was free to roam, climbed 50 feet up a tree without having any thought about how he was going to get down.  His pal climed down backwards, but he couldn't.  He ended up coming down by leaping from branch to branch.  Which nearly gave us heart attacks, because he only has one eye and therefore has no depth perception.   The other ex-feral (both are now indoor cats) obviously does not have those soft pads on his feet.  At night, when we are in bed, we can hear him stomping around the house.
    • Abigail Genevieve
      The two o'clock Onshoring meeting was going well.  Taylor was leading, inviting other people up to speak on their specialties. Aerial photogrammetry and surveying, including the exact boundary, were out for contract signature  Gibson had handled that - Manufacturing was supposed to, but somehow hadn't happened.  Legal issues from Legal. Accounting reported on current costs, including all upkeep, guard salaries, etc.  Manufacturing was supposed to give those numbers, but they hadn't.   The downside was the VP of Manufacturing.  He had arrived at the meeting red-faced, his tie askew, clutching a bottle. It smelled strongly of vodka. He had never done anything in his twenty years of being VP of Manufacturing, and he did not like being asked now.   "Mr. ----, do you have the inventory we asked for?" Taylor asked politely.  VP Gibson had asked him to have his people go through the plant and not only inventory but assess the operational status of every piece of equipment.  They needed to know what they had. "I'm not going to take any f---- orders from a g-d- tra---," he snarled. "God knows what kind of perverts it has dragged into our fair city and bangs every night." "That is completely out of line." That was Gibson.  Taylor controlled herself.  That was a shot at Bob, not just at Taylor.  She was glad Bob was not there to do something stupid.  Had Mrs. McCarthy been talking? What had she said?  Was she given to embellishment?  Taylor took a deep breath. "I'm not sorry.  You f--- can take this stupid onshoring --- and shove it up your -" "That is quite enough."  This was the head of HR. "You can take your sissy ways and sashay -" "You are fired." "You can't fire me." "Oh, yes I can," said the office manager.  The VP took another swig from his bottle. "Try it."  He looked uncertain. "I will have you removed.  Are you going to leave on your own?  I am calling the police to help you leave." And he dialed the number. He stomped out cursing. They heard him noisily go down the hall.  This was the front conference room.  He actually went through security and out the door, throwing his badge on the ground on his way.  The guard picked it up. They could see this through the glass wall. "Can you fire a VP?" "The Board told me that if anyone gives me problems they should be shown the door. Even a VP.  I can fire everyone here. I won't, of course. Those were problems." "Are you alright, Taylor?" She nodded.  "I've heard worse.  Shall we continue?" And they did.   The last item was that certain business people in China had been arrested, and the corporation that had been supporting them all these years had been dissolved.  They were on their own, and the Board was dead serious on straightening things out.  After this meeting, Taylor believed it.  She did not attend the meeting to discuss how to distribute the few duties the VP of Manufacturing had done.  That was ultimately up to the Board.    
    • Abigail Genevieve
      Lunch was at Cabaret, still free.  The place was quiet: it was the sort of place you took a business client to impress them, and the few other people were in business suits.  Most of the legal profession was there.   She told him of the morning's frustrations, breaking her own rule about confidentiality.  She asked Karen how the branding was going, and Karen had snapped back that she had not started on it yet - they had all these proposals.  Taylor had explained that it was important, for the two o'clock meeting, and Karen told her to do it herself.  Karen pointed out that Taylor could not touch her - her uncle was on the Board and her brother was VP of Manufacturing.  Nor would the two computer guys go out to the plant - they were playing some kind of MMORPG and simply not available. If she wanted the pictures, she should go.  Mary prayed an Ave Maria, but both she and Brenda were racing to get the proposal out. The client wanted it Friday for review.   She didn't bring up what Mrs. McCarthy had told her.  She wasn't sure how to approach it.  She thought of telling her of a 'something more comfortable' she had bought in case he ever DID show up at her door. It was in the bottom drawer of her dresser, ready to go.  Instead she talked about moving to a place with a garage.  Several of the abandoned houses had one, and they had been maintained well with China cash.   Bob had finally realized that when he was introduced as Bob, Taylor's boyfriend, that was just how things were done here. Other people had introduced each other in terms of family relationships, which were strong.  Long before you found out anything else about someone, you knew how they were related.  Family kept people from leaving Millville.    "What is the real name of this town, anyway?"   She laughed.  "I am trying to find that out.  It's 'Welcome to Millvale' when you come into town from the north, and 'Welcome to Millville' on the south.  I have counted two other variants."   "What a town. Roosevelt is like that, with the families, but there is only one spelling."  
    • Ashley0616
      Nothing wrong with that. I'm glad that you found what makes you happy! Just curious what does your wife think? If it's too personal I understand.
    • Ashley0616
    • Ashley0616
      – According to a recent survey, the most popular name for a dog is Max. Other popular names include Molly, Sam, Zach, and Maggie.
  • Upcoming Events

Contact TransPulse

TransPulse can be contacted in the following ways:

Email: Click Here.

To report an error on this page.

Legal

Your use of this site is subject to the following rules and policies, whether you have read them or not.

Terms of Use
Privacy Policy
DMCA Policy
Community Rules

Hosting

Upstream hosting for TransPulse provided by QnEZ.

Sponsorship

Special consideration for TransPulse is kindly provided by The Breast Form Store.
×
×
  • Create New...