SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Tamara Payton Bell, the CEO of Home Pleasure Party Plan Association, has been nominated for the Free Speech Coalition's board of directors. Ballots were distributed via postal mail and email on Wednesday, and the voting period will close Dec. 17.
"I am very honored and excited to have been nominated," says Payton Bell. "I have participated in their lobby days for three years and am an advocate for their mission and what they stand for."
Payton Bell is the CEO of the HPPPA, which was developed in 2005 to create a business network for home party company owners, distributors, and manufacturers. The group aims to help new and existing companies expand their businesses. It distributes a magazine and hosts a mixer at the International Lingerie Show in Las Vegas each April and October.
The Free Speech Coalition's goal is to "lead, protect, and support the growth and wellbeing of the adult entertainment community," according to its mission statement. Founded in 1991, the group works to defend First and Fourth Amendment rights and protect the producers and retailers of adult entertainment products from government intrusion.
"After watching how successful voters were in affecting great change by turning out at the polls during the Presidential elections, I hope that enthusiasm will carry over to FSC members, and that they will be pro-active and get out the vote," says Diane Duke, the FSC's executive director. "This is a chance to choose representatives that will speak on behalf of your business interests - and with issues like piracy, obscenity and other anti-adult issues, there has never been a better time to get unified and organized."
Only FSC members are permitted to vote, but Payton Bell encourages joining the organization. There are eight seats on the board, with 12 members contending for the seats. Each voter may cast a ballot for up to eight candidates.
Election results will be announced Jan. 2, 2009. Those elected will serve a two-year term.
