A few weeks ago, former Mr. San Diego Eagle, Ray Busby and bootblack, “Blast,” earned enough points to represent California at the International Leather Sir/boy/bootblack contest. The contest will take place in San Francisco over the Halloween weekend and will feature leather men from regions all over North America, including Canada. California Leather Sir Ray Busby will compete against other regions including: Central Plains Leather Sir and boy, Master Sampson and pup sparkie; Eastern Canada Sir Tony and boy brad; Great Lakes Sir Merrill and boy ed; Gulf Coast Sir David and boy john; Mid Atlantic Sir Ky and boy eddie; Northeast Sir Marco and boy jim; Southeast Sir Jason and boy kirk; and Western Canada Sir Jonathan and boy david. All of these men will compete for the titles currently held by International Leather Sir Raul Mendez and International Leather boy bill. California Community Bootblack, Blast, will compete for the title currently held by Black-Jack Pearce.

The judging panel from the California Leather Sir/boy/bootblack contest included Sandy “Mama” Reinhart of Northern California. “Mama” is the founder and matriarch of “Mama’s Family,” a group of leather men and women who work tirelessly in the greater leather community. Members of “Mama’s Family” are pinned and given names that reflect their personalities. San Diegans include “Mama’s Toro,” “Mama’s Mr. Bond,” “Mama’s Mr. Mike,” “Mama’s Drkdesyre,” “Mama’s Community Outreach” and myself, “Mama’s Uppity Slave.” Mama and her family are now responsible for raising more than $2 million to support local charities, as well as her pet charities: The AIDS Emergency Fund and the Breast Cancer Emergency Fund.

Mama describes her family as “a group of people that through the years became dedicated to their community to raise money for organizations to help those in need. There are more than 1,050 of them, and they are listed on www.mamasfamily.org.”

I recently had the opportunity to ask Mama about her family and how it all began.

Mama: Well, once upon a time in 1988 when I started going to The Castro, I met all these wonderful leather men and boys who became friends. In the early 1990s, they started getting ill due to the HIV virus. Within three years, lots of my friends were dying. Some were too ill to work and didn’t have money to pay for medications, rent, utilities etc. That’s when we started having fundraisers for The Aids Emergency Fund www.aef-sf.org/. I do it because it makes my heart feel good, and it feels good to give back to the community.

The Gay & Lesbian Times: How do you award family membership?

Mama: Well, I see that they volunteer for different organizations without being asked twice. I see that they support events in their community. Other Family members tell me about someone in their town that keeps on giving to their community, and that leather person becomes another slave for me (smile). But there’s only one “Uppity Slave.”

GLT: What types of events have you done?

Mama: The Family has done fundraisers for The Breast Cancer Emergency Fund, AIDS Emergency Fund, Project Open Hand, Food Pantry, Leather Walk, Toys For Tots and Camp Sun Burst.

GLT: You are one of the driving forces behind the Breast Cancer Emergency Fund. Why?

Mama: My girlfriend died from breast cancer, and I saw how devastating that was for her and her family. There are so many women and men going through this terrible disease, and it’s life changing.

This Friday, “Mama” Sandy Reinhart will host the 9th Annual Breast Cancer Emergency Fund Awards Ceremony and Auction in San Francisco. The evening will feature cocktails, hors d’oeuvres and entertainment. Tickets may be purchased through www.frantix.net. Friends, family members and those wishing to donate to the Breast Cancer Emergency Fund but who cannot attend the event may also do so at www.frantix.net.

Hope to see you there.