Members of the Greater San Diego Business Association (GSDBA) voted on a cover design for the organization’s 2007 directory, which was selected from six different submissions presented at a recent mixer.

Karina Lopez of Alternative Strategies won the graphic arts contest for her cover design featuring a photographic collage of San Diego scenes interspersed by pictures of individuals and groups representing the GLBT business and family communities. It is the fourth year in a row that an artist from Alternative Strategies has won. Lopez will receive $700 on behalf of the company.

“The design is of the high quality we’ve come to expect for representing both the GSDBA and San Diego’s ever-growing LGBT business community,” said Joyce Marieb, executive director of the GSDBA. Marieb added that 30,000 copies of the directory will be printed and distributed starting in January. The organization currently supports more than 800 members countywide.

Also at the mixer, the GSDBA unveiled a new contemporary logo created by Ana Jimenez of Tenehua Design.

For GSDBA events and membership information, call (619) 296-4543 or visit www.gsdba.org.

The Center’s Positive Action program will host a four-week educational course called “Positive Living,” designed for people living with HIV/AIDS. The course begins on Monday, Oct. 2, and will take place on Mondays and Wednesdays from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. at The Center, located at 3909 Centre St.

“Positive Living is a comprehensive educational course for people living with HIV and AIDS,” said Jennifer Gunsaullus, The Center’s Positive Action coordinator. “Expert community speakers will cover a diverse range of topics, including nutrition, exercise, stress reduction, doctor/patient relationships, healthy relationships, alcohol and drugs, depression and alternative health options. The focus throughout will be on keeping the immune system healthy.”

All people living with or impacted by HIV/AIDS are invited to participate, including HIV-negative people in a relationship with someone who is HIV positive. There is no fee to attend, but advance registration is required.

For more information or to register, contact Gunsaullus at (619) 692-2077, e-mail jgunsaullus@thecentersd.org or visit www .sdpozaction.org.

The San Diego Speaker Series, a three-part lecture series designed to offer San Diegans an opportunity to hear world leaders including Rudolph Giuliani, Ann Coulter and James Carville, Bob Dole and Wesley Clark, has been cancelled due to slow ticket sales.

Any ticket sales made through the San Diego Speaker Series will be reimbursed directly; cancelled transactions will be mailed to the individual purchaser. Ticket sales made through Ticketmaster will be refunded through Ticketmaster directly as well.

For details regarding ticket reimbursements, visit Ticketmaster online at www.ticketmaster.com.

A new group exploring the effects and prevalence of ageism in society will meet regularly on the first Tuesday of every month at 2:00 p.m. at The Center, located at 3909 Centre St. in Hillcrest. The first group begins on Tuesday, Oct. 10. There is no cost to attend.

Group meetings will feature conversation, chances to share personal experiences, guest speakers, films, craft projects and more. The facilitator will be Sylvia Brown, who completed her master’s degree in gerontology after age 70.

For more information, call Claudia Lucero at (619) 692-2077 ext. 206 or e-mail her at clucero@thecentersd.org.

The Arc of San Diego’s annual Grape Escape and Art Auction fund-raiser takes place on Wednesday, Oct. 4, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. at the San Diego Wine & Culinary Center, located at 200 Harbor Dr., Suite 120.

The event will include four international wine stations. Each station will feature a different wine paired with hors d’oeuvres. There will also be a silent art auction featuring fine art such as watercolor on paper and paintings from 20th century artists.

Proceeds from this event will benefit Arc’s capital campaign, titled “Building Toward Self-Sufficiency,” to replace their central San Diego facility.

Event sponsors include Catalina Restaurant Group, owners of the Coco’s and Carrows restaurant chains and West Coast Group Benefits.

The cost for the event is $65 per person. For more information and to RSVP, call Jennifer Navarra or Rhonda Handy at (858) 715-3780.

The Arc of San Diego’s mission is to assist persons with disabilities by creating opportunities to fulfill their personal goals, reach their maximum potential and live as independently as possible. Founded in 1951, The Arc now serves more than 2,500 children and adults throughout San Diego County.

With the holidays approaching, the San Diego Food Bank is in need of volunteers to help with several special holiday events.

The Produce Marketing Association will host their annual show at the San Diego Convention Oct. 20-24. The San Diego Food Bank is responsible for recovering more than 250,000 pounds of produce from the show. Volunteers are needed to help label and load the produce for distribution.

On Nov. 5, volunteers are needed to help the San Diego Food Bank kick off the holiday season with the San Diego Chargers at a food drive. Volunteers are needed to collect food and funds from fans as they enter Qualcomm Stadium.

The San Diego Food Bank seeks volunteers for registration, water stations, course guides, refreshments and T-shirt distribution at the Run for the Hungry 5K/10K annual Thanksgiving Day road race, taking place on Nov. 23.

A holiday food drive takes place Oct. 23 to Dec. 30. With high gas prices and limited staffing, the San Diego Food Bank is seeking volunteers who are willing to drive their own vehicle and pick up food collection barrels from grocery stores and other food collection sites around the county.

For more information, visit www.sandiegofoodbank.org, call (866) 350-3663 or e-mail the volunteer coordinator at tbrown@ sandiegofoodbank.org.

Established in 1977, the San Diego Food Bank’s mission is to provide food to people in need, advocate for the hungry and educate the public about hunger-related issues. The San Diego Food Bank distributes more than 10 million pounds of food each year.

“Desperate Housewives” creator and executive producer Marc Cherry will host a fund-raising dinner at his home in Los Angeles on Saturday, Sept. 30, to support the new Youth Empowerment Media Program of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD).

The evening will feature cast members from the series, special celebrity guests, entertainment, dinner and a champagne dessert.

“The cast and I are very excited to support the great work GLAAD is doing, particularly GLAAD’s work with youth and empowering new generations to fight for equality,” Cherry said.

GLAAD’s Youth Empowerment Media Program will work to increase visibility of GLBT youth and to advocate for more accurate media representations of their lives and the issues they face.

Tickets to the Sept. 30 fund-raiser are available for $2,500 for VIP seating and $5,000 for celebrity seating.

For more information and to purchase tickets, contact Jillian Waldman at (323) 634-2017 or waldman@glaad.org.

Antioch University will officially launch a new specialization in GLBT studies within their Masters of Arts in Clinical Psychology program by joining forces with rapper Deadlee, lesbian rapper Delacruz and hip-hop artists Salvimex for an evening of music.

The event, which will take place on Oct. 24, is Antioch’s second major outreach to the GLBT cultural community. This one-night-only showcase titled “A Queer Hip Hop Extravaganza” features performances by Deadlee, Delacruz and Salvimex, followed by a special Q&A with the artists.

The event will begin at 8:00 p.m. at the Antioch University Los Angeles campus, located at 400 Corporate Pointe in Culver City. Tickets are $7 and will be available at the door.

For more information, call (310) 578-1080.

Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous, also known as the Augustine Fellowship, is a 12-step, tradition-oriented fellowship supported entirely through the contributions of its members, and is free to all who need it.

To counter the destructive consequences of sex and love addiction, the support group is dedicated to dealing with the addictive behavior, finding a common denominator in obsessive/compulsive patterns that render personal differences and sexual or gender orientation irrelevant.

Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous is protective of the anonymity of its members, and meetings are normally closed to outsiders and those who are merely curious. However, anyone who fears they may have sex and love addiction is welcome as long as the anonymity of everyone attending each meeting is respected.

Call (619) 685-7211 for more information on the fellowship.