Bettys take on the world

Sure, it's a popular organization with several hundred people on its mailing list. Yes, it offers a means for Southern Nevada's lesbian community and its friends and supporters to meet and socialize. And it may have the most diverse range of social activities, from wine tasting to rock climbing, of any organization in town.

But who, exactly, is Betty?

Nobody seems to know for sure, but it doesn't matter. Betty's Outrageous Adventures -- or BOA, or simply the Bettys; no one sweats the name too much -- is a significant part of Southern Nevada's gay/lesbian landscape.

The organization was created in 2000 to offer members of Southern Nevada's lesbian community a way to meet others, says Cindi Hall, the group's president. Today, more than 900 women are on the Bettys' mailing list.

By design, the group is informal, even casual. It has officers and a board of directors, but no required dues, and membership is only in the loosest sense of the word. Rather, interested women just sign up for the group's newsletter, check its Web page (www.bettysout.com), pick an event and show up.

Hall says the Bettys try not to be overly structured: "Just enough to where it doesn't fall apart."

Group events range from discussion groups and movie outings to line dancing, bowling and laser tag. Like Southern Nevada's lesbian community, the Bettys' slate of activities is diverse.

Hall says there also are neither economic nor social barriers within the group.

"Our mission statement basically says that we're here to provide a safe meeting place for women to socialize and create new friendships," she says. "We're here to help women connect with one another and reach out and, basically, to build a sense of community."

A recent evening found several Bettys learning a few salsa-flavored dance moves at the Step By Step School of Ballroom Dancing.

Dottie Funston, attending with companion Shannon Hagedorn, started taking the class about a year ago after seeing it on the group's roster of activities. After the organizer left, she and a few other participants made it a point to keep the weekly lessons on the Bettys' calendar.

All it takes for an event to make it on the group's calendar is a volunteer coordinator and board approval. "If I'm going fishing, I put it on there that I want to go fishing on such and such a date," Funston says. "And whoever shows up shows up."

Activities typically are on a pay-as-you-go basis, although some -- a white-water rafting trip, for instance -- may require reservations and longer lead times.

Beyond that, though, the only other requirement -- and one that doesn't need to be stated overtly -- is to just have fun, and that certainly is true of the dance class.

And who leads? The women laugh, no doubt having heard the joking question before.

Actually, teacher Mario Gurule says, "when I teach males ballroom (dancing), I teach them how to follow, too, because it makes them better (as leaders)."

But that doesn't make up for height differences. When the tallish Gurule demonstrates a slick spin-twisty move with the tallish Hagedorn -- who usually dances with the more petite Funston -- Hagedorn exclaims in mock awe: "It's a whole other world!"

"Watch it," a smiling Funston replies.

Brenda Herman, who learned about the Bettys from a friend more than two years ago, organizes Friday night bowling outings. "I like to bowl," she says, and "I wanted people to come and join me."

Some 30 people now stop by regularly.

"I also do line dancing on Thursdays, once a month," she says. "So we all have different interests."

The group also sponsors an annual picnic, Hall says, as well as a Christmas dance that attracts 200 to 300 women and is the Bettys' biggest event.

Stephanie Hanks, a member for about seven years and now a board director, says the group's events, by design, are low-key and comfortable, even to women who haven't publicly acknowledged their sexual orientation.

The best thing about the Bettys, she adds is how women can meet other women, and then their friends, and then their friends' friends.

"All of a sudden," Hanks says, "you're finding friends for life who have the same interests."

Those new friends even may include straight women, gay or straight men, and relatives of Bettys members. One straight couple bowls with her group regularly, Herman says, "and it's no problem. Everybody likes them."

As long as someone is supportive of lesbians, the group generally has no problem with inviting him or her to participate, Hall says. "As long as you're supportive of us, we're supportive of you."

And that name? Hanks says that, while she's not sure who "Betty" is, it doesn't really matter. The name, she says, just seems right.

"It just seems," she says, "like a strong woman who's capable."

Contact reporter John Przybys at jprzybys@reviewjournal.com or (702) 383-0280.