June/July 2002

WILLIAM PALMER

Stop the Drama.com is a web site created to address and offer solutions to the many issues or "dramas" Black people face on a daily basis. William Palmer founded the site in late 2001 and says it was conceived when he and a friend were discussing their own personal experiences and decided it would be good to put something together "to stop all the drama amongst ourselves." Drama affects all of us to one degree or another and William has found that at times even the skating rink is not a drama free place. "I noticed one week I would come to the rink and people would speak then the next week some of them looked at [me] like they had never seen me before. So I'm thinking, is it that bad? Are people having that rough of a time in their lives where it makes a difference from week to week?" he asked. So Stop the Drama was born and seeks to offer an outlet for information, support, sharing and inspiration for men, women, and teens. The site has been positively received by visitors but William is not satisfied with the status quo. His goals for the next year are to heavily promote the site - something he and co-founder Janice Little have found little time to do. They also plan to put out apparel featuring their logo (on caps, t-shirts, etc), and eventually incorporate motivational speakers onto the Stop the Drama team. All as a method to draw people and work with others who "want to get the word out." "I am willing to post links, articles, whatever for anybody who is into doing something - they can use my medium to do that....That's what this is about, stop the drama and come together as a people. Everyone else seems to be doing it," William said. SKATING William started back skating in 2000 after a 20 year hiatus and he now skates twice a week (on Sunday and Wednesday nights). He also practices outdoors near his home a few times a week, working on improving his backward skating so he can "get out there" with the rest of the skaters. He loves skating for the exercise but also because he gets to meet so many people and see so many fancy moves. "It's fascinating to me what people can do on skates, they do stuff on skates they can't do on foot and it's amazing to me. I love seeing it." MOST INSPIRATIONAL FIGURE "My father, even though he's passed. He was a man that really taught me how to be a man...He was the closest male person I have had in my life and he has been the person who motivated me the most." FAVORITE QUOTE "If you bump your head on the wall, does it make you feel any better? If not, why do you continue to bump it?" HOBBIES Bowling, basketball, swimming, cycling, mentoring PERSONAL Single Father of 5 "children" (ages 16-32) Native of Cleveland Ohio Line of work:  Technical Account Manager, Compaq Moved to Colorado in 1977 after 8 years in the Air Force, stationed in Las Vegas CONTACT INFO Show some support for Roller Skating Today's first featured Skater of the Month and visit Stop the Drama or contact William at: husia@attbi.com

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