Hello everyone. I want to take just a few minutes and speak to you about a man that was a huge part of our group and this event for so many years. Mark Hartness, or as you all would have known him, Bear, passed away last spring and is dearly missed by those of us that were given the opportunity to have our lives touched by him.

For those that don’t know, Bear was a Psychiatric Technician at Pelican Bay State Prison for many years. He mentioned that it was the state of California’s highest super max prison. Bear did not say much about his time working there except that it was intense. He did, however, mention that while working in the prison he was attacked and hurt his back. This injury would eventually degenerate into the wheelchair that we were used to seeing him roll around in.

My experience with Bear started as so many others did by crossing paths with him at Party in the Desert. Bear was always here to help us. In addition to his job at the prison, Bear was trained as a grief and critical incident counselor. At many of the parties he would host a low-key session where people could come and have mental debrief. But even outside of the sessions he was always working on checking in on people. I can’t count the amount of times I saw Bear wheel himself up to a person poolside and before I knew it they were pouring out their stress and trauma to him. He was so low key but wise.

Of course, Bear loved to also be a bit of a flirt with the men that would go along with it. One of his favorite things to do was to tell people that he lived in a town in Northern California called Fort Dick. Bear always put an emphasis on the word dick and added a wry smile. He then would continue on telling you that contrary to the name, you couldn’t get a lot of dick there. I personally never tired of seeing him say that to someone. In the last several years of Bear’s life even with the wheelchair he needed some additional assistance. I, among others was more than happy to help. Usually this meant pushing him up the ramp at the hotel and holding his wheelchair while he made the transition back and forth from his cane. However, Bear also loved his homestyle dining and enjoyed a place in Palm Springs called Billy Reeds. The restaurant was close enough that it was too much work to pack up his stuff in the car and drive down there, so instead it usually meant walking. Well, it meant me walking and Bear being pushed. There we are rolling down Palm Canyon Dr in the 100 degrees plus weather with me in my Speery deck shoes and outweighed by Bear by at least 100 pounds. I would be sweating buckets with Bear saying to me “oh it’s so hot out here, I do hope we get to the restaurant quickly.” I know he had a big Bear grin as he was happily served by willing men that would accept his “big bear hug”.

The Party in the Desert event is not the same without knowing that Bear will roll out to the pool at some point or ask you to roll him somewhere. It will be different to not have him calling us all “dear men” or saying, “your take such great care of an old bear”. Bear loved helping his fellow man. He is exactly what this profession and this group always need. Please raise your glass to Bear, his photo will sit here by the pool so that he can continue to enjoy his time with all of us. In the spirit of Bear, please remember the smalls things you do that make huge differences in others lives.