Admittedly, Beatniks club manager "Beatnik Pete" Warner has a certain flair for publicity. But it has been less difficult than you might imagine for the Beatniks club to garner a ton of free publicity "ink." The media has found the idea of a large, well-managed, consumer-run club with an incredibly diverse membership to be quite intriguing. Reporters have been astonished to come to our dinners and special events and find consumer-professionals such as doctors, engineers and attorneys rubbing shoulders with the slightly less fortunate. All highlighted by some remarkably prominent after-dinner speakers.

At last count, the Beatniks had articles and/or free display ads in The Washington Post Metro, Montgomery Digest and Health sections, Montgomery Gazette (all editions), The City Paper, Schizophrenia Digest, NAMI Newsletter, Psychiatric News and half a dozen radio stations including such industry leaders as Clear Channel Radio, ABC Radio, CBS-Viacom Radio and Pacifica Radio. Clearly, the next frontier is television talk shows. Oprah, are you ready for a guy with a beard and a blue beret and his consumer-friends?