On any give day of the week you might find this guy rubbing elbows with the president of one of our country's great designer labels and a few days later see him running the lights at the Diamond State Rodeo Association for one of their benefit shows. In between that, Alan Saugey, would most likely be found sitting in a meeting room of people who are doing what they can for the advancement of gay rights.

Alan works in Little Rock, Ark., for a major retailer as a corporate buyer. He commutes to work each day from Roland, Ark., and a comfortable home place he calls Boot Hill Ranch.

He grew up attending Catholic schools where he was a student at Holy Souls and Catholic High School. He considers himself a “recovering Catholic” now. After his Catholic education, he attended the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and finished with two degrees, one in Political Science and another in Marketing.

Alan came out in his early 30s and said his parents were really great about it. He said that it was better for him to come out at that age because he had “already figured out who I was and had a good education and career.”

Alan added that it's much easier to be out now than it was 20 or 30 years ago. Much of that change is attributed to the whole host of local and national gay organizations, television shows portraying gay people in positive roles, movies, and having some actors and sports stars come out publicly.

“There should be no such thing as a closet to live in,” Alan said. “It's a monumental feat to come to grips with being gay and even harder to come out to your loved ones, but it's so freeing.”

Alan said that before he came out it was like living “a life of black and white TV” and after he came out he is “living in Technicolor," plus, now he can be honest and live life to the fullest.

Alan's local community involvement first took shape after he found the local Human Rights Campaign Meet Up Group. This group was made up of local individuals who were concerned about the marriage amendment and basic gay rights. This same Meet Up group later developed into Arkansans for Human Rights (ArHR). At one time Alan served as president of the ArHR. That is, until a mild heart attack and his doctors told him to cut back on his activities and get more rest and exercise.

Since that set back, he continues to be active in groups like ArHR and the Stonewall Democrats Club and the Diamond State Rodeo Association. Now, he attends meetings, helps out with projects and travels as a member of a volunteer rodeo arena crew.

Back when he was president, he and Deb New spoke to school teachers from the Little Rock Public School District about being "Out" and "What it was like to be gay." They also talked with teachers about how to deal with gay or questioning students and those who tried to harass them. Alan said, most of the teachers had never met a gay man or woman and by getting to know them and hear their stories, many had second thoughts about their perceptions about gay people.

ArHR also did a billboard campaign to show that gay and lesbian people are just like everybody else. His picture appeared on the billboard campaign and that was the final outing for him.

What was great, Alan said, was that ArHR had a difficult time finding gays and lesbians willing to put their face on three billboards across central Arkansas, but a few months after the billboard campaign, the Arkansas Times did a story on gays and had more people volunteer than they could use, which he attributed to our community seeing that “nothing bad happened." After that billboard, more people were willing to be out in public.

That group has been a little less active lately, which Alan says is mostly because it was formed around issues “ the last presidential election and the amendment to ban gay marriage” and once those things were over the group has had to find another focus.

Alan was once married to a man named Tommy on the Capitol steps in Little Rock to protest the ban on gay marriage. He and Tommy are no longer together because he needed to be here and Tommy needed to be in another state taking care of an ill parent. Two female couples also “tied the knot” that day on the Capitol steps. Later, the reception was held at The Aquarium (now UBU), where Alan and Tommy danced to their song “At Last” by Etta James. The story and footage of the same sex wedding was picked up by all of the local television stations and then CNN ran it.

Alan can't be on the front lines of the gay movement now, because of his heart, but his heart is still very much in the struggle here in Arkansas.
Alan has held many jobs throughout his life and explained it like this:
“In my life, I have worked many jobs such as: landscaper, restaurant worker, art gallery attendant, backhoe operator, chauffeur, funeral home attendant, hotel desk clerk, I have operated three health clinics, conducted medical research, worked as a retail clerk, and now work in corporate retail. Those are just the jobs were a gay person has had an impact on others' lives and they don't know it.

“Even though I made an impact on people in each of these jobs, none knew I was gay, the majority voting in Arkansas would deny me the rights they have, but I wonder if they would still be willing to deny me rights if they knew that nice guy that helped them was gay."

And now our Profiles in Pride Questions:

Date and place of birth? Dec. 30, 1966, Little Rock

What is your favorite food? Bagels and lox

What food will you not eat? Dried fish

What is the best job you've ever had? Driving a limo in Little Rock

What is your dream job? Being an independently wealthy philanthropist
If you didn't have to work, what would you do with all of your time? Volunteer
Who do you admire most (living or dead)? My grandmother who is alive and 94-years-old. She's always done the best she could through the depression and now. She raised 6 kids and is still mentally sharp.

Who would you lunch with if you could have anyone (living or dead)? Bill and Hillary Clinton, the special man in my life and Bono.

Who has had the greatest influence on your life? My grandmother

What one thing would you not have done if you could go back in time? I would not have gone to college in Little Rock, I would have gone out of state.

What one thing would you have done if you could go back in time? Come out earlier

What is your favorite word? Receive

Least favorite word? Procrastination

Favorite curse word? Damn

What turns you on? Honest, genuine people

What turns you off? Fakeness

What word would others use to describe you? Opinionated

What word sums you up? Persistent