(GayWebSource.com – Gay Media & Press Network) – Posted by Doug Magditch – HisBigD.com

Robert Emery is the kind of guy who tells it like it is. He doesn’t need to put on airs or pretend he’s someone he isn’t, because who he is so full of life it’d be ridiculous if you weren’t drawn in.

After talking to him for just a few minutes, you’d assume Emery has been involved, in some way, in just about every LGBT organization in the city. He certainly seems to know just about everyone. I kind of want to start a ‘six degrees of Robert Emery game,’ but I’m sure it would never get far past two degrees.

Emery has owned his own business for more than a quarter of a century. With his company, the one thing he misses out on is the social aspect of work. Well, that’s what Dallas’ LGBT community is for.

When I asked him why it’s so important for him to be involved in the community, he said… it isn’t.

“It’s not important. It’s just fun. There’s nothing important about it. It’s just fun,” laughed Emery. “I don’t have a watercoolor to go to connect with people, so I connect with them out in the community.”

…and he has. His favorite organization is the Turtle Creek Chorale, where he was the New Member Orientation Coordinator for more than a decade.

“The community, the fellowship, is probably unmatched in this town. Those men love each other and support each other,” said Emery.

These days he’s most passionate, though, about a relatively new project, The Dallas Way. It’s a GLBT history project that aims to record a history that might otherwise be lost. Emery was a founding board member.

“It’s very important to keep your history. It’s particularly important if that group was marginalized by the main press. We have fantastic stories that were never reported on, because the press didn’t pay any attention to us,” sad Emery.

Emery’s involvement led to his nomination as one of the finalists for the male grand marshal of Dallas Pride 2013. From there, he admits, it was a bit of a popularity contest.

Turns out, Emery is pretty popular.

Read up, he’ll be “grand marshaling” the 2013 parade, alongside Cece Cox of the Resource Center Dallas.

“I just have my finger in a lot of different pies. I think I’ve been able to draw the popularity vote,” said Emery. “I couldn’t be more thrilled.”

Emery’s next project is a big undertaking, but he’s focused. He is working to make assisted living a simpler, and more accepting process for LGBT seniors in Dallas. His two goals are a brick-and-mortar, LGBT-centric assisted living home and a raised awareness of LGBT residents in all the other assisted living homes in North Texas.

This isn’t a pipe dream, it’s a work in progress. Emery recently sent out questionnaires to assisted living homes currently operating in DFW. When he gets them back, he plans to start compiling the responses in a cohesive, useful list.

“Much like the HRC’s corporate scoring, it’ll be the list of the places in Dallas. We will have had our questionnaires returned to us and we’ll just let you know. You can click on any of these properties and find out how they stand on hiring. Do they have any activities? Will they take a bus down to gay pride?” explained Emery.

According to Emery, this idea has only been fully realized in three communities in the United States. His goal is to make Dallas a leader for LGBT assisted living.

No matter what happens in Dallas, expect Emery will be involved. You can’t ask him not to be. He just, plain, loves it too much.

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