PEOPLE OF THE YEAR

LGBTQ people helping to maintain community in the face of a pandemic

Our Person (or People) of the Year each year are those who made the greatest impact on Utah’s LGBTQ community, for better or worse, this year.

This year, the global pandemic put an end to a myriad of events, group meetings, social events, choir rehearsals and so much more. The “community” in LGBTQ community looked nothing like it has in the past decades.

These people worked to develop and produce ways to maintain a sense of community in this state. They are, therefore, our People of the Year.

Utah Pride Center Director of Adult Programming

SAGE Utah provides services and resources for the LGBTQ senior community, including community education, provider education, social needs, and advocacy. Its history since it started in the state has been one of fits and starts. Until Deb Hall came along. By all accounts, she has grasped the organization by the reins and it is now a highlight in many people’s lives.

This year threw a wrench in the entire plan for the group. At the beginning of the year, the group was on point for 20 monthly programs, two to three standalone events, and plans to expand to other areas in the state. “Our strategic plan was strong, our teams in place and we were riding high on the heels of an enormously successful first year,” Hall wrote in a presentation for the Center’s board.

Once the Center was forced to shut its doors because of the pandemic, Hall and her team shifted gears to move all programming online.

“There were a few glitches because not all seniors have access to a computer, and not all seniors understood the technology behind online programs; and not all seniors had access to the internet. We got to work to change that reality,” she wrote.

They offered computers and internet services to seniors who needed them and qualified for a low-income plan. They helped senior from Logan to Utah County and as far west as Tooele.

Indeed, one person of the several who nominated her as a person of the year wrote, “She hooked up the senior population with laptops so that they could be able to participate in the LGBT program Utah Pride Center has to offer online. She took the time to help me with passwords and set up my account. She is a wonderful woman and a great asset to our community.”

The group’s senior newsletter changed from monthly to weekly and included resources on how to shop online, what stores had senior hours, up-to-date information on Covid-19, how to connect with food banks, and how to connect with organizations that could help with pet needs.

Virtual programming includes a trivia night, a men’s sack lunch club, a social group, a group that explores countries all over the planet through online virtual travel, a supper club where people virtually share their favorite dinners along with great dinner conversation.

They established a fund with Lyft to pick people up to go to doctor appointments, grocery stores, or other appointments because they were at risk and unable to travel by public transportation.

Utah Pride Center Director of Operations & Administration

John Johnson has been the director of operations of so many Utah Prides people stopped counting. In charge of the tents, the fencing, the infrastructure no one notices, and the plan to get it all set up and taken down. This year, when it became obvioius that the Utah Pride Festival was going to look completely different than years past, it was Johnson and his team who were tasked to make it happen.

Johnson went to work on developing a plan to make Pride 2.0 — Pride Road Rally happen. Again creating a plan, organizing tents and stages and fencing and tables and much more.

Project Rainbow

If something needs to happen, Dallas Rivas is there. This year, as hundreds of Trump-flag-emblazoned trucks traveled up and down the state’s freeways and downtown streets, Rivas and his rainbow-wrapped truck gave many in the community a much -eeded dose of pride, visibility, and love.

As part of Project Rainbow, Rivas and the group’s other volunteers assembled thousands of rainbow flags and trans flags and traveled the state to different pride and trans events to place them in the yeards of those who ordered them, raising money for regional organizations.

Rivas also has a retail line of t-shirts and accessories that are otherwise difficult to find in the state.

Harrison Spendlove Photography

Another person who is present when things need to happen, Harrison Spendlove has been on several boards of local LGBTQ organizations, most recently including the Utah LGBTQ+ Chamber of Commerce. Spendlove was in charge of the group’s Gayla and Economic Summit, both of which were held online and had an impressive list of speakers and participants.

Spendlove also traveled the state for a photographic project he created called It’s Who We Are. From Moab to St. George to Logan and Salt Lake City, he invited people to express themselves and get a photo taken that can be used by their local Pride organizations.

Bonnie O’Brien is synonymous with the Utah Pride Parade. She has run the show for many, many years of growth and challenges. When it was obvious that the parade wasn’t going to happen this year because crowds of many thousands of people lining a downtown street was risky at best, she and Kate Rusk set out finding another great use of their time. After, of course, doing their own mini- Pride Parade on the day the larger one would have happened.

O’Brien’s day job is being a teacher at East High School. Or, as she calls it, a “school mom.” She went door-to-door and met with her students to ensure they had computers and wifi set up so they could excel in their studies.

But she and Rusk were nominated this year because they spent the beginning of the quarantine gathering and repairing bicycles for Rose Park area kids and adults. They purchased used bikes found in classifieds, took donated bikes, and set up everyone in the neighborhood with both bikes and safety gear. Adults were provided with bikes so they could avoid using public transportation to get to work.

“Though we didn’t have a Pride Festival in June, the queer spirit was in full, brilliant color, while they spent the effort they would have on the parade, helping the community in a deeply meaningful way,” wrote their nominator.

8-B¡tch

Ben Morgan, aka Ivory LaRue, and Cody Scott, aka Rose Nylon, have created a phenomenon in 8-B¡tch — a digital drag show streamed on twitch and then uploaded to YouTube.

“I literally cannot gush enough,” wrote their nominator. “They have taken something like, oh I don’t know, global trauma!? and turned it into such a wonderful opportunity for our community.”

When the lockdown happened, drag performances were put on hiatus. Some who paid their bills with tips were left to struggle. Also, drag is a staple of the LGBTQ community across the globe.

The pair put their heads together and created a digital space for the community to come together and enjoy drag in all its intricacies, socialize in a responsible way and provide a way for performers to be tipped electronically.

Co-owner, Club Try-Angles

As an owner of Club Try-Angles, Gene’s first and foremost concerns are for the

LGBTQ community. When the bar was forced to close at the beginning of the pandemic, Gene worked to make sure his staff was taken care of.

When they were able to re-open, he went overboard to ensure the safety of the community and his staff, setting rules above and beyond what was required by the Department of Health.

When he was approached by the producers of 8-B¡tch, hoping to help the drag community raise some funds and entertain an audience, he agreed to show the performances on the large screen, with socially distanced tables for their audience. Some of the queens were at the bar during the presentation and were able to receive tips in person.

This writer found out the hard way — don’t go out the in door!

Sun-Trapp

The Sun-Trapp is the largest LGBTQ bar in the state, and Micheal Repp and Riley Richter make sure to keep the community safe. After a man drew a gun in an argument with a door person this year, Repp installed a metal detector at the door to ensure the safety of patrons and staff. With the coronavirus, the bar has installed plastic barriers and uses the same electrostatic spraying solution and sprayer used by airlines for the safety of their passengers.

Repp has also been at the forefront of efforts by a number of Salt Lake bars trying to survive and suing the state of Utah for forcing them to close down at 10 p.m. while allowing other businesses to remain open.

Salt Lake County Department of Health

As Communications & PR Manager at the Salt Lake County Department of Health, Nicholas Rupp is on our television screens a lot these days with stern warnings for those who do not see and understand the importance of safety during this pandemic. He even, in the early days of the Coronavirus, took Gov. Gary Herbert to task for hosting a soirée at the Governor’s Mansion where most of the attendees were not wearing masks, including the governor himself.

As the face of the County Health Department, Rupp is excelling and keeping all county residents safe with his succinct, easy-to-understand, and unflinching, honest communications.

What Have You Been Cooking

Miles Broadhead has been a restaurant manager and bar manager for much of his adult life. When the pandemic hit and The Punchbowl was forced to close down, he knew that people still needed the social aspects of food and drink. He created a Facebook group that has over 2,400 people called What Have You Been Cooking, where people show just that — their culinary creations. Since it can be considered a faux pas to show your meals on your wall, this is a place that welcomes it wholeheartedly.

“I just wanted to use the love of cooking and sharing with each other as a hug I can’t give,” he said.