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| Title | Connections, Vol. 3, No. 4, April 1981 |
| Contributor |
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| Publisher | Olinger, James K. |
| Date | April 1981 |
| Language | English |
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| Identifier | OCLC: 5962584 |
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| Rights | No Copyright - United States |
| Note | This item was digitized from materials loaned by the Gulf Coast Archive and Museum (GCAM). |
| Title | File 010 |
| Transcript | 10 CONNECTIONS' Dan'sOffice Equipment Company Owner Dan Boyle One of the more prominent gay-owned businesses in Austin is Dan's Office Equipment Company, located at 2816 Nueces and open 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. Owner Dan,Boyle's face lights up in a smile when you mention his outfront gayness. Dan is an enthusiastic CONNECTIONS advertiser. He says "the rates are very reasonable." and tells us that many people have told him they saw his ad. Dan started servicing typewriters in 1969. He moved to Austin in 1972 and opened a repair shop servicing office equipment - typewriters, calculators, and dictation machines. Today, Dan's Office Equipment Company sells, services, and rents office equip ment. They specialize in servicing IBM, Adler, and Smith-Corona typewriters. They service the Sanyo phone-answering equipment they sell, and they also sell tabletop copiers that retail from $800 to $1,295. On January 12, 1981, the company moved from its San Gabriel location to larger and nicer quarters at 2816 Nueces, next door to McDonald's, off Guadalupe, across the street from Hot Lips, another CONNECTIONS advertiser. Dan Boyle employs himself and seven other people. Dan says his staff knows he is gay and they are open-minded and liberal. His staff interacts well with his gay clients. Dan's Office Equipment offers service contracts for office or home. The University of Texas at Austin, the City of Austin, and Travis County are included among Dan's service contract customers. The first Austin gay bar Dan went to was the Pearl Street Warehouse. He gave out his ■ business cards there. The reactions he got were "interesting." Some people accepted his cards while others threw them down. Some were suspicious, "They didn't know what 1 was up to." A few thought Dan was using his business cards to try to get a date, Dan says he did get one or two business contacts as a result of the experience. The gay community has supported Dan's business very strongly. Dan says the Austin gay businesses he knows of, including bars and organizations, bring their business to him. CONNECTIONS was typed on an Adler office typewriter rent- purchased from Dan's until this issue - Editor. Dan is sure he has gay customers i by Wayde Frey 2816 he doesn't even know about. In turn, Dan says, his accountant is gay, his hairdresser is gay, his doctor is gay, and so is his lawyer. Dan Boyle and Ed Deacon participated in the Austin committee for the March on Washington in 1979. In February, 1981, Dan participated in a panel discussion of gays in business and in the professions, held at a meeting of the University Gay Students Organization at UT*Austin. He is a past president (1977) of the Austin Office Machine Dealers Association. He was a board member for a four-state area ofthe National Office Machine Dealers Association. Dan says he wanted to participate in the activities of his professional association, but he did not enjoy the social aspects of their con- Nueces ventions, where all the straight men brought their wives to the banquets, and Dan came by himself. He is also a past president of the Austin Executive Association, which is composed of about 35 young local business leaders. Dan Boyie says he receives both personal and monetary satisfaction from Dan's Office Equipment Company. He enjoys the challenge and responsibility of owning his own business as well as the freedom of not having to answer to an employer for his sexual preference. Dan says he wanted to start his own business because "1 was tired of having my boss ask me what I had done over the weekend ! Now, nobody asks me what I did over the weekend. Maybe that's because I'm the boss, now.'' Service Technician Vince Flores Dan's OFFICE EQUIPMENT CO. TYPEWRITERS - CALCULATORS - DICTATION EQUIPMENT SMALL COPIERS & CORRECTION TYPEWRITERS SERVICE - RENTALS - SALES ADLER - IBM - SMITH CORONA - SANYO DICTATION RENT PURCHASE PLAN AVAILABLE ON MOST MODELS SANYO DICTATION EQUIP. HOURS - MON. - FRI. 8:00 AM - 5:30 PM [ IBU MCONOir/ONfOi I nm TyptwRtTins 99 ADLER SE 1000 2816 Nueces Off Guadalupe, next to McDonald's 474-6396 |
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