For 15 years, the women of Kappa Kappa Gamma’s Denver alumnae chapter have run their Book & Author Dinner without a hitch. The simple formula of luring big name authors to talk about their best-selling books in a city that loves to read has put the Kappas in the enviable position of having sold-out crowds every year and raising over $600,000 for Craig Hospital and Iris Foundation scholarships.
But it was this year – on the Sweet 16 anniversary – that trouble came. Less than two weeks before chairwoman Margaret Eckel was poised to welcome authors Bonnie Angelo, Jeffery Deaver, Richard Paul Evans and Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer, the hotel at which the fund-raiser was to have taken place pulled the plug. Fortunately, a nearby hotel had an available ballroom and all went off as planned.
Angelo, who reported for Time magazine for 25 years, talked about “First Families: The Impact of the White House on Their Lives,” a follow-up to her best-selling “First Mothers: The Women Who Shaped the Presidents.” Deaver, whose “The Bone Collector,” was made into a movie starring Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie, previewed his new thriller, “The Twelfth Card,” which chronicles a two-day cat-and-mouse chase through the streets of Manhattan where quadriplegic detective Lincoln Rhyme and his protegee, Amelia Sachs, try to stop a man bent on murdering a high school girl from Harlem.
Richard Paul Evans’ “The Christmas Box” was a New York Times bestseller made into a TV movie starring Maureen O’Hara and Richard Thomas. Evans lives in Salt Lake City and brought Abigail, one of his five daughters, to the event. Trommer’s 2004 book of poetry, “Insatiable,” was the basis of her talk; the Telluride resident was a Kappa at Colorado College.
The 2005 planning committee included Carol Bruton, Terrie Foristal, Jeanne Wilde, Amy Hampton Knight, Sharon Martin, Masako James, Hilde Gill Kaiser, Vicki Paluck, Gwen Lake, Sandy Wischmeyer and chairwoman-elect Lynne Ervin. 7News anchor Mitch Jelniker was the master of ceremonies and Sue Lynch served as Craig Hospital liaison.
What’s ahead
The Robert Loup Jewish Community Center’s annual dinner takes place tonight at the Donald R. Seawell Grand Ballroom. Coordinator Taffy Lee has details at 303-316-6318 … The Cancer League of Colorado’s fourth annual high tea has a French theme this year, and chair Jane Mayberry says festivities get underway at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Brown Palace Hotel. Tickets are $50; call 303-663-2105 … The ArtReach Festival of Trees, chaired by Elena VanDecar, opens Friday at the Wildlife Experience Museum in Parker, with the traditional Holiday Gala set for 6 p.m. Saturday. The festival is presented by Re/MAX International and runs through Dec. 4 … Also on Saturday night: The Adoption Exchange Fantasy Ball, starring John O’Hurley from TV’s “Dancing with the Stars,” and Adventist Health System’s Heart of Hearts Gala. The latter event honors LaFawn and the late Dusty Biddle and will have entertainment by Natalie Cole.
Society editor Joanne Davidson can be reached at 303-809-1314 or jmdpost@aol.com.
