Many words can be used to describe the 2006 Denver Heart Ball. “Boring” is not one of them.
In fact, those designated as VIP guests (sponsors and anyone buying in at the $500 patron-ticket level) may have used the phrase “exhausting but fun,” thanks to all the fun perks at their disposal during the American Heart Association event.
Jeweler John Atencio got their party started by hosting a champagne reception at 5 o’clock in one of the private suites that adjoin the Adam’s Mark Plaza Ballroom. Everyone else started assembling in the ballroom foyer at 6 for a two-hour cocktail party and silent auction that helped guests work up an appetite for the beef filet and seared halibut dinner that followed. Once the meal concluded, there was spirited bidding on three live auction items, the requisite thank-yous and dancing.
Any VIPs ready to take a break from rockin’ to the music of ProEntertainment’s Boogeyliscious could cool down in the Red Lounge, which offered martinis, desserts and leather couches and ottomans.
The idea for the lounge came from the event’s staff coordinator, Clem Connolly, and was built by BJ Dyer and Gunther Vogt of Bouquets. They created a high-tech, clubby atmosphere by enclosing a corner of the ballroom with translucent paneling illuminated with ever-changing colored lights. A waterfall was at the entry, and “living statues” were positioned throughout. Martinis were dispensed from a waist-high, carved-ice bar, and makeup artists from Saks Fifth Avenue set up shop in the back area of the Red Lounge for hair and cosmetic touch-ups. Creative Leather Furniture supplied the seating.
Bouquets used the event’s theme, Love Is in the Air, as inspiration for the ballroom décor. Dyer and Vogt draped yards of red fabric from the ceiling and put arrangements of red Isle d’France tulips and Costa Rican ginger on each table. Napkins were secured by individual rosebuds nestled in rounds of colored wire. An aerialist was suspended over the dance floor as guests took their seats; the band Heartbeat took the stage as salad service began.
Dr. Karl VanBenthuysen of South Denver Cardiology Associates and his wife, Holley, chaired the ball and took great pleasure in announcing to the 700 guests that the net profit was $439,714. The ball’s first live auction in five years raised $16,250 (high bidders included pediatric cardiologist Michael Schaffer and his wife, Lyn, who bought the European cruise) while the “raise your paddle” segment brought in an amazing $69,000 in outright donations to the American Heart Association.
Paddle-raisers included the Harry Lynn family of Scottsbluff, Neb., who gave $10,000, and the Faye and Dr. Reginald Washington family, who gave $5,000 to help fight heart disease and stroke.
Exempla Healthcare was the presenting sponsor and chief executive Jeff Selberg was there with several of his top officers, including Robert Malte (president and CEO of Lutheran Medical Center) and David Hamm, the leader at Good Samaritan Medical Center.
The AHA’s national president, Denver endocrinologist Robert Eckel and his wife, Margaret, were honorary chairmen of the gala and were joined by such friends as Drs. John and Eugenia Carroll; Dr. Jacqueline Stiff, chief medical officer of United Health Care of Colorado and New Mexico; Dr. David Gilmore, an emergency-room doctor and head of toxicology at St. Joseph Hospital; and Dr. Richard Flanigan, the ball’s medical cabinet chair.
Stephanie Jackson, marketing manager for Park Meadows shopping center, chaired the auction, and Don Howe, senior vice president of CBS Radio in Denver, headed the corporate committee. Don and Arlene Mohler Johnson, Cindy and Dr. Barry Molk, and Trisha and Dr. Donald Hood were honored as Lords and Ladies of the Ball.
Others supporting this worthy cause were Stephanie Hernandez, a Schenkein public relations firm staffer and member of the Clinica Tepeyac board; Lucy and Rick Kissinger; Volunteers of America Guild president Herminia Vigil; Drs. Stan and Bonita Carson; Mental Health Association board member Patty Cook and her husband, Don; First Data Foundation director Luella Chavez D’Angelo and her husband, Terry; Marcel Pitton, the Brown Palace Hotel’s new managing director, and his wife, Pam, with their predecessors, Peter and Margrit Aeby and hotel publicist Deborah Dix and her husband, David; Lutheran Medical Center cardiologist Scott Valent and his wife, radiologist Kelly McAleese of the Women’s Imaging Center; Ted and Sharon Gelt; Tom and Susie MacLean; Brenda and Kirl Lambert; Dr. Karen Zarlengo; Gergetha and Dr. Nelson Mozia; and James and Kelly Fullerton.
Society editor Joanne Davidson can be reached at 303-809-1314 or jmdpost@aol.com.
