Organizers say $516,000 was raised at Pirates of the Caribbean, Beacon Center’s 15th annual Cherish the Children Gala. The Beacon Center has provided residential and outpatient services for 14,000 abused and neglected teens since opening its doors in 1970.
The dinner, auction and dance, plus a Neiman Marcus fashion show starring John Lynch, Ian Gold, Domonique Foxworth, Ebenezer Ekuban, Bradlee Van Pelt and other “champs on the ramp” from the Denver Broncos Football Club, was chaired by Sharon Sweeney and held at the Hyatt Regency Tech Center.
Sweeney said the total represented a $100,000 increase over the 2005 gala and that $31,000 of it came from a first-time silent auction conducted before dinner. It was staffed by local high schoolers who belong to Future Givers; they’re also donating proceeds from their upcoming Future Givers Ball to Beacon Center.
A live auction, called by Gary Corbett, also did well, thanks to items like a deluxe trip to Mexico that Mort Marks bought for $14,000; earlier in the evening, Cherish the Children Guild president Annabel Bowlen had presented the Golden Cherub Award to Marks’ wife, Edie, for her service to Beacon Center.
Bowlen, who founded the guild, said she stays involved with Beacon Center because the need for its services continues to grow. “Our children are more vulnerable than ever,” she noted, “and I think it is both overwhelming and unforgiveable that in America, a child is abused every 18 seconds.”
As the wife of Broncos owner Pat Bowlen concluded her remarks, Vance Wagner, who’d been invited to the event by corporate chairs John and Nancy Sevo, stepped forward to pledge $20,000 on behalf of American National Bank.
Festivities continued with a shrimp and fillet of beef dinner served at tables decorated with starfish and treasure chests and dancing to Jerry Barnett and His Band of Thieves.
Pamela O’Neal, who coordinated the fashion show, and her husband, Michael, sat with the Bowlens at their rampside table, as did interior designers Marc Roth and James Pfister, the duo responsible for transforming the Hyatt into an underwater paradise. Nearby were head coach Mike Shanahan and his wife, Peggy; Janet Elway; former Broncos Ed McCaffrey and Steve Watson and their wives Lisa and Pam; public relations chair Wendy Aiello with her steady, CBS 4 general manager Walt DeHaven; and Beacon Center’s executive director, Anne Robinson. Pat and Annabel’s son, John Bowlen, was there with girlfriend Toni Rabine; so, too, were his sisters, Brittany and Annabel.
Restaurateur Ed Novak watched proudly as his wife, Gayle, modeled the stunning pearl necklace that Trice Jewelers had donated for the auction; $50 certificates good at his Broker restaurants were part of the decorative treasure chests and were sold to the highest bidder at each table.
Others taking part in the sold-out event were Mike Miller, chairman of the Beacon Center board; real estate syndicator Chuck McKenney and his wife, Debra, who were off to Tuscany a few days later to celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary; Ernie Blake and Sharon Magness Blake; Carylyn Bell with daughter Caitlin, a member of Future Givers; Carl and Lisa Williams; Anne and Dennis Altbrandt; Joe and Helenn Franzgrote; Bob and Beacon Center board member Georgianna Contiguglia; Keith and Marcia Edwards; Leo and Linda Goto; and Carl and Susan Barnhill.
Society editor Joanne Davidson can be reached at 303-809-1314 or jmdpost@aol.com.
