When Cynthia Wax learned she was to be the 2006 Woman of Distinction for Rocky Mountain chapter of the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America, she enlisted her brother, Glenwood Springs artist David Anselmo, to design the invitations.
She wasn’t surprised when he said it would include a picture of her – until, that is, she saw that instead of a modest head shot on the inside, he’d done a full-color rendering of her for the invitation’s cover. “How many of you expected to find THIS in your mailboxes?” she jokingly asked as she accepted her award from mistress of ceremonies Stephanie Riggs.
Wax and her husband, Douglas, knew next to nothing about Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis or the foundation that supports research and patient-service programs until they attended a foundation-sponsored fund-raiser in 1992 that honored their friends Joe Sigman and David Hauptman. In a strange twist of fate, their daughter, Lauren, was diagnosed with Crohn’s six years later.
“God has a funny way of working his magic,” Cynthia observed. “He put us in that place so that when Lauren was diagnosed we had a strong support system in place and knew just where to turn.” Since then, Cynthia has joined the CCFA board and become a staunch supporter of its Camp Oasis for children. This is in addition to her volunteer work on behalf of Craig Hospital, Children’s Hospital and Catholic Charities.
Debbie Campbell chaired the luncheon that also recognized Danielle Gonzales, Miss Garfield County for 2006.
Inspired, maybe, by “Pay It Forward,” the 2000 feel-good flick starring Kevin Spacey, Helen Hunt and Haley Joel Osment, Gonzales is doing her part to help little girls who’ve been diagnosed with a serious disease know they’re not alone.
Shortly after she was diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease in 2004, Gonzales started the Princess Club, into which she inducts fellow sufferers by presenting them with a sash and crown. “Few people on the Western Slope have (IBDs like) Crohn’s or ulcerative colitis, or even know about them,” Gonzales told the Women of Distinction guests at Denver Country Club. “So I started the Princess Club as one way of giving back to everyone who gave to me.”
The winner of CCFA’s Local Hero Award, Gonzales said her sister persuaded her to enter the Miss Garfield County pageant. “Entering something like that wasn’t something I’d ever expected to do,” she said, “but winning has boosted my confidence significantly, and has let me know that having an IBD doesn’t have to hold you back.”
Board member Bob Nieder and his wife, Barb, invited their daughter-in-law, Robyn, and Robyn’s mother, grandmother and aunt: Rachelle Gross, Rose Saper and Harriet Saper, respectively, to join them at the luncheon. The Nieders also were joined by friends Jo Ann Cohen, Moneta Axler Bailey, Sharyn Neulist, Marlene Siegel, Zelda Gutman, Norma Sierota, Freda Gold and Evelyn Barash.
Other guests included the CCFA’s first Woman of Distinction, Mary Sue Hawk; longtime supporter Bean Nance; Emmett Brennan; Vivian Guzofsky and David and Ronnie Hauptman.
Society editor Joanne Davidson can be reached at 303-809-1314 or jmdpost@aol.com.
