One of the largest gifts made so far this holiday season was Larry Mizel picking up the tab for the cocktails and extensive buffet attended by 1,500 male friends of Allied Jewish Federation of Colorado.
The Denver developer (MDC/Richmond American Homes) and philanthropist has underwritten the AJF Men’s Event for as long as anyone can remember, and his generosity enables the charity to pocket a ton of money for its numerous assistance programs both here and abroad.
Do the math: Each guest is asked to contribute a minimum $180, which would bring in $270,000. But many of the attendees give much more.
The 2006 edition was chaired by Norm Brownstein, Gary Levine and Mizel and was held at Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum. The keynote speaker was Israel’s ambassador to the United States Daniel Ayalon; Elena Ralph, Miss Israel 2005, was a special guest.
Familiar faces in the crowd included AJF’s chief executive, Doug Seserman; U.S. Sens. Wayne Allard and Ken Salazar; Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper; District Attorney Mitch Morrissey; Mark Sidell, who chairs the federation’s Coordinating Council; Debra Weinstein, the agency’s 2006 campaign chair; Bob Loup; Tom Gart; Chad Asarch; Don Silversmith; David Kaufman; and attorney Steve Farber and his brother-in-law Rick Sapkin.
This and that
The Junior League Holiday Mart opens at 1 p.m. Thursday at the Denver Merchandise Mart; it runs through 4 p.m. Sunday and tickets are $10 at the door … Cancer League of Colorado meets at Shelia King-Morris’ home Thursday morning and the agenda includes collecting gift cards to be distributed to families spending the holidays at Ronald McDonald House Denver … Music by harpist Kristen Rubow is featured when Rocky Mountain Multiple Sclerosis Guild has its holiday brunch Dec. 14 at Denver Country Club. Judie Stromberg, 303-758-4213, and Hyla Sloane, 303-759-2323, are taking reservations for the $35-a-ticket event … Also on Dec. 14, the Minoru Yasui Community Volunteer Award committee is having its annual lunch at the Denver Marriott Tech Center. Mayor Hickenlooper will be there to present a special award and to congratulate the 2006 winners … Jeffrey Goldberg, an American Jew whose experiences as a guard in Israel’s largest prison inspired the book, “Prisoners: A Muslim & a Jew Across the Middle East Divide,” speaks at a Dec. 18 luncheon hosted by the Iliff Institute, Iliff School of Theology and the University of Denver’s Center for Judaic Studies. It begins at 11:30 a.m. at Iliff School of Theology, 2201 S. University Blvd. and the $30 tickets can be purchased by calling 303-765-3135.
Society editor Joanne Davidson can be reached at 303-809-1314 or jdavidson@denverpost.com. She also contributes at denverpostbloghouse.com/davidson.
