The visionaries who started the Women’s Foundation of Colorado 20 years ago were undeniably astute, yet even they could not have imagined that in the not-so-distant future someone would coin a word like “ginormous” and that it would be used to describe the foundation’s 20th-anniversary luncheon.
But with almost 2,700 guests and a $1 million profit, ginormous it was.
Staff at the Colorado Convention Center told co-chairs Cindy Halaby and Dr. Dean Prina that it was the largest such function ever held there. And if another nonprofit has hauled in a million bucks at a lunch, no one seems to know which one it might be.
In a nutshell, the Women’s Foundation was created to level the playing field for females: to keep girls in school so they can learn the skills that will qualify them for meaningful employment that pays well and opens the door to promotions and advancement. Bold Women, Bold Visions is the foundation’s tagline.
Keynote speaker Cokie Roberts validated the foundation’s mission by pointing out that while researching her latest book it became clear that “If you educate a girl, you save the world.”
Founder Swanee Hunt acknowledged those who helped get the agency off the ground, particularly Colorado’s former first lady Dottie Lamm, “who insisted it be statewide; AnnaJo Haynes and Sumiko Hennessy who insisted on diversity and Lauren George and Merle Chambers, who insisted we focus on systemic change.”
VIP guests included the state’s current first lady, Jeannie Ritter; Lt. Gov. Barbara O’Brien; Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper and his wife, Helen Thorpe; Debbie Jessup of Presenting Sponsor Bank of Choice; Mary Lou Makepeace, chief executive of the event’s corporate partner, the Gay & Lesbian Fund for Colorado; foundation director Gretchen McComb; and board chair Kathleen Eck.
Other celebrants were Kathy Hagan Brown; Joy Johnson; Kelly Berger; Rhondda Grant; Walt DeHaven; Ding-Wen Hsu; Arlene Hirschfeld; Barbara Bridges; David Miller; Elaine Gampel; Cookie Flaum; Jean Galloway; Iris Fontera; Mary Lee Chin; Dana Rinderknecht; Jen Rettig; Patricia Barela Rivera; Jan Meck; Susan France; Tina Vardaman; Cassie Coopersmith; Aimee Sporer Caplis; Lucinda Daly; Chris Meza; and mistress of ceremonies Ericka Lewis of CBS4.
Society editor Joanne Davidson: 303-809-1314 or jdavidson@denverpost.com; also,
