Ann Jesse started the Hep C Connection as a “patients helping patients” support network. She stepped down as executive director 10 years later but remains involved as a volunteer and adviser. Her service was recognized last year at the first Desserts & Delights.
The 2007 edition, chaired by Katie Barton and Karen Robinson Rosenthal and held at the Walnut Foundry in Denver’s River North Art District, honored businessman Taylor Owen, a former president of the Hep C Connection board.
While sampling hors d’oeuvres and a lavish array of chocolate desserts, the 250-plus guests placed their silent auction bids while jazz musicians provided some lively tunes. Cynthia Hessin, an executive producer for KRMA, was mistress of ceremonies, encouraging everyone to bid high and bid often on the array of weekend getaways, pieces of art and tickets to various sports match-ups.
Among the guests: Sherry Jackson, executive director of the Colorado Democratic Party, and Adrian Miller; Jim Bernuth; Christy Calvin; Cheryl Anderson; Betsy Hoover; Jared and Sarah Hamilton; Ann McDougal; Don Rowe; Ron and Charlene Bushe; Carma Lytle; and executive director Nancy Steinfurth.
Hepatitis C is a blood-borne liver disease that affects an estimated 4 million in the United States. Symptoms include fatigue, rash and/or stomach pain, and often go unnoticed. Hep C is transmitted by IV drug use, transfusions involving tainted blood, needlestick injuries and high-risk sexual behavior. It can lead to cirrhosis, end-stage liver disease or liver cancer.
For more information, visit hepc-connection.org.
Inductees announced
Mercury 13 “astronaut” Rhea Woltman of Colorado Springs; rancher-conservationist Sue Anschutz-Rodgers of Carbondale; and Colorado Supreme Court Justice Jean Dubofsky of Boulder are among the 11 who will be inducted into the Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame at a March 11 dinner at the Donald R. Seawell Grand Ballroom.
The others are Sister Alicia Cuaron, a nun and human-rights activist; Evie Dennis, former superintendent of the Denver Public Schools; Capt. Katherine Keating, a pharmacist and U.S. Navy officer; equal rights advocate Mary Lou Makepeace; and Lily Nie, founder of Chinese Children Adoption International. Posthumous honors will go to education activist Ann Petteys of Brush; Eliza Routt, Colorado’s first first lady; and golfer Mildred “Babe” Didrikson Zaharias.
Society editor Joanne Davidson: 303-809-1314 or jdavidson@denverpost.com. Also, .
