Having a well-connected person on the acquisitions committee has certainly paid off for the 10th-anniversary Mask Project. Thanks to Frances Owens, the Denver Hospice scored what is believed to be a first for similar events worldwide: getting a sitting president to decorate and autograph a mask for the month-long fundraiser that opens May 1 at Cherry Creek Shopping Center.
Owens, it goes without saying, is super-prominent in Republican circles and didn’t have to ask twice before sending a blank mask to the White House for President Bush to festoon with the presidential seal and other memorabilia representative of the nation’s highest office. And on Bush’s last visit to Colorado, Owens got him to personalize it with an autograph.
Owens shared that hot little tidbit with us Wednesday evening, when Mask Project supporters gathered in the lobby of the Denver Newspaper Agency for a “buzz party” attended by Mask Project founder Mickey Ackerman, Cherry Creek Shopping Center boss Nick LeMasters, The Denver Hospice CEO Bev Sloan and about 150 others.
Excited as she was about the Bush mask, Owens was quick to point out that the benefit is “definitely bipartisan” and politicians from both parties are well-represented.
Her own mask will be another “first” — a first ladies’ mask that’s a hands-on collaboration among herself, Dottie Lamm, Bea Romer and Jeannie Ritter.
Wednesday’s cocktail gathering was one of two special events whose goals were to generate excitement for both the Mask Project opening and the May 31 gala being chaired by Douglas Kerbs, Roselyn Saunders, Geoff McFarlane and Valere Shane.
The other was a fashion show and pampering party at Macy’s Cherry Creek. There, guests viewed spring styles from the store’s Impulse department, various salon services and Mask-tinis.
The Mask Project, held every other year, generates significant funds for the Denver Hospice via the live and silent auctions conducted online, on-site and at the gala itself.
“This year’s gala is going to blow everyone away,” Ackerman promised. “There’ll be lots of surprises, lots of special touches.” It’s expected to sell out at 1,200 people.
The Denver Hospice, formerly Hospice of Metro Denver, began 30 years ago, serving an average of three patients a day. Today, the daily census is 700, yet the mission remains the same: to be sure no one dies alone, while suffering or without the dignity they deserve.
Guests at the “buzz party” also included Larry and Devora Deutsch, whose Clear Choice dental-implant company is the gala sponsor; Bill Amundson, who did masks on behalf of George Clooney, Ellen DeGeneres and Matt Lauer; Linda Christie-Horn, co-chair of the event’s promotions committee; Holly Kylberg; real estate broker and mask contributor Rollie Jordan; hospice board members DaVita Bruce; Pat Lee; Rob Lail; and Monica Owens.
Society editor Joanne Davidson: 303-809-1314 or jdavidson@ ; also,
