Good thing someone forgot to tell friends of Children’s Hospital that these are tough economic times. Otherwise, Gala 2008: Rooted in Tradition might not have shoveled aside all previous records and sprouted a $2.6 million profit.
That’s right: $2.6 million, thanks to 1,600 guests and some very generous sponsors.
Kristin and Blair Richardson, with help from a hand- picked committee and the draw of the Steve Miller Band, are the ones who made the 31st annual gala an unforgettable commemoration of the hospital’s 100th anniversary.
They did what is next to impossible in the current economic climate. They staged a benefit that was over the top in terms of elegance and fun, and then made it pay off by assembling a crowd willing to support the critical need for the kind of money it takes to treat the often desperately ill children who receive the best possible care regardless of a family’s ability to pay.
Who are the Richardsons? No strangers to big events, that’s for sure. More importantly, though, a couple with hearts of gold upon whom good fortune has smiled.
She heads the Denver Public Schools Foundation board and was the chair the year its annual gala raised $1.18 million. She also has chaired the Denver Art Museum’s very successful Louis Comfort Tiffany Lecture and Luncheon.
Kristin, a former E.F. Hutton bond trader, and Blair, a private equity investor, lived in Hong Kong and Toyko before settling here when he became managing partner of Bow River Capital Partners.
Read more about this event held at the Hyatt Regency Convention Center in my Seen First blog: blogs.denver .
Women of Distinction.
Girl Scouts of Colorado also had a full house when the Denver-area Women of Distinction were honored at a dinner held at the Marriott City Center.
The focus, of course, was on the 20 honorees. But the spotlight also shined on 18- year-old Shannon Anthony of Colorado Springs, one of only 10 Girl Scouts nationwide to receive the Gold Award in 2008.
She was given the Girl Scouts’ highest honor after writing, directing and editing a 30-second public service video about teen suicide prevention. The message is being used by Montana as part of its statewide suicide-prevention campaign; Shannon also posted it on YouTube and TeacherTube.
Read more about the adult honorees — Julika Ambrose, Mary Baca, Pamela Kenney Basey, Margaret Brown, Colleen Colarelli, Kay Daugherty, Raylene Decatur, Bonnie Downing, Dawn Engle, Lynn Gangone, Irene Ibarra, Frances Jefferson, Barbara Kelley, Mary Rhinehart, Lucinda Sanders, Sandra Scanlon, Lisa Snider, Teresa Taylor, Lynne Valencia and Barbara Yondorf — at . davidson
Society editor Joanne Davidson: 303-809-1314 or jdavidson@denverpost.com
