Whether it was a passion for fashion, a desire to help find a cure for diabetes, or a combination of the two, the 2008 Brass Ring Luncheon wound up being the most successful to date, grossing $300,000 from the 875 guests and a host of generous sponsors.
Judy McNeil chaired this benefit for the Barbara Davis Center for Childhood Diabetes while Sally Frerichs, Gretchen Pope, Jan Rosen and Lisa Corley were the masterminds for the silent auction and Jewels for Hope sale that took place right before everyone sat down to lunch and a Saks Fifth Avenue fashion show in the Marriott City Center’s grand ballroom. (For more pictures from the event, see page 3D.)
The show is the signature event of The Guild of the Children’s Diabetes Foundation at Denver and members Nancy Cowee, Jane Kranich, Juliann Lyons, Lynn Rooney and Nancy Waring were among those who went above and beyond by filling multiple tables. Patty Jenkins was both a premiere sponsor and high bidder on a hummingbird brooch donated for the occasion by former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.
McNeil and her husband, Charlie, who heads the family-run NexGen Resources, enjoyed the support of family and friends: sons Ryan and Travis were there with their wives Erin and Celeste, while daughter Kealey attended with her husband, Clayt. Niece Deborah Thorson and cousins Sharon Frescus, Darwin Schmidt and Cindy Laurunen were seated with Judy’s friends Deborah Weister, Caroline Karlin, Nancy Lusk, Kathy Crapo and Karen Possehl.Sally Newcomb announced that Jamie Angelich would chair Brass Ring in 2009 and introduced Gail Johnson, who will succeed her as president of the guild.
What a surprise.
Many have tried, or so one might think, but only Judi Wolf succeeded in pulling the wool over Donald R. Seawell’s eyes.
He may be 96, but the founder and chairman emeritus of the Denver Center for the Performing Arts is still sharp as a tack. So when El Pomar Foundation decided to honor him with a special Lifetime Achievement Award at its 20th Awards for Excellence dinner, organizers knew the only way they could pull it off was to involve his dear friend and confidante.
The whole thing was so hush-hush that the award wasn’t even mentioned on the invitation.
Wolf concocted some wild tale about the DCPA being honored, then picked him up in the Wolfmobile and headed off to the Pikes Peak Center for the Performing Arts in Colorado Springs.
Thus, Seawell didn’t suspect a thing when he arrived to find his successor, Dan Ritchie, along with artistic director Kent Thompson and such loyal supporters as trustees Joy Burns, Jeannie Fuller, and Lester and Rosalind Ward at seats inside the center.
It was only after the program had begun that Wolf had to ‘fess up. “I leaned over and whispered that he was going to have to make a two-minute speech — but that he had three minutes to prepare it. And as only Donald could, he pulled it off with aplomb. He spoke eloquently and emotionally, even though the honor came as a complete surprise.”
Society editor Joanne Davidson: 303-809-1314 or jdavidson@denverpost.com; also, blogs.denverpost,com/davidson
