It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that in terms of karmic reward, it’s so much better to give than receive. So, as the Jefferson Foundation celebrated its 25th anniversary at a science- and technology-themed gala, the choice was to give gifts and accolades, not seek them.
Obviously that was the right move because the 23rd Crystal Ball, which brought an enthusiastic crowd of 500-plus to the Grand Hyatt Denver, raised $200,000 for foundation-sponsored aid to Jefferson County public schools.
By agreeing to emcee the dinner event, 9News anchor Kim Christiansen, an Arvada West graduate, found herself in a couple of interesting situations.
Her colleague, science specialist Steve Spangler, used her as the guinea pig for a demonstration of how various gases, including CO2 that he blasted over her from a fire extinguisher, can change the pitch of one’s voice.
Later, Christiansen stood by as auto dealer Lisa Schomp drew the winning ticket for the $30,000 BMW 128i she had donated for the Crystal Ball raffle. The winner, Jennifer Carlson, a teacher at Carmody Middle School, was not at the ball, so Schomp dialed her up on a cellphone to give her the good news.
Another very nice prize, a diamond pendant from Purvis Jewelers, went to Kathy Weiss, a recently retired school principal.
The gift-giving continued with presentation of the Crystal Globe for Distinguished Service to the Colorado School of Mines for its science outreach to Jefferson County schools. It was accepted by trustee Frank DeFilipo, who also thanked the foundation for its support of Mines’ Mobile Science Show, which visits grades K-12 in an effort to improve teacher competency and student aptitude in the applied sciences.
The Gold Crown Foundation, and its principals Ray and Fran Baker, was given the Norma Anderson Lifetime Service Award as thanks for the sports, art and technology enrichment programs Gold Crown offers to students at Creighton Middle School and at-risk teens along the Sheridan corridor.
Retired high school coach Tom Hancock and Cindy Stevenson led a tribute to the 2008 Distinguished Jeffco Almunus, Joe Romig. A graduate of Lakewood High School, where he was an outstanding athlete, Romig went on to study physics and astrogeophysics as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford and as a Danforth Scholar at the University of Colorado. He was a research scientist for the Voyager space exploration mission and attributed his success to Hancock and the teachers at Lakewood High School.
The president of the Jefferson Foundation board, Jeff Lamontagne, praised executive director Mona Sandoval for leading the foundation in helping the Second Wind teen suicide-prevention fund grow to become the primary provider of suicide-prevention counseling services for teens throughout the Denver area. Lamontagne is executive director of Second Wind.
In keeping with the high-tech theme, bids were collected via computer for a silent auction that included art, dining certificates, sports tickets and a basket filled with $1,000 worth of sports memorabilia and gear from Fletcher Mil- ler School.
Since its start, the Jefferson Foundation has given some $7.5 million in financial and enrichment support to Jeffco schools.
Society editor Joanne Davidson: 303-809-1314 or jdavidson@denverpost.com; also,
