Ah, spring. It’s when flowers bloom, thoughts turn to romance, and the Latin American Educational Foundation holds its annual gala.
OK, so maybe romance isn’t a word one would associate with a dinner at which young scholars are recognized, awards are presented, auction items go up for bid, and a popular headliner entertains.
Unless you’re talking about LAEF’s Gala 2009, which took place Saturday night at the Sheraton Denver Hotel.
Somewhere between the salad and the main course, the words “I love you, Renee, will you marry me?” appeared on the giant screens that up until then had been showing photos from LAEF’s 60-year history.
Then a waiter appeared at the table at which Renee Velasquez was sitting and placed a dessert in front of her. And we’re willing to bet that the phrase “eat dessert first” will have special meaning to her from now on because nestled atop the red strawberry garnish was the diamond ring firefighter Dale Chavez then slipped onto her third finger, left hand.
The gala’s videographer had been alerted and was there to capture Velasquez’s emotional, enthusiastic “yes.”
Ron Montoya, Federico and Cindy Peña, Roy Romer, Mike Shaw and Rob and Lola Salazar chaired the gala, and joined LAEF’s executive director, Jim Chavez, and board president, Don Mares, in welcoming 900 supporters for an evening that also the stand-up comedy of Andrew Kennedy, a finalist in Comedy Central’s “Stand-up Showdown,” and music by War.
Ashley Maestas, a freshman at Adams State, was recognized as Student of the Year. She represented 125 in college this year, thanks to LAEF scholarships. “I grew up in a town of maybe 1,000 people in the San Luis Valley where incomes are low and families struggle to send their children to school,” she said. “No one seems to have anything nice to say about us, just that the kids in my town are nothing but troublemakers, but I pushed myself and studied hard because I wanted to prove everyone wrong. The day I was told I was being named Student of the Year was the happiest day of my life.”
Once she completes her studies at Adams State, Maestas plans to attend medical school and become a pediatrician. She was introduced by Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper.
Gov. Bill Ritter accepted the Sol Trujillo National Lifetime Leadership Award on behalf of the state’s institutes of higher learning; U.S. Sens. Mark Udall and Michael Bennet gave welcoming and congratulatory remarks.
Guests included Denver City Councilman Rick Garcia; Manager of Safety Al LaCabe; Thomas Ogas, head of the Latin American Research and Service Agency; Christine Johnson; Stan and Sarah Sena; Dr. Dean Prina; Caz Matthews; Patricia Barela Rivera; Juanita Chacon; Robert and Linda Alvarado; Tom and Amy Hirn; John and Stephani Hardon; Mike and Carol McGowan; Susan Stiff; Jan Top; Pat Cortez and Manuel Martinez; Toti Cadavidand Luis Colon; Luis Torres, interim deputy provost at Metropolitan State College of Denver, and Maureen Brooks, whose Brooks International brought in the entertainers.
