Construction queen Linda Alvarado isn’t just smart, attractive and powerful — she knows how to make a joke at her own expense.
“Governor, I was in Ireland,” she shouted out to Gov. Bill Ritter, who, along with roughly 150 high-powered Latinos, attended the 33-day countdown kickoff reception and official Denver welcome for the 30th annual U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Convention last week.
“What do you call a Hispanic Irish girl?” Alvarado asked, referring to her heritage. She answered for the bewildered guv: “Maybe a green bean? Now that I think about it, I’m a leprechauna.”
Alvarado, who is chairing the first Latina Summit, a series of networking and informational events to promote and support Latina businesswomen, whipped up the crowd’s enthusiasm with her cheerleader comments.
“What we’re advocating at this convention is opportunity,” she said. “We’re advocating an even playing field. You’ve got to get in the game and celebrate diversity. Latinos are good at baseball, blacks are good at basketball, and women are good at . . . everything.”
Denver will host 3,000 to 4,000 visitors during the convention, business expo and Latina Summit on Sept. 16-19 at the Colorado Convention Center.
Water works.
Frontier chief executive Sean Menke jetted back to Denver on Friday from New York after concluding the bankruptcy auction between Southwest Airlines and Republic Airways Holdings.
Shortly after he touched down, Menke and chief financial officer Ted Christie chatted about the bankruptcy process and what lies ahead with reporters in a conference call.
Asked what future role he would have, Menke replied, “I’m going to take a long vacation.”
John Stemmler, president of the Frontier Airlines Pilots Association, also came back to Denver from New York on Friday. Which airline did he fly?
“The one with the animals on the tails,” he said.
When the Frontier folks landed at DIA, they were met by a cheering section of roughly 200 employees.
“We wanted to show our support for the unbelievable effort Menke, Christie and (vice president and general counsel) Matt Henry put in, not just last week in New York during the auction but real ly through the whole process,” Frontier spokesman Steve Snyder said. “People had written us off so many times during the last 18 months, and especially during the last few weeks, that we real ly felt we had reason to celebrate. It was probably the most emotional event I’ve witnessed since I’ve been here.”
The triumphant trio was treated to a water-cannon salute, with the apparatus borrowed from the Denver Fire Department stationed at DIA.
The seen.
Chris “Birdman” Andersen‘s monster truck — a black Freightliner SportChassis P4XL — parked in valet at the Ritz-Carlton Bachelor Gulch, where he was staying over the weekend.
Eavesdropping.
Two women — one in high, high heels — at the 33-day countdown kickoff reception to the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Convention:
“Did you wear those shoes all day?”
“Are you kidding? These shoes are meant for women with chauffeurs.”
Penny Parker’s column appears Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday. Listen to her on the Caplis and Silverman radio show between 4 and 5 p.m. Fridays on KNOW-630 AM. Call her at 303-954-5224 or e-mail pparker@denverpost.com.
