The lyrics to a popular oldieAin’t no mountain high enough — certainly applies to Wendy Booker, who didn’t let multiple sclerosis stand in the way of completing her Seven Summits tour.
Booker is the first person living with MS to climb the highest peaks on each continent, and she was in Denver last week to share her success with the 550 who attended Women on the Move, a luncheon benefiting the Colorado chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.
Booker first took her show on the road in 1998, when she ran the Boston Marathon shortly after being diagnosed with MS, a disease especially prevalent in Colorado. Three-quarters of the estimated 400,000 MS patients nationwide are women.
The marathon was a toughie, Booker conceded, but it motivated her to do more. “I’m an accidental athlete; a Jazzercise dropout with a Boston/Junior League background. The only reason I said I’d try the marathon was to support a friend who had breast cancer.”
Finishing felt so good that she resolved then and there to take things to the next level. In 2002, she was the only woman on a seven- member team that attempted to summit Denali (weather prevented them from reaching the top). In 2004 she returned, becoming the first woman with MS to summit the peak also known as Mount McKinley.
In May, she will make her second attempt to climb Mount Everest, the world’s highest peak. Her attempt earlier this year fell short of the summit.
Francie Morgan chaired Women on the Move with help from a committee that included Carol High (sponsorships), Jane Grubich and Suzanne Beer (table captains) and Jessica Zukin (public relations). Cheri and Debbie Vargo led the special appeal and 7News anchor Theresa Marchetta emceed.
Others lunching on barbecued chicken salad at the Marriott City Center were Colorado Supreme Court Chief Justice Mary Mullarkey, Joanie Hartman, Monica Gelfond- Freedberg, Patty Lorie, Berta Naiman, Essie Perlmutter, Maxine Miller, Roz Ash, Andrea Hyatt, Gloria Kris, Carol Wagner, Angie Wolf, Debra Herz, Charlene Loup, Hyla Sloane, Jan Blankennagel, Sheryl Goodman, Janet Savage, Ellen Petrilla; Janet Pogar, Katy Spritzer, Lorna Gray, Jim Guttau and Cathie Beck, who is donating a portion from sales of her book, “Cheap Cabernet,” due out Oct. 6, to the society.
Coming right up:
A concert to help keep the Central City Opera’s educational and community programs alive begins at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Denver School of the Arts; tickets are $20 at the door. . . . Bell Mountain Stables in Castle Rock is the setting Thursday for Vaquero Gran Gala, a Mexican-themed dinner and auction benefiting the American Paint Horse Foundation’s therapeutic riding program. The $50 tickets can be reserved by visiting . . . . Also on Thursday, Kathleen Madigan headlines a show at Comedy Works Landmark Village that benefits Colorado Youth for Change. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. for cocktails, hors d’oeuvres and a silent auction; the show, also featuring Chuck Roy and club owner Wende Curtis, is at 7:30. Sign up at . . . . The Kids Cancer Golf Challenge, hosted by the Westin Westminster and O’s Steak & Seafood, starts at 10 a.m. Oct. 2 at Colorado National Golf Club in Erie; the $150 fee includes a barbecue and awards party afterward. Register with Amy Vogt, 303-410-5024.
Joanne Davidson: 303-809-1314 or jdavidson @denverpost.com; also, blogs.denverpost . and GetItWrite on Twitter
