From fending off hostile Indian tribes and Confederate soldiers in the 1860s to combat in the Middle East today, members of the Colorado National Guard have been here to serve and protect. To show their appreciation, 1,000 attended the 2010 Colorado Military Ball.
Guests ran the gamut from royalty (His Royal Highness Lt. Gen. Prince Faisal Bin Al Hussein of Jordan) to politicians, corporate leaders and ordinary citizens who just wanted to say “thank you” during a dinner and dance held at the Colorado Convention Center.
Speakers included Gov. Bill Ritter; Craig McKinley, a four-star general in the National Guard who grew up in Colorado and flew in for the occasion from his home in Washington, D.C.; and historian Geoff Hunt from the Community College of Aurora.
Hunt recalled how the Colorado guard, now some 5,300 members strong, began in January 1860, when leaders in what was then Jefferson Territory authorized the formation of the Jefferson Rangers and the Denver Guards. Prince Faisal was there to express his thanks for the training soldiers from his country receive via the Colorado National Guard.
Guests also included former Colorado National Guard adjutant generals John France and Mason Whitney and their wives Carole France and Miriam Whitney; Brig. Gen. Trulan Eyre, commander of the guard’s 140th Wing at Buckley Air Force Base, and his wife, Debi; and Dan Lousberg, Command Sergeant Major of the Colorado Army National Guard and his wife, Jackie, and Maj. Gen. (ret.) Andy Love and his wife Virginia.
Others there: Tom Allee, CEO of Military Destination Marketing; Col. Jack Wilhite; Matthew Burchette and Natalio Banchero of the Military Vehicle Collectors of Colorado; and Lt. Gov. Barbara O’Brien with her husband, Dr. Richard O’Brien.
More good stuff
On Monday, Arlene Mohler Johnson tries her hand as a conductor when the Junior Symphony Guild presents a Tiny Tots Inside the Orchestra concert Feb. 8 at Boettcher Concert Hall. Afterward, she joins maestro Tom Jensen and others for lunch at Baur’s Ristorante. Details: … Dick and Jeanne Saunders open their home Wednesday for a cocktail reception that kicks off ticket sales for a New York-themed gala benefiting Kempe Children’s Foundation. George and Gail Johnson are chairing the April 16 event that also celebrates contributions to Kempe by the late Georgia Imhoff … The Av’s Better Halves — wives and girlfriends of Colorado Avalanche players and coaches — collected 6,637 diapers, 13,244 baby wipes and $3,500 in cash for The Gathering Place.
Joanne Davidson: 303-809-1314 or jdavidson@denverpost.com; also, and GetItWrite on Twitter
This article has been corrected in this online archive. Originally, due to incorrect information provided to The Denver Post, this column contained several inaccuracies. The National Guard has 5,300 members. The titles for Andy Love and Dan Lousberg were incorrect, and the full title for Prince Faisal of Jordan is His Royal Highness Lt. Gen. Prince Faisal Bin Al Hussein. The Colorado National Guard holds cultural exchanges with Jordan under the National Guard State Partnership Program.
