On a night as clear and cold as the Rocky Mountain water long touted as the ingredient that gave Coors beer its edge, 830 people gathered at the Sheraton Denver Downtown to honor Peter Coors as the 2011 Citizen of the West.
Hailed as a straight shooter who lives by the motto “Say what you mean, and mean what you say,” Coors is the second in his family to be awarded the prestigious title. His uncle, Bill Coors, was Citizen of the West in 1992.
A longstanding tradition of the dinner is that the party favors are a reflection of the honoree. Miniature milk bottles, for example, were given in 2009, when Robinson Dairy principals Dick and Eddie Robinson were feted. And when Al Yates, then president of Colorado State University, was honored in 2002, the souvenirs were plush toy versions of CSU’s mascot, the ram.
So you couldn’t blame anyone for assuming — or at least hoping — they might walk away with a commemorative bottle of beer.
Alas, it wasn’t to be. But what they got was the next best thing: a six-pack of Pete’s Rocky Mountain Root Beer, a nonalcoholic, bottled- for-the-occasion soda that also was used for the root beer floats served for dessert.
The label had a photo of Pete Coors and another of his favorite sayings: “When you mess up, take your spanking, move on and try not to deserve one again.”
K.K. Ciruli and Tim Travis chaired the dinner and report that initial estimates are that it raised $200,000 for the National Western Scholarship Trust.
The trust supports 67 agribusiness, rural family medicine and large-animal veterinary medicine scholars at 10 institutes of higher learning in Colorado and Wyoming, including the University of Northern Colorado, the University of Wyoming, Lamar Community College, Adams State College, Casper College and the University of Colorado Medical School.
Robyn Scherer of Cedaredge expressed the gratitude that the scholars have for the financial assistance they receive; she is a student at CSU and hopes to become an agricultural journalist.
The Coors family — Pete and wife Marilyn; daughters Melissa Osborn, Christi Ficeli, Carrie Tynan and Ashley Coors; sons Peter and David accompanied by daughters- and sons-in-law Meredith Coors, Casey Tynan, Dave Ficeli and Mark Osborn — entered the hotel’s Plaza Ballroom as Jim Salestrom sang the late John Denver’s signature song, “Rocky Mountain High.” Salestrom had been part of Denver’s musical family and is about to embark on a world tour with Dolly Parton.
In addition to members of the Coors family, special guests that night included Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper; Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead; former Colorado Govs. Bill Ritter and Bill Owens; former U.S. Sens. Alan Simpson, Hank Brown and Wayne Allard; U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman; Wyoming Secretary of State Max Maxfield; the speaker of the Colorado House of Representatives, Frank McNulty; Jerry McMorris, chairman of the National Western Stock Show Association board; stock show president Paul Andrews and his predecessor, Pat Grant.
Simpson was Citizen of the West in 1990, and Brown had the honor in 2008. Simpson, accompanied by his wife, Ann, made the most of his Denver visit by visiting the Coors Western Art Show on the stock show grounds and delivering the keynote address at a luncheon celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Denver World Affairs Council.
Miss Rodeo America, McKenzie Haley of South Dakota, was there to help Miss Rodeo Colorado Kellsie Purdy of Estes Park and Miss Rodeo Wyoming Brittany Richards of Laramie welcome a crowd that also included Nancy Petry (her late husband, Nick, was Citizen of the West in 1986); Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey and his wife, Maggie; Newell and Judy Grant; Will and Shirley Nicholson; Bart Bansbach; Pete and Deedee Decker; Lois and Dr. Gerald Rainer; Andy Daly; University Hospital chief Bruce Schroffel and his wife, Lorrie, there with Sharon Magness Blake; John and Melinda Couzens (her mom, Sue Anschutz- Rodgers, was Citizen of the West in 2006); Art and Baba Bosworth; 1995 Citzen of the West Ben Houston and his wife, Nita; Faye and Dr. Reginald Washington; U.S. Bank president Hassan Salem; Tom and Margaret Bradbury; Chris and Sarah Hunt; Paul Esserman; Leo and Carole Hayward; Tim and Libby Brown; Bill and Sheilagh Hudon; 2011 Colorado Business Hall of Fame laureate Walt Imhoff and stepdaughter Stacy Ohlsson; John and Julie Mork; Anita and Dr. Joe Becky; Ron and Cille Williams; Dick and Maggie Scarlett; Doug and Nancy Jones; Brown and Mardi Cannon; Dave and Leslie Sogge; and former Kansas City Chiefs running back Ed Podolak, who served as master of ceremonies.
More online: Additional Citizen of the West Dinner pictures
Joanne Davidson: 303-809-1314 or jdavidson@denverpost.com; also, and GetItWrite on Twitter
