Looks like Denver is going to be celebrity central in the coming months, and several nonprofits will be the better for it.
First in is Dick Vermeil, former head coach for the St. Louis Rams, Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs, who speaks at the Warren Village All-Star Breakfast on April 28. He’s followed by Mike Ditka, best known for 11 seasons spent coaching the Chicago Bears; Ditka headlines the May 17 Jewish Family Service Executive Luncheon.
Then, the Zarlengo Foundation teams with Comedy Works South to bring Jay Leno to the Ellie Caulkins Opera House on Sept. 10. Academy Award-winning actor Richard Dreyfuss comes in Sept. 23 to speak at a luncheon benefiting Arapahoe House and on Nov. 3, tennis legend Martina Navratilova is the keynote speaker for the annual luncheon hosted by the Women’s Foundation of Colorado.
For ticket prices, reservation information and the names of who’ll be planning these events, please visit my Seen First blog: .
While I was away.
Six hundred people attended the Buccaneer Ball, which helped Denver Museum of Nature & Science kick off its Real Pirates exhibit. . . . Barefoot PR’s founder and president, Cori Plotkin, added Sarah Hogan as a vice president to help manage the firm’s growing list of clients. They include the National Children’s Alliance, Restaurant Solutions and the Ireland Stapleton Pryor & Pascoe law firm. . . . Anne Donley, a special event planner for Nordstrom before moving to Wichita to work for Rowley Snyder Ablah Marketing Services, celebrated her engagement to Tom Smith with a party at miniBAR in Cherry Creek North. It’s where they had met. . . .. And, Girl Scouts of Minnesota and Wisconsin River Valleys sent word that Cathy Hart, who commutes from Denver to Minneapolis each week to fulfill her duties as vice president and corporate secretary for Xcel Energy, has been named a Woman of Distinction and will be among those honored in the Twin Cities on April 14.
Coming right up.
Mayor Bill Vidal is to speak at the Latino Community Awards reception that Denver Public Library is having at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Woodbury Branch, 3265 Federal Blvd. Recipients include Rita Flores de Wallace, Patricia Baca and Carlos Castañeda. . . . Urban Peak honors Caz Matthews at its annual Maverick Thinkers Award Dinner; it starts at 6 p.m. April 14 in the Seawell Ballroom and the $150 tickets can be purchased at . . . . Organizers are elated that the April 15 Hard Hat & High Heels Gala, a dinner and auction that celebrates the June opening of the new St. Anthony Hospital in Lakewood is sold out. . . . La Vie en Rose is the theme for an April 16 dinner to benefit the Epilepsy Foundation’s Jason Fleishman Summer Camp. Candy Palazzo is chairing the 6:30 p.m. event that extreme runner Diane Van Deren is emceeing at the Four Seasons Hotel Denver; there’ll be music by Jakarta and auction packages that include a 24-hour Tesla Roadster “experience.” Call 303-377-9774. . . . Same night: Betsy Allison, the U.S. Sailing Team’s paralympic coach, speaks at the Spirit of Sailing Gala. It’s a benefit for Community Sailing of Colorado, and the $100 tickets include dinner at Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum. Sign up at .
Joanne Davidson: 303-809-1314 or jdavidson@denverpost.com; also, and GetItWrite on Twitter
