What’s more Chicago: hot dogs or deep-dish pizza? Both have their very opinionated fans, but for a luncheon where legendary coach Mike Ditka was the speaker, Jewish Family Service went with the pizza. With a side of Caesar salad.
The food and football pennant centerpieces helped set a rah-rah mood for this event chaired by Gareth Heyman, Jamie Sarche and Debbie Silversmith. It raised $310,000 for the JFS programs that reach 23,000 people a year and include mental health counseling, family safety net services and assistance to homebound seniors.
Ditka shared anecdotes from his football career — he was a five-time Pro Bowl tight end for the Chicago Bears before becoming the team’s head coach for 11 seasons and then serving for another three with the New Orleans Saints — with the crowd that filled the main ballroom of the Grand Hyatt Denver.
The guests included Steve Kris, chair of the JFS board, and his wife, Elizabeth; Alan Mayer, who will succeed him, and his wife, Peggy; state Sen. Joyce Foster and her husband, Rabbi Steven Foster; Rabbi Eliot Baskin; Norm Brownstein; Steve Farber; Peter Kudla; Steve Shapiro; Leslie Ginsburg; Ken Weil; Dr. Dean Prina; Sheila Bugdanowitz; Terry and Dr. Jerry Rubin; Doug Seserman; Stu Raynor; Doug Antonoff; Charlie Gwirtsman; Dr. Nancy Reichman; Joyce Zeff; Gary Mobell; Lisa Farber Miller; Craig Fleishman; Marie Cardin; Pete, Angie and Tony Bruno; and CBS 4 anchor Jim Benemann, the master of ceremonies.
It’s all good.
Denver’s Biggest Bake Sale, featuring 7,000 cookies made from dough donated by Jacqueline’s Gourmet Cookies and then baked at Cake Crumbs Bakery in Park Hill, operates from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday at the Urban Market in downtown Denver’s Skyline Park. It’s a benefit for Cookies for Kids’ Cancer, and Alexia Bregman of Vuka energy drinks is the organizer. . . . The Virginia- based Council on Foundations has appointed Lauren Casteel, the Denver Foundation’s vice president of philanthropic partnerships, to a three-year term on its Community Foundations Leadership Team. . . . Certified public accountant Gary Saltzman of Centennial is the new chairman of B’nai B’rith International’s executive committee. He is a 25-year member of the organization and served as president of the Denver chapter in 1986. . . . Rolling Hills Country Club was the setting for a luncheon where Maureen Solomon was installed as president of the Colorado Symphony Guild, succeeding Virginia Leitz. . . . Gail Godbey is the new president of Denver Gyro Club and was installed at a roaring twenties-themed dinner that also marked the club’s 90th anniversary. . . . Gary Debus is the new chief executive at the Wildlife Experience museum. . . . Denver Jewish Day School honored Laurie Morris, Ellen Robinson, Leslie Sidell and Sandra Vinnik at its annual dinner.
Joanne Davidson: 303-809-1314 or jdavidson@denverpost.com; also, and GetItWrite on Twitter
