The dilemma the Colorado I Have A Dream Foundation faces for its annual roast is this:
Do you keep things low-key and positive, and risk putting the audience to sleep, or do you find someone who knows the roastee well and tell him to have at it with tales that might cause her to blush but will have the 800 guests rolling in the aisles
It was definitely the latter when Cole Finegan delivered a very entertaining monologue at the expense of Kelly Brough, the first woman to lead the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce.
“I’ve been dying to get even with Kelly for a decade,” Finegan began. “When I Have A Dream called, I said ‘Thank you, God.’ “
Finegan recalled that when she decided to leave her native Montana, she “jumped on her riding mower and headed to Denver” where she managed a leadership program at the University of Colorado Denver before becoming director of human resources for the city and county of Denver. She eventually succeeded Finegan as chief of staff to then-Mayor John Hickenlooper.
The barbs Finegan delivered were all in good fun, and were enjoyed by a crowd that included Mayor Michael Hancock, who presented the Jerome P. and Annabel C. McHugh Award to longtime IHAD board member Robert Hochstadt; Tom Boasberg, superintendent of the Denver Public Schools; event chairs David and Julia Simon; School Board president Nate Easley; Downtown Denver Partnership chair Ferd Belz; Urban League chief Landri Taylor; Jane McAtee of Southwest Airlines; Rob and Amy Alvarado; Rob Cohen; Rich Rainaldi and Martha Records; Rusty Wehner; and mistress of ceremonies Tamara Banks.
Joanne Davidson: 303-809-1314 or jdavidson@denverpost.com; also, twitter/GetItWrite
