Sure, everyone has a lot of fun dressing to the Denim & Dazzle theme — pairing sequin tops with blue jeans or Western shirts with tuxedo slacks and jackets.
Wardrobe choices — or the the crystal chandeliers imported for the occasion — aren’t the only things that light up this fundraiser for Delta Eta Boule.
What shines brightest is the delight of the 10 young men who are recipients of the $10,000 scholarships that the fraternity grants each year.
Young men like Noah Spicer, a graduate of Overland High School who is en route to Atlanta, where he will major in political science at Morehouse College.
Spicer had been the president of Overland’s Speech and Debate Club and one of those presented at the 2015 Jack & Jill Beautillion. He also was the first-place finisher at a Harvard Debate Camp.
His mother, Tara Spicer, and godfather, Terrance Carroll, accompanied him to Denim & Dazzle. Carroll is a former former Speaker of the Colorado House of Representatives and last week became a partner at the Butler Snow law firm.
Chaired by Steven A. White, president of Comcast’s West Division, Denim & Dazzle was held in the Seawell Grand Ballroom and included dinner, dancing and a live auction called by Gary Corbett. Net proceeds are still being tallied, but are expected to exceed $100,000.
Denver County Court Judge Gary Jackson, chairman of the Delta Eta Boule Foundation, introduced Spicer and the other nine scholarship recipients to the 540 guests.
Chibueze Agwu, a graduate of Regis Jesuit High School will attend Washington University in St. Louis while classmate Quin Cotton is heading to Grand Canyon University in Arizona. East High grads Brandon Arnold and Jordan Drummond are enrolling at the University of Colorado Boulder. Overland alum James Artis will attend the University of Denver with Jabril Jeylani from Thomas Jefferson High School.
South High’s Ahmed Mohamed and Ezinna Ohaya of Denver School of Science and Technology are heading to Colorado State University, while George Washington High grad Lavelle Simmons will be at Santa Clara University in California.
In addition, Pipeline Scholar Awards for highest and most-improved grade point averages in college were presented to Quyncc Johnson and Nathaniel Bradley.
Jackson noted that since its start in 1998, the Delta Eta Boule Foundation has granted scholarships to 70-plus young men. Future plans call for expanding the program to include those attending community and junior colleges.
Boule members also serve as mentors to the scholarship recipients. Those assigned to the Scholars of 2016 are David Walker, Stacey Campbell, Marc Wallace, Eula Adams, Mario Trimble, Eric Nesbitt, Hadley Evans, Ken Taylor, Wiley Daniel and Benjamin Rodgers.
Rodgers and his wife, Toni, are relative newcomers to Denver; they run the McDonald’s restaurants at Denver International Airport.
Colorado Lt. Gov. Donna Lynne and her husband, Jim Brown; state Rep. Janet Buckner; Denver Mayor Michael Hancock and his wife, Mary Louise Lee; former Mayor Wellington Webb and his wife, Wilma; Aurora Police Chief Nick Metz and fiancee Tina Lombard; and Morgan Stanley executives Anthony Paul, Kevin Johnson and Don Davis were among those attending the gala.
Others enjoying the festivities were 2011 scholarship recipient Deion Graham-Long and 2015 scholar Jeremiah Hodges, who, come fall, will be a sophomore majoring in business administration at Hastings College in Nebraska; artist Darrell Anderson and his wife, Shawnee; Loretta and Dominic Robinson; Diana Whye, owner of the Essence of Life Massage and Wellness Center; Wanda Pate Jones, president of the board of the White Rose Foundation; Wil and Roz Alston; Angelin Thompson and Hollis Booker, who is Delta Eta Boule’s social actions chair and a three-time retiree: from the military, INROADS Colorado and the ministry.
