There were many happy people at the Noble Energy Gala on the Bridge. None, though, with a grin so large as the one on Jeff Shoemaker’s face.
Shoemaker is the executive director of the Greenway Foundation, the host organization for this cocktail party and dinner held under a canopy on the historic 19th Street Pedestrian Bridge that spans the South Platte River near Riverfront Park.
Everything had aligned so perfectly, he said, that he’d be “Going to bed tonight with smile cramps.”
Chaired by Ellen and Jason Winkler, the co-founders of INDUSTRY Denver, Battery 621 and Q Factor, the Noble Energy Gala on the Bridge began with cocktails, hors d’oeuvres and music at the foot of the bridge. Then guests were seated for a beef tenderloin dinner from Catering by Design and the presentation of the 2016 Hero of the River Award.
It went to the Urban Drainage and Flood Control District for working in partnership with the Greenway Foundation to protect, preserve and enhance the South Platte River.
As Noble Energy’s senior vice president/U.S. Onshore Chip Rimer put it: “The river we see today is nothing like it was before. It connects communities, it’s soothing and when you visit it your stresses go away.”
“Every great city has a river running through it,” Jason Winkler added. “Denver is no exception.”
Elected officials attending the gala were Northglenn Mayor Joyce Downing; Idaho Springs Mayor Michael Hillman and Denver City Council members Rafael Espinoza, Stacie Gilmore, Kendra Black and Jolon Clark. Deputy chief of staff Evan Dreyer represented Denver Mayor Michael Hancock.
Kip Stastny, chairman of the Greenway Foundation board, was there with his wife, Janelle; vice chair Bar Chadwick was there, too, joining a crowd that also included Gloria Schoch, community affairs manager for MillerCoors, and Rhys Duggan, president/CEO of Revesco Properties. MillerCoors and Revesco Properties were the gala’s presenting sponsors.
Others taking part in the festivities were Mark Smith, the 2011 Hero of the River Award recipient; Sterling Ranch principals Harold and Diane Smethills; Chris Frampton, managing partner of the Denver division of East West Partners, and his wife, Yvette Pita Frampton; city planning consultant Ellen Ittelson; sculptor Rik Sargent; architect David Tryba and his wife, Stephanie; Sandy Christensen, a vice president at Balfour Senior Living; and Tom and Brooke Gordon, developers of DriveTrain, a mixed-use development being built in Denver’s River North (RiNo) neighborhood.
Joanne Davidson: 303-809-1314, partiwriter@hotmail.com and @joannedavidson on Twitter
