Steve Peterson, Special to The Denver PostDianne and Tom Honig chaired Western Fantasy.
Saturday night’s “Round-Up at the VOA Ranch” had plenty of cowpokes in boots and jeans; however, instead of ropin’ and ridin’ they were alighting from stretch Hummer limousines and putting one Lucchese in front of the other on the red carpet entry to the National Western Events Center where a filet of beef dinner and entertainment by Sara Evans awaited.
Western Fantasy 18: Round-Up at the VOA Ranch, chaired by Wells Fargo Bank’s regional president, Tom Honig, and his wife, Dianne, continued a rich tradition started when Sharon Magness Blake and Jean Galloway cooked up an idea for a fundraiser unlike any other for Volunteers of America.
It raises about $1 million — some years more, some years less — for the 30 human service programs operated statewide by VOA-Colorado. Programs like Meals-on-Wheels, the Brandon Center and Theodora House shelters, and the Foster Grandparent Program.
The evening’s dress code is dressy Western, and interpretations range from prairie skirts to leather and lace. Turquoise and silver are seen on bracelets, necklaces, rings, earrings, bolo ties and belts. Hats are optional; Stetsons and Resistols seem to be the most popular brands.
The down-home feel to this year’s Western Fantasy was established in the Events Center lobby, where the focal point was a 24-foot-wide mural of a cattle round-up. The arena floor, where the 1,000 guests gathered for cocktails, dinner and the show, had a Wells Fargo stagecoach parked to one side. It made for a perfect spot for the Honigs to perch when they delivered their welcoming remarks.
In keeping with tradition, the event opened with Sharon Magness Blake presenting the colors while riding her horse, Thunder, mascot of the Denver Broncos, around the area to strains of Lee Greenwood’s signature “God Bless the USA.” Greenwood is frequently at Western Fantasy to sing the song in person; he was unable to make it this year, so a recording was used.
Dinner — Angus tenderloin, sweet potato/maple syrup mash and warm white chocolate bread pudding by Epicurean Catering — was served at tables covered with tuquoise blue cloths and brown bandana napkins; centerpieces, by Bouquets, included sunflowers, cowboy lassos, reclaimed barbed wire, rustic copper containers, and dried sunflower heads bursting with seed.
A big surprise came when the live auction kicked off — literally — with a rousing number featuring caller Rick Rolf and several very limber dancers. It must have inspired the crowd because the seven items up for bid brought in a two-year high of $97,000.
The Bucket List — a package that includes two premium tickets and Southwest Airlines flights to the bidder’s choice of four top events, including the Kentucky Derby, the Daytona 500, the Rose Bowl and the Major League Baseball All Star Game — fetched the highest bid, $28,000 from David Copeland, senior vice president and general counsel for SM Energy. Copeland and his date, Rollie Jordan, were guests at a table hosted by Shereen and Michael Pollak, whose Hyde Park Jewelers sponsored the pre-dinner Hyde Park Saloon where guests could purchase shot glasses that may or may not contain a piece of jewelry.
Perhaps the luckiest shot glass buyer were the three members of the Harry Gorham family. Each of them bought a shot glass and each of them struck the jackpot.
Others at the Pollak table were Larry Mizel and Bogi and Solla Palsson. The Palssons recently moved from Iceland to Bachelor Gulch.
Gov. John Hickenlooper was a guest at Sharon and Ernie Blake’s table; Mayor Michael Hancock and his wife, Mary Louise Lee, were seated nearby, with a group that included City Attorney Doug Friednash; David Palmer from Greenberg Traurig and Bill and Verna Pauls.
Sharon Magness Blake joined Bob Bardwell, chair of the VOA-Colorado board, in presenting the Humanitarian Award to John and Anna Sie. John Sie is considered the father of digital television and in 1991 founded Starz Entertainment Group. It is now owned by Liberty Media and is the parent to such premium movie networks as Starz and Encore. They started the Linda Crnic Institute for Down Syndrome and the Global Down Syndrome Foundation, and are benefactors to such organizations as the University of Denver, the Cable Center, Denver Art Museum, Denver School of Science and Technology and the Mizel Museum.
Guests also included Janet Elway with fiance Kevin Kretzmar; Phyllis Coors with her son, Scott, and Scott’s partner, Dr. David Hurt; Libby and Tim Brown; former Humanitarian Award recipients Dianne Eddolls, Glenn Jones and Yvonne and Bill McCallum; Richard and Nancy Gooding; Susan and Ed Mueller of CenturyLink; 2010 Western Fantasy chairs Gayle and Ed Novak; Anita Padilla Fitzgerald of MegaStar Financial and husband Gene Fitzgerald of Merril Lynch; Adrienne Ruston Fitzgibbons and Kay Burke, chairs of the event’s Stars & Spurs Committee; Jennifer Daurio, Allison Klein and Monica Owens, chairs of the Young Professionals committee; Quinn Washington and Miss Colorado USA Blair Griffith; University of Colorado Hospital president Bruce Schroffel and his wife, Lorrie; Kalleen and Bob Malone; KYGO’s Kelly Ford with hubby Scott Patrick; Linda Shoemaker and Steve Brett; Carol and Bryce McTavish; Vicki and Trygve Myhren; Jeanne and Dick Saunders; Shery and Jim Galbreath; Marcia and Dick Robinson; Barry and Arlene Hirschfeld; Suzanne Garret-Duquette of the Wrangler Store; Cori Plotkin and Tyler Streetman, who were high bidders on the Las Vegas live auction package; Sarah and Matt Hogan; Emily Tarleton, president of the VOA Guild; Wendy and Bruce Glazer; Lyn and Dr. Michael Schaffer; Debi and Jerry Tepper; CBS4′s Ed Greene, the evening’s emcee, with his wife, Barb, and VOA president Dianna Kunz.
Joanne Davidson: 303-809-1314, jdavidson@denverpost.com and @GetItWrite on Twitter
