Denver honors 150 ‘unsung heroes’ on sesquicentennial
In celebration of its 150th birthday, the City and County of Denver has selected 150 of its citizens to honor as “unsung heroes” – ordinary people who have done extraordinary things to help make Denver a better city for this and future generations.
On November 22, 2008, Mayor John Hickenlooper hosted a ceremony at the Colorado History Museum to recognize these 150 residents, officially kicking off the City’s birthday. “Denver succeeds because of the character and dedication of these honorees,” Hickenlooper said. “Because of their work, passion, commitment or activism, they are truly unsung heroes.”
The 150 honorees and their contributions span all neighborhoods and all ages and reflect the spirit that makes Denver a great City. Here are 150 Wonderful Thing about Denver.
The City received nearly 300 nominations. A committee of public and private officials from numerous City, civic and private organizations selected the honorees based on established criteria. The nominees had to be living, they had to reside or work within Denver, their work had to be transformational and they had to be an “unsung hero” – someone who has not been widely recognized or distinguished in the past.
The committee strived to select heroes representing all parts of the City as well as the broad diversity of City life. City employees were excluded from the nominating process as they are honored separately by their peers for their contributions to the City.
The 150 honorees were awarded a special plaque signed by the Mayor as well as gift bags featuring items from City and County of Denver Division of Theatres & Arenas, The Rocky Mountain News, 5280 magazine, Cherry Creek North, Cherry Creek Shopping Center and Starz Denver Film Festival.
The ceremony began with honoree Hazel Miller singing “America the Beautiful” and with a 150-year tribute film commissioned by Downtown Denver Partnership. Westword Editor Patty Calhoun served as emcee.
Following the reception, Mayor John Hickenlooper cut the ribbon to open the Colorado History Museum’s all-new exhibit Imagine a Great City: Denver at 150, featuring the events, people, communities and politics that have shaped Denver over the past 150 years.
Denver’s 150 Unsung Heroes
- For biographies, visit http://www.rockymountainnews.com/pages/news/special-reports/denver-150-capsules
| Will Adams |
Joe Craft |
David Greenberg |
Paddy McClelland |
Cleo Parker Robinson |
| Rosalinda Aguirre |
Dana Crawford |
Hill Hadley Hooper |
Tommi McHugh |
Tom Robinson |
| Linda Alston |
Isetta Crawford-Rawls |
Dea Harmon |
Candy Meininger |
Anthony Romero |
| Sueann Ambron |
Carl Crookham |
Rosalind Harris |
Henry Meininger |
Lucy Roucis |
| Jerry Arca |
Noel Cunningham |
Anna Jo Haynes |
James Mejia |
Dawn Russell |
| Marilyn Auer |
Alicia Daigler |
Nita Mosby Henry |
Morey Melnick |
Toni Saiber |
| Mary Baca |
Arzella Dirksen |
Chanda Hinton |
Jose Mercado |
Joyce Schlose |
| Kathy Bacon |
Marcia Donziger |
Paulette Hirsch |
Dana Miller |
Toni Schmid |
| John Bailey |
Sandra Douglas |
Matthew J. Hogan |
David Miller |
Gwen Scott |
| Bradford W. Bates |
Tom Downey |
Walter Isenberg |
Hazel Miller |
Dara Shalette |
| Gladys Noel Bates |
Sue Dunn |
Kirk Johnson |
Nettie Moore |
Ted Wood-Prince |
| Robbie Bean |
Ed Dwight |
Arthur Jones |
Jesse Morreale |
Betsy Stapp |
| Richard Bell |
Norm Early |
Rev. Leon Kelly |
Chuck Morris |
Nick Sterner |
| Jan Marie Belle |
Pera Beth Eichelberger |
Richard Krugman |
Karen Nakandakare |
Shane Sterner |
| Bart Berger |
Marion Ellerbee |
Sally Kurtzman |
Elaine L. Neal |
Grace Stiles |
| Lacey Berumen |
Margaret Escamilla |
Francois Lacour-Gayet |
Khoa Nguyen |
James Todd |
| Joan Birkland |
Ray D. Espinoza |
Dora-Lee Larson |
Sen Nguyen |
Les Townsend |
| Carl Bourgeois |
Matthew Faas |
Leona Lazar |
Joel Noble |
Harry Tuft |
| Matthew Brady |
Mark Falcone |
Carol Lease |
Thomas Noel |
Alicia Valladolid-Cuarón |
| Fred Brockmeyer |
Jeff Fard |
Rich LeDuc |
Andy Nowak |
Sean VanBerschot |
| Fred Brockmeyer |
Robert Flory |
Harry Lewis |
Joe O’Dea |
Rich Von Luhrte |
| David Burgess |
Amy Ford |
Lloyd Lewis |
Carrie Olson |
Dave Walstrom |
| Charlie Burrell |
Leslie Foster |
Randle Loeb |
Jerome Page |
Chip Walton |
| Carl Clark |
Sarah Lee Foster |
Laura Love |
John Parvensky |
William Allen West |
| Todd Clough |
Jean Galloway |
Stevon Lucero |
Don Pearson |
Roz Wheeler-Bell |
| John Cohen |
Marjorie Gilbert |
Lunden MacDonald |
Lonnie Porter |
Keith White |
| Megan Colvin |
Grace Gillette |
Evan Makovsky |
Dr. Dean Prina |
Hazel Whitsett |
| Stella Cordova |
Nita Gonzales |
Bernadette Marquez |
Julie Reiskin |
Sid Wilson |
| Charlie Cousins |
Tom Gougeon |
Timothy Marquez |
Daniel J. Ridgeway |
TG “Woody” Witte |
| Jane Craft |
Hugh Grant |
Eric Matelski |
Terrance Roberts |
John Wright |