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