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COLUMBINE MEMORIAL COMMITTEE COUNTING
ON JULY 20th GALA TO BOOST FUND-RAISING EFFORTS
High-Profile Organizers To Plan Dinner Event
July 8, 2004
LITTLETON, CO – Sharon Magness Blake, Jean Galloway
and other high-profile Colorado citizens have joined with
the Columbine Memorial Committee to sponsor a gala that
is expected to raise thousands of dollars for a permanent
memorial to honor the victims of the April 20, 1999 shootings
at Columbine High School.
The Columbine Memorial Gala will take place July 20, 2004
with an expected sell-out crowd of 700 in the Tower Grand
Ballroom of the Adams Mark Hotel at 16th and Tremont in
downtown Denver. The event includes a reception, dinner
and silent auction.
“We cannot officially let you know who the guest speaker
is yet,” said Sharon Magness Blake, Gala co-chair.
“Lets just say he is a very prominent national political
figure who was as deeply touched, as we all were, by this
tragedy.” Magness Blake did add that the featured
speaker has extended his stay in Denver, while on a national
book tour, to be able to attend the Columbine Memorial event.
The Gala’s dinner committee includes notables such
as Michael Cheroutes, Rita Bass Coors, Mike Dino, Gary &
Lee Hart, Andrew Hudson, Dottie Lamm, James M. Lyons, Marjorie
Seawell, Tom Strickland, Craig Umbaugh and former Denver
Mayor Wellington Webb.
“The event will be a very special opportunity to raise
awareness, and significant funds to move forward with the
Columbine Memorial,” said committee chairman Bob Easton.
“The victims’ families and the community look
forward to the day when there is a permanent place of remembrance
and reflection other than the high school,” said Easton.
Easton said the Columbine Memorial Fund has set a goal of
$2.5 million for the Memorial, to be placed in Clement Park,
adjacent to Columbine High School. To date the Committee
has raised just over $700,000 in cash and in-kind contributions.
Earlier this year, services marking the fifth anniversary
of the Columbine shootings caused renewed interest in moving
forward with the memorial, which is slated to be completed
in 2006.
Tickets for the Columbine Memorial Gala range in price from
$250 for an individual to $25,000 for corporate sponsorship.
For donation and ticket information, contact Rose Corazza
at Foothills Park & Recreation District, 303-409-2106.
Details about the Columbine Memorial design can be found
at www.columbinememorial.org.
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