Urban League of Metro Denver 2014 Whitney M. Young, Jr. Annual Awards Gala

A full house of guests attended the Urban League of Metropolitan Denver‘s annual Whitney M. Young, Jr. annual gala at the Denver Marriott City Center. The theme for this year’s event— “One Nation Underemployed: Bridges to Jobs and Justice”–reflected current economic times and challenges.

Emcee LaRhonda Thomas of 9NEWS introduced guests to the evening itinerary followed by the singing of the National Anthem by Denver First Lady Mary Louise Lee. Later, comments were made from representatives from presenting sponsors– WalMart, Noble Energy and Barclays— and members from the Urban League’s Guild and Young Professionals Group.

At the VIP reception Interim Denver Urban League President/CEO Moses Brewer thanked sponsors and individuals for their support and welcomed Denver Mayor Michael Hancock to the podium. Hancock urged those in the room to focus on solving poverty issues.

“We must do everything we can to inspire hope in our young people and to break the cycle of poverty. We must create more opportunity by addressing low wages and low workforce participation.”

The Mayor then introduced Governor John Hickenlooper and Colorado Senator Mark Udall who each made some brief comments acknowledging the League’s economic and social impact in Colorado.

This year’s gala also recognized the late Edna Wilson Mosley, the first African American Councilwoman for the City of Aurora and a devoted activist with deep roots in various civil rights initiatives. After being elected to the Aurora City Council in 1991, Mosley served 12 years representing her district and focusing on civil rights, gender equality, veterans’ affairs, housing and education.

Gala Co-Chairs Rita Kahn and Bob Willis introduced this year’s McKinley Harris Distinguished Warrior Awards. This year’s award winners included:

Pat Cortez, Senior Vice President PR & Government Relations at Wells Fargo Bank. Cortez oversees Wells Fargo’s charitable contributions in Colorado where nearly $4.4 million are awarded each year to more than 900 Colorado nonprofit organizations. Prior to her current position, Pat managed Wells Fargo’s business development efforts among emerging markets, including the African-American, Asian, Latino and Women’s markets, with responsibility for nearly $1 billion in consumer assets.

Lonnie Porter, Founder/Executive Director of the Porter Billups Leadership Academy at Regis University. Porter is the winningest college basketball coach in Colorado history. Porter will put together his 38th and final men’s basketball team during the winter of 2014-15. With his 533 career victories, he has served at Regis longer than any other current men’s Colorado collegiate basketball mentor, and has the state of Colorado’s all-time best record for men’s collegiate basketball.

Phil Washington, RTD General Manager. Washington oversees the entire transit system, including the buses and trains, the build-out of FasTracks , and the Denver Union Station transit center. He was unanimously selected as RTD’s General Manager in 2009 by RTD’s board and is leading one of the most dynamic transit agencies in North America. Under his leadership, RTD is implementing the FasTracks program, one of the largest transit expansion programs in the country.

Elbra Wedgeworth, Chief Government and Community Relations Officer for Denver Health. Former Denver City Councilwoman Wedgeworth today is responsible for hospital policy matters on the local, state and federal level and also for community outreach initiatives. In 2008 she served as President/Chair of the Board for the Denver Convention Host Committee for the historic Democratic National Convention. For more than five years she served as Denver City Council Representative for District 8 and as Council President from 2003-2005.

Denver Urban League Board Chair Wayne Vaden introduced this year’s Chairman’s Award which went to Robert F. Smith, Founder/Chairman and CEO of Vista Equity Partners, a 14-year-old private equity firm managing $13 billion in capital and managing portfolios for some 20 software companies.

Smith gave a warm speech he said was directed to his children in the audience. He emphasized the need for parents and civic leaders to prepare for global competition and urged guests to prepare their  children to compete not just with other kids in class or even statewide but for the world’s emerging economic powerhouses such as India and China.

Besides hard work in the classroom, Smith emphasized creativity, innovation and love for one’s community.

“Love is all that matters,” he said. “It’s not just love of family, but love of community. So, express that love not just in words but in deeds, and in action. Create opportunities for those who really want to create a different life for themselves. Express that love through your activity, through your money..and through your time…”

For more information visit www.denverurbanleague.org or call 303-377-2790 for more information.