Honoree Irene Zarlengo
Honoree Irene Zarlengo, center,
posed with Event Co-Chairs Diana
Murdy, left, and Mary Rossick Kern.
Ed and
Barbara Greene, left,
Wayne and Diana Murdy and Jerry
Kern and Mary Rossick Kern. Ed
of CBS4 and KYGO was the event
emcee and Barbara did the print
design. Diana and Mary were the
Event Co-Chairsand Wayne and
Jerry were the Corporate Co-Chairs. |
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May 4th Was Red Hot!
It may have been cold and dreary
weather on May 4, 2006 but inside Grand
Hyatt Denver, the 10th Anniversary gala
was RED HOT! The night of celebration
was a salute to Irene Zarlengo, the
founder of the Volunteers of America
Guild, its loyal Founding Members,
and the hundreds of dedicated members
who have touched the lives of many over
the past decade.
Diana Murdy and Mary Rossick Kern
Co-Chaired the evening. Their spouses
Wayne Murdy and Jerry Kern heading
up the record-breaking corporate sales effort.
“We wanted something different for the
night,” said Mary. Fun was had by all–
the night sizzled from the yards of floor
length drapes around the room, creating
a cozy environment; to the luscious red
rose arrangements on each of the dinner
table. Favorites of Irene were incorporated
into the décor including her love of shoes
and champagne, thanks to the expert
work of David Squires and DesignWorks.
Grand Hyatt Denver Executive Chef John
Treusein specially prepared an outstanding
repast for the over 300 in attendance. Pastry Chef Sandra Adams took
desert
to the next level – creating miniature red
pumps filled with mocha pot de crème.
After dinner and a salute to the
Presidents of The Guild, a gentle roast of
Irene too center stage. “God looked down
and saw that we needed an angel,”
Dianna Kunz, President and CEO of
Volunteers of America told the guests,
referring to Irene Zarlengo, founder of
The Guild. “I learned fundraising 101
the Zarlengo way very early on,” joked
Dianna. Others who rose to salute Irene
included John Schafer, General Manager
of the Hyatt Regency Denver at Colorado
Convention |
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Center and
former General Manager of
the Grand Hyatt Denver, and Carol James,
Guild President from 1997-1999. The gentle
ribbing concluded with the Denver Post’s
Bill Husted. He read a few of the columns
that he had written about Irene over the
years.
Ed Greene of CBS4 and KYGO was the
master of ceremonies for the festivities.
“When I first met Irene, she informed me
that she wanted to always emcee her
events,” Ed told the guests. “Well, here I
am ten years later!”
The sizzling celebration continued with
a video surprise, cleverly titled “Desperate
Fundraiser,” based on the hit TV drama,
“Desperate Housewives.” Ten years of
memories scrolled by, as the voiceover
described a few scenarios and events
from the past decade. The ‘mini drama’
concluded with a photomontage of
wonderful memories, and was accompanied by the song “True Colors,”
performed by
Becky Barnett.
Scott Scully closed the event and brought
the guests to their feet, when he sang “A
Song for Irene” in Italian. He made his Opera Colorado debut as
Perdillo in Mozart’s The Abduction from The Seraglio.
Guild President Hermina Vigil presented
Volunteers of America, a check for $125,000, representing the net
funds raised from the dinner. The festivities ended with
a champagne toast - of course - and a
standing ovation. A wonderful tribute to a
lady who founded the Volunteers of America Guild and helped to raise
over
$1.25 million in support of Volunteers of
America. |
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