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Over 180 guests gathered this past
September 8th, 2006 in the parish center of the
Immaculate Heart of Mary church in Grand Junction for the annual
Catholic Diocese of Pueblo Foundation dinner for residents of
the Western Slope. Hosted by Bishop Arthur Tafoya and the Board
of Directors of the Foundation the evening featured a wonderful
array of hors d’oeuvres, wines from St. Kathryn’s Cellars and a
gourmet dinner provided by Omar’s Catering.
Guests were treated to an enlightening and
inspirational talk by Gunnison native, Rebecca Dussault. A world
class Nordic Skier and recent Olympian, Rebecca shared with the
audience the rigors of being a top athlete who has tried to
balance a worldwide travel and training schedule with a family
and a commitment to her faith. She is the only skier in any
discipline who travels with her husband and young son. She
freely admits she is an oddity in the high pressure world of
international sport. Her talk garnered a standing ovation from
the appreciative crowd. In keeping with her “family first”
commitment, Rebecca was joined by her husband, Sharbel, young
son Tabor and mother-in-law Carol who all mingled with the
crowd.
The Grand Junction Dinner is especially
geared to bringing the Foundation’s message to Western Slope
residents. In such a large Diocese it is nice for the local
Board members to gather in areas other than Pueblo. Local
Foundation Board members who helped make the dinner such a
success were, Stella Shanks, Tony Prinster and Jack Duray of
Grand Junction. Valerie Mortell represented Telluride, Father
Carlos Alvarez trekked from Pagosa Springs and Board Chairman
Cathy Valenzuela came in from Gunnison.
A special award was presented to former
Board Member, Carol Murphy, who recently completed six years of
service to the foundation. Carol has been instrumental in
increasing the visibility of the foundation in the Grand
Junction area. Two new Board members will replace Carol. They
are Ann Brach and Shelia Zipse.
The mission of the Foundation is to
encourage spiritual and material growth by providing financial
assistance for needs that exceed parish or diocesan resources.
After expenses, almost $18,000 was raised that will go directly
to the foundation to support grants for the coming year.
This dinner would not be possible without
the most generous support of sponsors in the Grand Junction
area. This year’s GOLD sponsors were St. Mary’s Hospital,
represented by Bob Ladenburger and Enstrom’s Candies who also
supplied tasty treats at each seat.
Mike & Nikki Blackburn of Callahan-Edfast
were the Social Hour sponsors, and St. Kathryn’s Cellars
generously donated all the wine for the evening. Mesa Moving
and Storage sponsored a new fundraiser this year, the Pot O’Gold.
Table sponsors included;
Joe and Del Prinster, Lucille Haggerty,
Hale & Mary Luff, City Markets, FCI Construction, Home Loan
Investments, St. Joseph’s of Grand Junction, Holy Family School,
IHM of Pagosa Springs, George and Stella Shanks, Tony and Stella
Prinster, Jack and Liz Duray, and IHM of Grand Junction.
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