Dinner honors Citizen of the West, raises $200K for scholarships
Irish eyes were smiling when the 2016 Citizen of the West, former Wyoming Gov. Mike Sullivan, was feted at a dinner that raised $200,000 for the National Western Scholarship Trust.
The Michael Collins Pipes and Drums, along with the Celtic Steps, an Irish step dance troupe, escorted Sullivan, whose grandparents hailed from the Emerald Isle, and his family into the main arena of the National Western Events Center. There, 920 guests were seated for a dinner emceed by Colorado’s honorary consul for Ireland, Jim Lyons, a Denver attorney who had been appointed U.S. Observer to the International Fund for Ireland in 1993 by then-President Bill Clinton. In 1998, Clinton picked Sullivan as the U.S. ambassador to Ireland, a post he held until 2001.
“I’ve never had so much fun in a horse arena,” Sullivan quipped as he accepted the customary Stetson and branding iron from his lifelong friend, former U.S. Sen. Alan Simpson of Wyoming. Simpson was Citizen of the West in 1990.
Sullivan also said it was interesting to note that he was raised in tiny Douglas, Wyo., the home town for the first Citizen of the West, the late sportswriter Red Fenwick, and that 1996 honoree Cliff Hansen was the grandfather of Wyoming’s current governor, Matt Mead.
Mead and his Colorado counterpart, John Hickenlooper, were among the elected officials attending the dinner planned by arrangements committee chair Maggie Morrissey and steering committee co-chairs Nancy Petry and Hank True.
In keeping with tradition, the meal from K-M Concessions included some of the honoree’s favorite dishes. Sullivan’s picks were a seared Wyoming Wagyu ribeye filet, chophouse salad and eggnog bread pudding.
Previous Citizens of the West there to help pay tribute to Sullivan included the 2015 honoree, Phil Anschutz; John Matsushima (2013); Pete Coors (2011); Dick and Eddie Robinson (2009); Hank Brown (2008); Marvin Beeman (2005) and members of the True Family of Wyoming (2004); the Ned and Mary Belle Grant Family (2001); and Dan Ritchie (1998).
Paul Andrews, president/CEO of the National Western Stock Show, and board chair Ron Williams were kept busy greeting such National Western supporters as attorney and former Speaker of the Colorado House of Representatives Terrance Carroll; retired University of Colorado Foundation president Wayne Hutchens and his wife, Joyce; Denver City Councilman Albus Brooks; Andy and Virginia Love; lobbyist Maria Garcia Berry; Ed Connors, a life trustee of the Denver Botanic Gardens and member of the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody, Wyo., and his wife, Hope; retired Johns Manville president Tom Stephens and his wife, Alice; Buck and Janie Hutchison; Ajay Menon, dean of the College of Agricultural Sciences at Colorado State University; Fancher Oil president George Fancher and his wife, Carolyn; John and Charla Morton; Kim and Sue Cannon; Dave and Linda Ehmann; Jack and Mary Cronin; and Bill Mosher and Molly Broeren.