Dr. J at Porter-billups Leadership Academy gala
No one should have been surprised that it was a slam dunk to sell out the 2019 Porter-billups Leadership Academy Gala. Not when the special guest would be none other than the man considered one of basketball’s best slam-dunkers: Julius “Dr. J” Erving.
Approachable and easy-going, Erving delighted the 420 who attended this dinner event held at the Ritz-carlton Denver by reminiscing about his storied career in a conversation introduced by Chauncey Billups and moderated by radio personality Susie Wargin.
“He’s my hero,” Billups said. “I am so impressed by his humility and his willingness to serve others.” Billups, a Denver native, spent 17 seasons in the National Basketball Association, playing for teams that included the Boston Celtics, Denver Nuggets and Detroit Pistons before retiring in 2014 and becoming a basketball analyst for ESPN.
Billups joined the Porter-billups Leadership Academy in 2006, helping founder and executive director Lonnie Porter continue the three-week summer program that for 23 years has worked to educate and inspire children from low-income, inner-city neighborhoods.
“People often ask me why I do this,” Billups noted, “and I say ‘because someone did it for me.’ “
Signed by the Virginia Squires of the American Basketball Association in 1971, Erving retired from the Philadelphia 76ers in 1987 and was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1993.
While basketball remains a pleasant memory, Erving said that his focus today is on faith and family. “I do peep in on it from time to time to keep generally aware,” he said, “but honestly I like golf now more than I do basketball.”
While in Denver, he was able to have lunch with his friend and former Nuggets coach, George Karl.
Others speaking at the gala were PBLA graduates Monique Gonzales, Dr. Christopher Pride and Julius Wilson.
Gonzales, who credits the PBLA with taking her from an at-risk youth to a future healthcare provider, will graduate from Regis University in May with a doctor of pharmacy degree. She says the critical thinking skills that she learned at the PBLA will serve her well in providing the best possible patient care.
Pride was born in Northeast Denver and was raised by his mother, grandmother and greatgrandmother. He attended college in Alabama and now lives in Atlanta, where he is a nurse practitioner specializing in internal medicine and the treatment of infectious diseases. Julius Wil- son grew up in Denver’s Park Hill neighborhood and graduated from Columbia University in New York. He is working as a tutor at the New York Public Library while applying for graduate schools with the goal of becoming a professor of sociology, African-american studies or a related discipline.
Future leaders Dayanara Herrada-gomez, a student at Smith Elementary; Jayden Fox, a fifthgrader at Odyssey Denver School; and Chakarei Sharp, a fifth-grader at Hallett Elementary, also spoke.
A record $200,000 was raised, thanks in large part to the $50,000 gift that Shortline Auto Group president Don Hicks and his wife, Laurie, gave to launch the evening’s special appeal. A live auction called by John Clatworthy and Ken Holzworth brought in another $50,000.
Wanda Harris, a member of the PBLA advisory board, was there with a group that included her cousin, Brian Kennedy, a Grammy-winning producer and composer who has worked with such stars as Rihanna, Chris Brown, Jennifer Hudson, Kelly Clarkson and Rascal Flatts and is exploring ways he can help the PBLA.
Faye and Dr. Reginald Washington were there with son Quinn, daughter and son-in-law Danielle and Alvin Lacabe, and grandchildren A.J. and Jaren. Jay Mills, whose Jay’s Valet provides valet parking for numerous charity events, was perusing the silent auction with Casey Fisher of the Semper Fi Fund, while PBLA advisory board chair Kelly Condon joined Sunny Porter and Staci Porter-bentley in extending a welcome to such VIP guests as former Gov. Bill Ritter and his wife, Jeannie; former Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey and his wife, Maggie; chef Troy Guard; Chad and Lisa Glauser; Sherman Brown; and Milroy and Cheryl Alexander.
Others enjoying the festive affair were Regis University president John Fitzgibbons; Piper Billups; Dr. Bob Sancetta; Gaylene Harris; Marc and Gail Wallace; Alicia Harvey; Sandra Roberts-taylor and her husband, Tracy; Nina Sonovia Brown; Eula and Janet Adams; Carla Long-harris; Jim and Kathryn Kaiser; Chuck and Barbara Williams; Bill Fortune; and Wil Alston, president/ceo of the Urban League of Metropolitan Denver, with his wife, Roz.