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ACE Welcomes Mitt Romney to Denver!

Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010

romney

ACE has lots to celebrate during its Tenth Anniversary this year, and we can think of no better way than with a special luncheon with former Governor and presidential candidate Mitt Romney!

Governor Romney is a great advocate of school choice, and we are honored to have him join us for this one-time luncheon in support of ACE.


This luncheon is proudly brought to you by the Luncheon Host Committee and presented by our generous sponsors:


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ACE 10th Anniversary Spring Luncheon with

Governor Mitt Romney

Thursday, May 27, 2010

12 PM - 1:30 PM

Denver Marriott City Center

To RSVP visit www.acescholarships.org/romney

There is a cost to attend; visit our online registration page for details


Like us, Governor Romney recognizes the social and economic benefits to improving graduation rates and producing a well-educated workforce. He knows that our financial well being tomorrow depends on the quality of our education system today.


So please consider joining us for what should be an exciting celebration. This will be a unique opportunity to hear one of our nation’s leading policy experts discuss the critical issue of reforming our public school system so every child has access to a quality school.


Attendees will receive a complimentary, autographed copy of Governor Romney’s new book just released today, “No Apology: The Case for American Greatness.”


We look forward to seeing you as we celebrate ten years of providing hope to at-risk children!

Seating is limited for this one-time event, so please visit our online registration page at

www.acescholarships.org/romney; all proceeds benefit ACE, a 501(c)(3), and donations are tax deductible to the extent allowed under the law.

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ACE 10th Anniversary Spring Luncheon Host Committee

Monday, March 1st, 2010

Luncheon Host Committee

ACE Board of Trustees

William Armstrong, Chairman, Cherry Creek Mortgage Company

Don Bailey, Chairman & CEO, Triton Investment Company

Kendall Bailey, Arby’s/ The Bailey Company

Bill Bergner, President, Berco Resources, LLC

Richard N. Brown, Denver

George Caulkins III, Greendeck Capital

Jay Cleary, Principal, Financial Designs, Ltd.

Terry Considine, Chairman & CEO, AIMCO

Alex Cranberg, Chairman, Aspect Energy

Peter Dea, President & CEO, Cirque Resources

Steven Farber, President and Founding Partner, Brownstein, Hyatt, Farber and Schreck

John Fox, Chairman, MWHC Holding Inc.

Mike Fries, President  & CEO, Liberty Global

Steve Friess, Friess, Inc.

Charlie Gallagher, Chairman & CEO, Gallagher Enterprises

Francisco Garcia, Founder & CEO, Garcia International

Caleb Gates, Retired V.P. & Principal, Denver Investment Advisors

Henry Gordon, President, Strata Capital

John Ikard, President & CEO, FirstBank

Bud Isaacs, Chairman, RIM Operating

Mike Kennedy, President, Kennedy Real Estate Investments

Don Law, President, Prima Exploration

John Leede, Manager-Exploration, Leede Operating Company

Dick Lewis, Chairman & CEO, Avant Premium Water

Scott Lowery, Chairman, CEO & President, Collect America

Tom Marsh, Executive Vice President, Lockheed Martin Space Systems

Anne McCarthy, Executive Vice President, Western Union

Ed McVaney, Retired President & Founder, J.D. Edwards

Julie Mork, Managing Director, ECA Foundation

Jim Mulvihill, Principal, Black Creek Capital

Ralph Nagel, President, Top Rock LLC and Chairman of ACE Board of Trustees

Michael W. O’Shaughnessy, President, Lario Oil & Gas Company

Jack Overstreet, President, Legacy Energy

Bill Owens, Colorado Governor 1999-2007

Roger Parker

Tom Petrie, Vice Chairman, Executive Client Coverage Group, Merrill Lynch Petrie

Jim Piccone, President, Resolute Natural Resources

Paul Rady, Chairman & CEO, Antero Resources Corporation

Ben Rainey, President & CEO, The Pando Group

Walter Rakowich, CEO, ProLogis

Scott Reiman, President, Hexagon Investments

Blair Richardson, Partner, Bow River Capital

Dick Robinson, Co-Chairman, Robinson Dairy

Jeff Ross, President and CEO, Ross Aviation

Dick Saunders, Chairman & Treasurer, Saunders Construction Company

Rick Schmitz, Partner, SKS Ventures, LLC

Vince Schmitz, Chairman, Citywide Banks

Scot Sellers, CEO, Archstone-Smith

Mark Sexton, CEO, Evergreen Energy, Inc.

Eric Sipf, Chairman, Imerica

Chris Smith, President, Cochlear Americas

George Solich, President, Cordillera Energy Partners, LLC

Dell Van Gilder, President, Van Gilder  Insurance Corp.

Luis Villarreal, President, Save Our Youth

Bonnie Vivian, Retired President & CEO, Denver Biomedical

Jim Wallace, Partner, BWAB Exploration

Eric Weissmann, Managing Director, Kachi Partners

Peter Wells, Chairman, Wells Property Holdings

Scot Wetzel, Chairman, United Western Bank

Pat Wiesner, President, Wiesner Publishing

Wayne Williamson, Partner, Plexus Capital

Don Wolf, CEO, Quantum Resources, LLC

Earl Wright, President & CEO, AMG National Trust Bank

ACE Board of Advisors

Ben Addoms, President, Quintess

Robert Attai, Partner, Husch Blackwell Sanders, LLP

Brad Billingsley, Partner, Lockton Companies

Tony Bolazina, President, Northern Trust Bank

Lindsay Brown, Vice President, Jones Lang LaSalle

Judy Cain, Partner, EKS&H

Blake Carlson, Partner, Carlson Associates

Melissa Corrado-Harrison, First Vice President, Merrill Lynch

Michael Davis, Associate, Greenberg Traurig

Debbie Donner, President, Han Chaparral

Rick Eldridge, President and CEO, Intuitive Insurance Corporation

Nate Ford, Partner, Faegre & Benson, LLP

Eric Holt, Managing Director, Bessemer Trust

Mike Hommel, Owner, Designs by Sundown

Patrick Johnson, President, SimonDavis, Inc.

Hendrik Jordaan, Partner, Holme Roberts & Owen, LLP

Brian Jumps, Partner, Kamlet Reichert, LLP

Randy Kenworthy, Managing Partner, Caddis Capital

Kurt Kittleson, President, Concord Energy

David Livingston, President, United Western Bank

Bruce MacDonald, President, MacDonald Hardwood Floors

Tate McCoy, Executive Vice President, Lockton Companies

Bryan Miller, Vice President, InnerWorkings

Tim Miller, CEO, Synergy Services Inc.

Kevin Mitchell, Partner, RedCloud Capital, Inc.

Marcus Mollmann, Owner, New West Investments

Todd Neugebauer, Partner, CHx Capital, LLC

Rick O’Donnell, President, Acton Foundation for Entrepreneurial Excellence

David Puchi, Managing Director, Baceline Investments

Tim Schafer, Principal, Schafer Thomas, P.C.

Joseph Smith, Partner, Bartlit Beck Herman Palenchar & Scott, LLP

Jerry Sommer

Josh Stewart, CEO, X Jet

Shawn Stigler, Partner, Stigler, Wussow & Braverman Ltd.

Mike Ward, Owner, Mike Ward Infiniti

Eric Wolf, Partner, Bow River Capital

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A Decade of Service

Monday, January 4th, 2010

Ten years ago several business leaders, including Alex Cranberg, Charlie Gallagher, Ed McVaney, John Saeman and myself, joined together to form a non-profit organization out of a growing concern for the quality of education being offered to Colorado’s low-income communities, particularly in inner-city Denver.

More kids were dropping out than graduating; far fewer were going on to college. So the Alliance for Choice in Education was formed one decade ago this year to give choice to children who ordinarily have none.

Middle- and high-income families have educational choice: they either move to neighborhoods with good public schools or pay private school tuition. Low-income parents don’t have that luxury. Their children attend the government assigned, neighborhood school, whether it’s a good school, or not; whether the educational environment suits their child’s learning style, or not; whether that school will prepare their child for the future, or not.

For ten years ACE has provided a lifeline to these kids, offering them a chance to start anew in a private school of their choosing. The results has been consistently higher graduation rates, higher ACT scores, higher college-acceptance rates, more satisfied parents and more confident children.

After more than 6,000 scholarships totaling more than $15 million, we feel more empowered than ever to continue applying pressure to the status-quo; to continue rejecting the notion that some children can’t learn; to continue leveling the playing field for at-risk kids and providing them with an opportunity to learn in a safe and structured environment.

A decade of service is indeed a milestone that should be celebrated, but it pales in comparison to the hundreds of milestones ACE kids have reached throughout the years – the first in their family to graduate from high school; the first to attend college; the first to reject the temptations of their troubled communities and strive for something greater.

Many years ago (I won’t say how many), I was the first in my family to graduate from college. My life was forever changed by the opportunities that opened up to me. Ultimately that’s the mission of ACE – to change kid’s lives through education.

Thank you for your support these past ten years. Here’s to another great decade.

Ralph Nagel
Chairman of the Board

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