Celebrity Night & Day Golf Classic Raises Record Amount for Morgridge Academy

On June 27- 28, more than 200 business and philanthropic leaders gathered with local sports and media celebrities for dinner and golf to raise money for Morgridge Academy at National Jewish Health. The Celebrity Night & Day Golf Classic raised a record-breaking amount of nearly $285,000.

Left to right: Vic Lombardi and Marc Steron.

Proceeds from the event support Morgridge Academy, a kindergarten through 8^th grade school for chronically ill children, located on the campus of National Jewish Health. Morgridge Academy is the only school of its kind in the country providing a healthy environment where students learn to manage their illnesses and succeed academically, medically and socially.

During the program at Shanahan’s, National Jewish Health Chair of the Board of Directors Steve Kris shared, “We must protect our students as they and their families wait anxiously for the vaccines to be approved in the younger age groups. While data show healthy children are less affected than adults by COVID-19, studies have shown children with underlying conditions are at increased risk for complications from the virus. So for the health, safety and education of our students, we are thankful you have joined us for this event. Your support makes a tangible impact in their lives.”

The two-day Celebrity Golf Classic included dinner and golf with local celebrities, including actor John Ashton, retired soccer legend Marcello Balboa, former Denver Nugget Bill Hanzlik and former Rockies player Steve Reed. Co-chairs of the event were Marc Steron, managing partner of Shanahan’s, chair of the National Jewish Health Development Board and member of the National Jewish Health Board of Directors, along with Altitude Sports Radio host Vic Lombardi.

Celebrities, sponsors and attendees kicked off the event with dinner, and live and silent auctions at Shanahan’s, one of Denver’s top steakhouses. A Pebble Beach Resorts^® live auction package, which offered the opportunity to compete at the Lexus Champions for Charity tournament in Pebble Beach, California, went for $25,000 to an anonymous donor. The second day of the event took the golfers and celebrities to Sanctuary golf course in Sedalia, Colorado.

In addition to Lombardi and Steron, the National Jewish Health Celebrity Night & Day Golf Classic committee included: Joe Assell, Frank Borman, Stanton Dodge, David Engleberg, Brad Farber, Laszlo Pook, Rich Goins, Meyer Saltzman, John Spagnola and Allen Walters.

RE/MAX was the presenting sponsor of the tournament. The partner sponsor was Shanahan’s Steakhouse, while the Birdie Foursome sponsors were Alliant Insurance Services, Greiner Electric, Morgridge Family Foundation, and World Wide Technology/DELL. See the complete list of sponsors online.