GIRL SCOUTS OF COLORADO

Denver

News: Over the past 20 years, Girl Scouts of Colorado has honored over 500 Women of Distinction. A new category was added this year, and the recipient was a man.

Joe Bronesky, general counsel at the Sherman & Howard law firm, is the first to be named Girl Scout Champion. This honor is bestowed for his decades of dedication to Girl Scouts of Colorado. He accepted it at the 2024 Women of Distinction Dinner, which brought 800 people to the Stockyards Event Center on Sept. 19.

Denise Burgess and Helen Drexler, who were Women of Distinction in 2019, chaired the event. Burgess is president/CEO of Burgess Services, a Denver-based construction management firm, and Drexler is the CEO of Delta Dental of Colorado.

For 30 years, Bronesky has provided pro bono legal guidance to the organization, advising its board of directors on fiduciary and governance and Girl Scouts staff on topics including contracts, leases, employment issues, risk management, and general legal guidance.

When he’s not in “lawyer mode,” Bronesky said, “I like to engage in Colorado outdoor activities, battle the rabbits for supremacy in my vegetable garden and the squirrels over our bird feeder, and get goofy with the grandkids.”

A second special award, the Woman of Distinction Gold Award, went to preservationist Dana Crawford, who initiated the first concept of urban renewal in the United States.

Her extensive list of projects dates back to the 1960s. Some of the most notable are the redevelopment of Denver’s historic Larimer Square and a $54 million revitalization of the Denver Union Station transit hub.

Her efforts have not been without challenges, yet Crawford said, “As a preservationist, I have to be optimistic and look on the bright side of everything. All the people who have been involved (with me) through these more than five decades, we all share a sense of pride about Denver – and the fact that its most historic block is still here.”

The Crawford Hotel, Denver Union Station and the Oxford Hotel were the event’s presenting sponsors.

The 2024 Women of Distinction were:

• State Sen. Janet Buckner

• Rebecca Chopp, president of Rebecca Chopp Enterprises and former chancellor of the University of Denver

• Andrea Fulton, former deputy director and chief strategy officer for the Denver Art Museum

• Karen McNeil-Miller, president/CEO of The Colorado Health Foundation

• Ramonna Robinson, founding partner of GFM|Center Table

• Marcia Romero, vice president/community affairs for U.S. Bank

• Simone Ross, CEO of the Colorado Women’s Chamber of Commerce and executive director of the Colorado Women’s Chamber Foundation

• Michelle Sie Whitten, president/CEO of the Global Down Syndrome Foundation

• Shannon Sisler, chief people officer at Crocs, Inc.

• Ale Spray, president/CEO of Hispanic Contractors of Colorado

About the organization: With some 16,000 members statewide, Girl Scouts of Colorado offers year-round activities for girls in kindergarten through 12th grade. The activities are designed to help them develop skills, make friends, and have fun while being seen, supported, and cared for. Colorado Girl Scouts take part in such traditional programs as camping and cooking over a fire, as well as those that help them develop financial literacy and money management skills, teach them about photography and podcasting, and learn goal setting and sales techniques through the annual cookie sale.

Website: girlscoutsofcolorado.org

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