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Yip Foundation gala spreads the love

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The Shaolin Hung Mei Lion Dancers welcome the Year of the Tiger at gala benefiting the . Photo by Steve Peterson, Special to The Denver Post

Afraid that the not-so-hot economy would impact the success of the 2010 Nathan Yip Foundation Gala, Linda Yip literally spent every waking hour working the phones, calling everyone she knew — and a few she didn’t — in an effort to drum up ticket sales.
“Linda was very, very scared that no one would come this year,” her husband, Jimmy, recalled. “So she used her charm and made phone call after phone call.” Trouble is, while Linda did a bang-up job of selling, she maybe wasn’t so great at keeping count. “Very quickly the event was sold out,” Jimmy said, “but she didn’t realize that it had. So, if it seems more crowded than usual tonight, it’s because of Linda didn’t get off the phone.”
The Yips started the foundation following the 2001 automobile accident that claimed the life of their only child, Nathan. The money raised at an annual Chinese New Year Gala is used to build or renovate schools and orphanages in rural, impoverished areas of China, Africa and Mexico, gestures that are a living legacy to the philanthropic spirit Nathan had embraced from childhood to young adulthood.
The foundation also supports literacy efforts in Colorado, and malnourished children in Haiti. A special red envelope appeal conducted during this year’s gala raised $5,875 and will be donated to the Colorado-based Healing Hands of Hope to purchase and distribute packaged meals to children affected by Haiti’s recent earthquake. Healing Hands representative Nancy Pederson was at the event to speak briefly about its work.
The gala itself raised $260,000 — an 11 percent increase over last year.
Quite a few of the guests were there because they’re fans of , a graduate who has gone on to become an international opera star. Tian’s performance at the gala was the grand finale to a week’s worth of appeareances throughout the Denver area. He was accompanied by his wife, Martha Liao, a former geneticist at Denver’s Eleanor Roosevelt Center.
Also entertaining was , who came to Colorado two years ago for a part in the Central City Opera’s premiere of “Poet Li Bai” and stayed to enroll at the Boulder. His accompanist was Cherry Creek high school sophomore Sabrina Luo, whose father, James Luo, is the Yips’ godson.
A host of international visitors flew in for the festivities, including such dear friends of the Yips as Sri Redjeki from Jakarta; Catherine and Jacky Lam from Hong Kong; Stephanie and Kevin Tung of Shanghai (she is Nathan Yip’s godmother); Su Zhou of Canada; and Wallace Chan of Hong Kong.
Agatha Kessler, a member of the Nathan Yip Foundation board and CEO of Fentress Architects, flew to Hong Kong to escort Chan, a jewelery designer whose pieces typically range in price from $50,000 to $7 million, to Denver. They arrived the night before the gala and were at Channel 7 at 7:30 a.m. the following day for an interview where talked about pieces he had designed for sale at the Yip Foundation event.
They included a purple butterfly (the butterfly is the Yip Foundation symbol) set with a natural purple sapphire, pink sapphire, diamonds, white gold and titanium. It was purchased by Kessler’s husband, Curt Fentress.
George Schock, owner of the new George Schock Gallery in Cherry Creek North, donated a framed photograph of the San Juan Mountains that was purchased at the live auction by Anna and . Schock was introduced to the Nathan Yip Foundation by longtime supporters Gayle and Gary Ray when he moved to Denver and leased their Cherry Creek townhome.
The Sies were joined by their daughter and son-in-law, Michelle Sie Whitten and Tom Whitten; Anna’s brother, Tony Maglione, of New Jersey; and his daughter, Courtney Maglione, who recently moved to Denver.
Another piece that generated considerable attention in the live auction conducted by Gary Corbett was a quilt made from beautifully embroidered pieces containing the 12 signs of the Chinese zodiac. Members of the Miao minority group from the village of LiZi, where the fifth Nathan Yip School of Hope was built, did the embroidery as a gift to the Yips, and foundation volunteer Anne Sneed, who had visited the school in China last spring, spent countless hours incorporating them into the quilt that was eventually purchased by Peter Kudla.
Sneed and her husband, Bob, brought many new supporters to the gala, including Doug and Sharon Scott; Ginny and Rob Bayless; their daughters, Alison and Kate Sneed; Lindsay and Grayson Heller; and Robbie Schweiss.
Crestmoor residents Denise and Kevin Gliwa invited a group of their Jasmine Street neighbors: Martha and Dr. Irfan Hussain; Melissa Manassee, who served on the gala committee; Dr. Jay Reusch, the cardiologist pictured on the cover of 5280 magazine’s best doctor issue from 2007, and his wife, Dr. Jane Reusch, who is considered one of the nation’s top endocrinologists.
As a show of thanks for the foundation’s participation in a Colorado UpLIFT Guild literacy program, past presidents Ryta Sondergard, Peggy Hector, Joyce Wilson and Kathy Emmons purchased a table for the gala.
Emmons and her husband, Dr. Larry Emmons, also donated a week’s stay at their brand new home in Mexico to the evening’s auction. The home, Kathy said, is so new, that the high bidders will have to wait until the furniture is delivered before arranging their stay.
Sondergard’s husband, Steve, donated a signed copy of his newly published book, “Climate Balance,” and lunch; the package went to John Sie.
Denver Lyric Opera Guild members Jackie Writz and her husband, Robert, and Becky Gantner and her husband, Gary, also were there. The Writzes were high bidders on a 5-night, 6-day luxury stay for two in California’s wine country.
Other familiar faces in the crowd: Diana Lee and Dr. Roy Stahlgren; Stephen Seifert; Sandy Vinnik; Harvey and Joanne Sender with their son, Ben; Ding-Wen and Tai-Dan Hsu; Ellen Robinson; Diana and Jim Vickery; Frank and Sherry Sargent; Robin McDougal; Alan and Jackie Forker; Mike and Nancy Branigan; Jan and Sheldon Steinhauser; Meiko Nakumura Bailey and daughter Hanako Bailey Smith; videographer Mike Kalush, whose wife, anchor , emceed the gala; Celeste Fleming with her daughter, Anne, and friend, Penny Eucker; Gerry and Fred Miale with daughters, Cara and Gwen Miale; Krista Argramonte, who has chaired the silent auction since the gala’s start, and her husband Eric Mohr; Karen Valliant, who introduced her long time friend, Kellee Hasler, to the NYF and Hasler, owner of Events Unlimited, was so impressed that she volunteered her time to help coordinate event logistics; Paul Ramsey of Shaver-Ramsey Oriental Rugs; Suky Yip; Tarika Cefkin; Allan Cheng; Lien Loi; Lisza Gulyas; and John Kenny.

: or jdavidson@denverpost.com; also, GetItWrite on Twitter

PICTURES: denverpost.com/seengallery


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