2008 Awards for Excellence Individual Award Winners

Hank Brown

Winner: Ben S. Wendelken Special Trustees Award

Hank Brown began his distinguished career of service as a Naval Officer following his graduation from the University of Colorado. From 1972 to 1976 he held office in the Colorado State Senate, and then was elected to the United States House of Representatives where he served for ten years. In 1980, U.S. News and World Report recognized Brown as one of just three outstanding first-term Congressmen. In 1990 Brown was elected to the U.S. Senate where he served until 1996.
In addition to his service as an elected official, Brown served as president of the University of Northern Colorado from 1998 to 2002, making a lasting impact on the university. He then dedicated himself to the nonprofit sector when he joined the Daniels Fund as President and CEO in 2002.

Donald Seawell

Winner: Shrine of the Sun Award

Donald Seawell's early career was marked with a position on the Securities and Exchange Commission and service as an ambassador to France. Seawell soon shifted his focus and began a private law practice in New York City where his clientele was a "who's who" of the theatrical world. He became involved with theatrical performances, both on Broadway and in London, and began to produce and co-produce television and motion pictures.

Seawell's life took a major turn in the early 1960's when Helen Bonfils, principal owner of The Denver Post, and a partner of his in many Broadway shows, asked him to be her attorney and the attorney for the newspaper. He packed up his family and moved them west to Colorado, where he became the President and CEO of The Denver Post in 1966.

As a full-time resident of Denver, it was not long before he brought his love of the theatre to his new home. Seawell saw a need for the arts in the west and he had a vision to create a first class arts complex to fulfill this need. In 1974 he created the idea of building what is now the Denver Center for the Performing arts, which is one of the largest performing arts center in the world.

The Denver Center for thePerforming Arts has been the region's premier entertainment venues ever since. In 1998, it won perhaps the most coveted of national theater honors, a special Tony award as outstanding regional theater. Donald's passion and leadership in the arts community has truly made a lasting impact on the nonprofit community and the state of Colorado.


Dennis O'Malley

Winner: Russell T. Tutt Award

Dennis O'Malley knew at a young age that he wanted to go into hospital administration, but he didn't know that he would one day make a lasting impact on staff and patients alike. Dennis graduated from the University of Minnesota with a master's degree in Health Care Administration and quickly found his position at Craig Hospital, a world renowned rehabilitation facility that focuses on traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries. Craig is consistently ranked in the top ten rehabilitation hospitals in the United States by U.S. News and World Report.

O'Malley was only 25 when he became Craig Hospital's top executive. Since then, he is credited with tripling Craig's staff and with fostering an upbeat environment in a place where patients are grappling with catastrophic, life-changing events. During his 34-year tenure, he has succeeded in championing positive change at Craig Hospital. His energy and hands-on leadership style shows when he rolls up his sleeves to feed patients, or leads a spinning class at Craig's Wellness Center.

O'Malley has been a member of the Colorado Health and Hospital Association since 1976 and in 1999 was Chairman of the American Medical Rehabilitation Providers Association. He has also served on the Governor's Council on Physical Fitness, the Colorado Hospital Association, Denver Options, and Colorado Neurological Institute.

9News

Winner: Governor John A Love Award

Since 1987, the 9Health Fair has continued to increase access to quality care by providing free and low cost health education and screenings to thousands of individuals across the state. It's the only program of its magnitude that provides these services, impacting over 1.7 million people since its inception. 9News also facilitates 9 Cares Colorado Shares, which benefits Colorado through food and clothing drives across the state. The Rocky Mountain region's largest single day food drive collects over 190 tons of food from its collection sites, which is then given to human services agencies across the Front Range.

In addition to its innovative programs, 9News partners with numerous Colorado nonprofits to sponsor events and programs through media coverage and in-kind support. A recent partnership with the Susan G. Komen Foundation's 2008 Race for the Cure in Denver, made that event one of the country's largest with more than 60,000 participants.

From the news anchors on television to the workers backstage, the employees at 9News are committed to their community-based programs. They are not only a great contributor to our communities, but they set the bar for businesses in our state to give back to the people of Colorado.