By Robert Sweeney
Colorado Gambler co-owner Sharon Sweeney has been delivering newspapers, selling ads, writing stories, and working with the high quality Gambler writing crew every week for the past 20 years. She is always busy and literally running here, there and yon from sunrise to sunset. She has a big heart and likes to help others.
In between her job of running the Gambler, she has been serving as the president of the Cherish the Children Guild for Beacon Youth and Family Center, a home for at-risk adolescents. She has served in many capacities for the nonprofit to help these children lead a better life.
This spring she volunteered to assist Goodwill Industries that employs more than 1,000 underserved people to dance on their behalf in a fundraiser for the nonprofit. All summer she danced her butt off for this nonprofit to help the disadvantaged and disabled among at-risk youth, who are receiving a hand up, not a hand out from Goodwill. You know the folks that have the stores all across metro Denver. The proceeds from these stores go to run the many Goodwill programs.
The particular program she danced for is a School To Work program that helps youths stay in school, work and graduate from high school. The Goodwill program has a graduation rate of more than 92 percent.
In addition to persuading casino bosses and marketing managers for business, she has been putting in long hours helping those who really need it. When these kids graduate many will go to community colleges assisted by funds from the new gambling laws passed a year ago to aid higher education at community colleges across Colorado.
I’m a proud father of this fine lady who is as pretty on the inside as she is on the outside. I’ve been proud of her from the days she was a paper sales kid on the streets of Craig selling newspapers on the streets of that city. She’s come along way and she’s done it by hard work, sacrifice, and having many loyal friends and a supporting family.
It was 20 years ago that she stepped into the Gambler and told me, “Dad, give me that ad salesman job and I can make this newspaper work.” I gave her the job and the rest is history. Sharon and a strong staff have built the Gambler up to a very viable and successful newspaper that cheers for the gaming industry each and every week!
She not only participated in the “Dancing For Youth” Goodwill fundraising gala patterned after Dancing With The Stars, she won the competition and was given the Judges’ Choice Award, which was the top honor against some very good competition. You’ll see her picture on the front page of this week’s Gambler.
Look out now casino operators, she’s dancing your way.
You will have to do the “quick step” and advertise in the best gaming publication in Colorado that cares for readers, casinos and kids.
