The City of Denver and its Monte Pascoe Civic Leadership Award Committee are seeking nominations for a community member to be honored with the 2021 Monte Pascoe Civic Leadership Award.
Nominees should demonstrate:
Equality of all people — Dedication and conviction to stand for equal opportunity of all people.
Mentoring — Encouragement and mentorship to those who seek to act upon their civic leadership.
Service — Extraordinary service focused on the improvement of the local, national or global community.
Leadership — Willingness to assume responsibility for leadership and take necessary risks to improve the community.
The nominee who best demonstrates the above attributes will be presented with the award by Denver Mayor Michael Hancock at the annual Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce’s State of the City Luncheon, which is expected to take place in August this year.
Anyone is welcome to submit a nomination, which can be done by an online nomination form on the city’s website. Click here for a direct link.
The history of the award dates back to 2006 when the first Denver Civic Leadership Award was presented to Monte Pascoe posthumously to honor his legacy. According to a news release, Pascoe “exemplified the importance of civic engagement and leadership.”
A Denver Post article dated March 2, 2006, states that Pascoe died that day at age 71. He was a graduate of East High School and he and his wife raised three children in their longtime family home near Cheesman Park.
A prominent Denver lawyer, Pascoe helped file a lawsuit heard by the U.S. Supreme Court which ordered Denver Public Schools to desegregate its educational facilities. He also was a trustee for the Colorado School of Mines for 12 years and was president of the Iliff School of Theology Board of Trustees.
Pascoe’s other leadership accomplishments include serving as the executive director of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources, a commissioner on the Denver Water Board and chairing the Colorado Water Quality Control Commission.
No one was honored with the award in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, all receipts between 2006 and 2019 can be found on the webpage mentioned above.
