Gully Stanford, a longtime champion of Denver Public Schools and outgoing member of the Colorado Board of Education, will be honored by the Denver Board of Education during its meeting Thursday, Dec. 5.

The Board will host a reception for Stanford beginning at 6:30 p.m. and a special recognition will be held as part of the monthly public hearing beginning at 7 p.m.

The reception and the public hearing are being held this month at Bruce Randolph Middle School, 3955 Steele St.

"Gully has worked tirelessly over the past six years on behalf of all the students in the state but, in particular, the students of Denver Public Schools,” said Board of Education President Elaine Gantz Berman. “He was instrumental in helping to defeat Amendment 31, to pass Amendment 23 and to improve the School Accountability Reports. It is hard to imagine a more effective advocate for public education than Gully Stanford. We wish him the best and we will miss him."

Stanford’s term on the state Board of Education expires in January, 2003. Stanford has represented the First Congressional District on the Board since 1997.

Stanford is a former Regional Theatre Manager in Toronto, Atlanta, and Washington D.C., and the Public Affairs Director at Denver Center for the Performing Arts.

A graduate of Trinity College, Dublin (Ireland), Stanford became a U.S. citizen in 1985. He has served on numerous community task forces including Colorado Association of Non-Profit Organizations (C.A.N.P.O.), Citizens for Arts to Zoo, Arts for Colorado, Denver Public Schools (DPS) Budget Steering Committee, and Colorado Association of Commerce and Industry (CACI)/Denver Metro/Hispanic Chambers Education Committees. He is Past Chair of the Colorado Alliance for Arts Education, a Past Executive Board member of the Denver Metro Convention and Visitors Bureau, and holds a Doctorate of Letters (H.C.) from the Colorado Institute of Art.