Annual Gala - Colorado Black Chamber of Commerce

CBCC 40th Anniversary Gala

Get ready to celebrate excellence, community, and 40 years of impact! We are bringing back our premier signature event for an unforgettable evening. From the VIP reception to the awards program and dinner to the lively entertainment, this gala is more than a celebration—it’s a moment to connect with key business and community leaders, honor achievements, and envision the future together. Join us in marking this milestone anniversary and be part of an extraordinary tradition that uplifts, empowers, and celebrates the best of Colorado’s Black business community. Let’s party like it’s 1985!

We are actively seeking sponsors to join us in making this event a success. For sponsorship opportunities, please contact Dr. Angelic Cole via email at Dr.Angelic.Cole@cbcc.biz to help champion diversity and business leadership in Colorado.

Sponsorship Details

Purchase Sponsorship

Thank You to our 2025 Event Sponsors

Saturday, October 25, 2025
5:00 pm – 10:00 pm

VIP Reception
Dinner & Awards
Networking
Entertainment
…and more!

Purchase Tickets

Keynote Speaker

Denise Burgess

Denise Burgess is the President and CEO of Burgess Services, Inc., a Denver-based construction management firm. In 2017, she became the first African American Board Chair of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce. She has been recognized among the Top 25 Most Powerful Women by the Colorado Women’s Chamber of Commerce and received the Davide E. Baily Small Business Advocate Award, among others.

After earning a journalism degree from the University of Northern Colorado and beginning her career in broadcast management, Denise joined her father, Clyde Burgess, at the family’s HVAC business in 1994. Following his passing, she transformed the company into a nationwide construction management firm and
earned a construction management certificate from the University of Denver.

Under her leadership, Burgess Services has delivered major projects including the Denver Justice Center and the Westin Hotel at Denver International Airport—the latter awarded in 2017 as a $39 million contract, the largest of its kind to a woman- and minority-owned firm in Denver. The company continues work across Colorado with clients like the City of Aspen, City of Denver, and University of Colorado Boulder.

Denise attributes her success to strong support from family, her team, and her community, and remains deeply committed to giving back to Denver both personally and professionally.

Community Involvement

Co-Chair of Mayor Mike Johnston’s General Services Transition Team (2022)
Co-Chair for Small and Medium Size Business, Economic Relief and Recovery Council, Appointed by Mayor Michael Hancock (2020)
Denver Metro Chamber Board (Chair 2017-2018)
Denver Urban Renewal Authority (Chair 2011-2012)
Board Member– Denver Foundation (2012-2016)
Appointed Co-Chairman for the City of Denver’s Construction Empowerment Initiative/Disparity Study Task Force (2012)
Member of Political and Business Leaders Delegation to the White House (2012)
Co-Chair for Denver Mayor Michael Hancock’s Transition team for Development Services (2011)

Awards

Awarded the Ronald H. Brown Leadership Award from the United States Department of Commerce Minority Business Development Agency (2020)
Colorado Black Hall of Fame Inductee (2018)
Colorado Women’s Chamber of Commerce Top 25 Most Powerful Women (2014)
The Network Journal’s 25 Influential Black Women in Business Award (2014)
Girl Scouts of Colorado Women of Distinction Award (2013)
Finalist Denver Business Journal Power Book in Construction and Engineering Category (2009)
The Clara Brown Women Pioneer Award, Colorado Black Chamber of Commerce (2004)
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Humanitarian Award (2002)
District excellence award from the Small Business Administration (1999)

Special Appearance by

Robert F. Smith

Robert F. Smith is the Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Vista Equity Partners. Vista currently manages equity capital commitments of over $100Bn and oversees a portfolio of over 90 enterprise software, data, and technology-enabled companies. Since Vista’s inception, Smith has supervised over 600 completed transactions representing more than $320 billion in aggregate transaction value. In 2023, Vista was named Global Technology Private Equity Firm of the Year by Private Equity International.

In 2017, Smith was named by Forbes as one of the 100 Greatest Living Business Minds.

Smith is the founding director and President of the Fund II Foundation, dedicated to preserving the African American experience, safeguarding human rights, providing music education, preserving the environment while promoting the benefits of the outdoors, and sustaining critical American values.

In 2017, Smith signed on to the Giving Pledge. As part of his philanthropic commitment, he gave $20 million to the National Museum of African American History and Culture – the museum’s largest gift by an individual donor at the time.

Smith is the Chairman of Carnegie Hall and serves as the Vice Chairman of the Board of NAF, on the Board of Directors for the Business Roundtable, on the Board of Overseers of Columbia Business School, as a Member of the Cornell Engineering College Council, and a Trustee of the Boys and Girls Clubs of San Francisco.

In 2019, Smith made headlines by announcing that he would cover the student loans of nearly 400 Morehouse College 2019 graduates in a commencement address, a gift he later expanded to eliminate debts held by the students’ parents on their behalf. After his Morehouse pledge, Smith founded Student Freedom Initiative to relieve the crushing burden of student debt for STEM students at HBCUs, other MSIs and TCUs.

Smith has been a leading voice advocating for companies to take diverse internship candidates in STEM fields. Under his leadership, in 2019, Fund II Foundation launched internXL, a platform to match leading companies with internship candidates from communities who lack access to opportunities.

He also co-leads Southern Communities Initiative, a catalytic program to accelerate wealth creation and economic growth in six southern communities through locally led, measured and sustained initiatives.