L'esprit de France Gala

Boris Ravignon, Technical Advisor on Energy for President Sarkozy has been invited (awaiting his confirmation)

Guests will enjoy a cocktail reception, five-course gourmet dinner paired with French wines and prepared by French chef Jean-Luc Voegele, live entertainment by singers from Central City Opera, remarks by our guests of honor, awards presentation for Outstanding Contributions to French-American Business and Research Collaborations as well as live and silent auctions.

We are partnering this year with Central City Opera who will have two singers performing excerpts from this summer's operetta Orpheus in the Underworld, of French “can-can” fame, by Jacques Offenbach.  

In addition to presenting valuable programs as well as services to members, FACC and its affiliate organization, CORA, seek to identify and facilitate research and business collaborations between Colorado and France. Working closely with their economic development partners in France and Colorado, and with the support of research and business organizations in each market, FACC and CORA have contributed significantly to new research collaborations in renewable energy and business development opportunities for their members and cooperating organizations.

RSVP by May 5th to take advantage of  special rates!

$165 individual
$300 couple
$1,200 table of 8 people 

$175 everyone after May 5, space permitting

Click here to purchase your tickets today! or call 303-695-7818x102

6:00pm - Cocktail reception & silent auction
7:00pm - Dinner & program

Business or evening attire

The evening's menu was carefully crafted by French chef Jean-Luc Voegele and paired with wines from WJ Deutsch & Sons. 

Click here to view the menu

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Dan E. Arvizu became the eighth Director of the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). NREL, located in Golden, Colorado, is the Department of Energy's primary laboratory for energy efficiency and renewable energy research and development. NREL is operated for DOE by Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC (Alliance). Dr. Arvizu is President of Alliance and also is an Executive Vice President with the Midwest Research Institute, headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri.

Prior to joining NREL, Dr. Arvizu was the chief technology officer with CH2M HILL Companies, Ltd. Before joining CH2M he was an executive with Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He started his career and spent four years at the AT&T Bell Telephone Laboratories.

In 2004, Dr. Arvizu was appointed by the President and confirmed by the full U.S. Senate to be on the 24-member National Science Board, which is the governing board of the National Science Foundation and the national science policy advisory body to the President and the Congress. He chairs the Audit and Oversight Committee and is the co-chair of the Task Force on Sustainable Energy.

Claude Graff is the Executive Advisor of New Energy Technologies at Schneider Electric France and the CEO & founder of a consulting and investment firm, CRGTECH sasu. From 2007 to 2009, M. Graff took over the creation and the development of the Renewable Energies Business Unit at Schneider Electric. He successfully realized the acquisition of the Canadian company Xantrex (photovoltaic inverters manufacturer) for $400 million and the development of solutions and services for the group in solar and wind sectors.

M. Graff has also been, since its creation in 2005 and until 2009, the chairman of the French New Energy Technologies competitiveness cluster, Tenerrdis (based in Rhone-Alpes) with more 200 members (corporations, researchers, academics and local communities) and whose ambition is to strengthen the competitiveness of businesses through innovation and to enhance the attractiveness of the territory.

Since 2002, M. Graff has been a member of the Board of Directors of Gimelec and chairs the Renewable Energy Committee. He has participated at the government convention “Grenelle of Environment” in 2007. Since 2008, Claude has also been a member of the Board of Directors of Grenoble INP (Institut Polytechnique de Grenoble).  

Amelie Company

Central City Opera

 View photos from the 2009 Gala

Testimonial from our 2009 Guest of Honor:
"The French-American Chamber of Commerce's L'Esprit de France Gala is a terrific event, which my wife and I put on our "must do" list every year. The multi-course menu and delightful wines always create a superb culinary experience, and the light-hearted atmosphere combined with fun-loving attendees at the Gala make it one of the most enjoyable events in Denver. Excellent food and wine, great auction items and the wonderful people in attendance combine to create an entertaining and memorable evening while supporting a magnificent organization." - Ralph Peterson Chairman Emeritus, CH2M HILL Companies Ltd.

"L'Esprit de France is no ordinary benefit gala. It is an extraordinary combination of exquisitely prepared food coupled with carefully selected wines, high quality entertainment & mingling with interesting, internationally-minded but down-to-earth people from our local French-American business community and beyond. It's an event to which you can invite friends and business associates, and they will likely say at the end of the evening that they can't wait until next year's gala!" - Sybil Kisken, Davis, Graham & Stubbs.

Proceeds from the event benefit the French-American Chamber of Commerce (FACC).