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DENVER INC: Some Qwest directors warm to stockholders at annual event

By Jane Hoback & Gil Rudawsky

Published May 30, 2008 at 5 p.m.

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CU ad students Phil VanBuren and Elliot Nordstrom won the Gold Pencil prize at the prestigious One Show College Competition for their Doritos print ad, "There Is Only One."

Photo by Special To The Rocky

CU ad students Phil VanBuren and Elliot Nordstrom won the Gold Pencil prize at the prestigious One Show College Competition for their Doritos print ad, "There Is Only One."

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Nelson Phelps noticed a change by Qwest's board of directors this year at the annual stockholders meeting.

Phelps, executive director of the Association of U S West Retirees, said they were more accessible, with many in the entryway a half-hour before the meeting, introducing themselves and chatting with stockholders. He singled out director Frank Popoff, who he said promised to talk with other directors later that day about some of the retirees' issues.

Phelps didn't get quite the same warm response from James Unruh, chairman of Qwest's compensation and human resources committee.

"I believe you and I were in the same article," Phelps said he told Unruh, referring to a recent Wall Street Journal article.

The article reported that a union investment group had sent a letter to Unruh, complaining about a relocation benefit given to Qwest CEO Ed Mueller that cost the company $1.8 million.

"(Unruh) gave me a stern look and walked away," Phelps said.

The telco's retirees also said they believed Mueller did a good job listening to their concerns, which included complaints about executive compensation, board oversight and the decrease in retiree benefits.

"Mueller seemed to be genuinely listening," Phelps said. "He wasn't agreeing with everything he heard, but he was respectful to our retirees."

Mimi Hull, vice president of the Association of U S West Retirees, said she is more skeptical, and that more needs to be done to overcome the image that management and the board live in an ivory tower.

Airlines' mask rivalry

The Mask Project at the Cherry Creek Shopping Center added an Executive Suite of Masks this year. And in this suite, there's a friendly rivalry going on between Denver's two low- fare carriers - Frontier Airlines' Sean Menke's mask and one from Southwest Airlines. The final bids, which closed Friday: Menke's mask went for $651. The Southwest mask closed at $850. As an added perk, both come with round-trip tickets.

But those masks were far below the closing bid for Molson Coors' CEO Leo Kiely's mask, which went for $2,500.

The collection of more than 550 clay masks by celebrities, artists, sports figures, chefs, CEOs and politicians is in the shopping center, with online bidding at themaskproject.org. All proceeds go to Denver Hospice.

Ad students honored

They could be headed to Madison Avenue.

Two undergraduate advertising students at the University of Colorado's School of Journalism and Mass Communication won the top prize recently at the One Club's annual One Show College Competition.

Phil VanBuren and Elliot Nordstrom won the Gold Pencil prize in the competition's print advertising category for their ad featuring Doritos as the only triangular-shaped snack among rival chips and crackers. VanBuren and Nordstrom's ad campaign titled "There Is Only One" was chosen from more than 350 student entries from around the world.

Assistant Business Editor Jane Hoback and Deputy Metro-Business Editor Gil Rudawsky can be reached at business@RockyMountainNews.com.