Sander, Willis lauded at Denver Public Safety Luncheon | Denver Metro News [Video]

Denver Fire Department Foundation founding board member Steve Sander and Denver District Attorney Chief of Staff Liza C. Willis were honored Wednesday at the 14th Annual Denver Public Safety luncheon, which was held at the Curtis Hotel.

Sander, recipient of the David J. Cole Denver Public Safety Citizens Award, was described as one of the city’s biggest cheerleaders. He began his career as a sports photojournalist in Boulder before forging a path in marketing and advertising. He went on to become Denver’s director of strategic marketing from 2008 to 2012 and served as a former board member for the Denver Sports Commission and Visit Denver, among other organizations.

“He has been a relentless ambassador for the city,” Denver Mayor Mike Johnston said. “But more than all of those things, he was the embodiment of what it meant to be a public servant — he could have taken a job anywhere, …