Sputty
2004-10-17, 04:09 PM
http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~130~2471373,00.html
al lewis
Topless-bar mogul joins cancer fight
By Al Lewis
Denver Post Business Columnist
Nobody cares more about healthy breasts than Troy Lowrie.
Lowrie, 39, put up $100,000 to become title sponsor of "A Pink Tie Affair," an Oct. 30 fundraiser for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.
Lowrie also runs 16 topless joints, including the Penthouse Club in Glendale and Denver's Diamond Cabaret, which he acquired Oct. 8.
"It's important to a lot of the women who work with the clubs," he said. "People can joke about breasts and Diamond Cabaret, but this is a serious issue."
Breast cancer is a sensitive issue. So is the skin trade.
Stripper booty wasn't something Komen's Denver board could accept without agonizing over pluses and minuses.
"Our focus was on the greater good," said Valerie Chilewski, executive director of Komen's Denver affiliate. "The $100,000 donation probably translates to more than 500 mammograms, or breast- cancer treatments for two women."
A growing number of uninsured people are dying of breast cancer, Chilewski said. Should anyone's opinion of strip clubs interfere with saving lives?
"If it's legal money and someone wants to give it, I have no problem taking it," said Josh Hanfling, a frequent volunteer in Denver's philanthropic scene who helped organize the Komen dinner. "We don't have the major corporations we used to have."
Hanfling is a friend of Lowrie's who has helped place Lowrie's donations in the past. Some groups have turned Lowrie away, Hanfling said, fearful of the association. Others have seen the money for the good it can do.
The Lowrie Family Foundation has donated $1.6 million in its six years, Lowrie said. Of that, $1 million went to help build a new library at Columbine High School. The teacher who lost his life in the shooting spree there was the father of a dancer at one of Lowrie's clubs.
Lowrie also has given money to schools and children's groups.
"I realize I am not the business you want to invite to every event," he said. "But I believe that I have to give more than other businesses. ... Our industry is accused of not being a good neighbor. Of exploiting women. We want everyone to know that we give back ... that we're contributors to women's health."
Lowrie isn't the first strip-club operator with a heart. Late Diamond Cabaret operator Bobby Rifkin was notoriously charitable, holding annual cancer benefits at his club.
For Lowrie's $100,000 donation, he'll take the stage at the Komen gala at the Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum. He will introduce "Tonight Show" host Jay Leno. (Note to Leno: Please address Lowrie as CEO of VCG Holding Corp. Resist comedic impulses to mention his boobie bars. This is high society you're talking to here. OK?)
Lowrie, after all, is on a mission to amass the top 30 strip clubs in America, achieving $200 million in annual revenues in 10 years. His company, VCG, is one of only two publicly traded strip-club operators in the nation.
Lowrie believes his industry is evolving from seedy dens of iniquity owned by dubious characters to safe, friendly clubs owed by respectable corporations - much like gaming in Las Vegas.
His donation to Komen is in line with his corporate strategy of garnering wider social acceptance. Komen is now a partner in this pursuit.
Still, money is money. No one should chide Lowrie for his generosity. And it's difficult to second-guess Komen's decision when lives hang in the balance.
Should cancer foundations accept money from big tobacco? Should environmental groups take donations from oil companies?
"Any nonprofit with a soul has a conversation like this at least once a year," said Shelley Thompson, development director for The Women's Foundation of Colorado.
Not even her Denver-based group, which promotes women's causes and a few feminist agendas, would slam down the phone if Lowrie called.
"It would not be accepted or rejected without a lively discussion," Thompson said. "There would be many different opinions expressed around the table. And I think that's healthy."
Al Lewis' column appears Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays. Reach him at 303-820-1967 or [email protected] .
al lewis
Topless-bar mogul joins cancer fight
By Al Lewis
Denver Post Business Columnist
Nobody cares more about healthy breasts than Troy Lowrie.
Lowrie, 39, put up $100,000 to become title sponsor of "A Pink Tie Affair," an Oct. 30 fundraiser for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.
Lowrie also runs 16 topless joints, including the Penthouse Club in Glendale and Denver's Diamond Cabaret, which he acquired Oct. 8.
"It's important to a lot of the women who work with the clubs," he said. "People can joke about breasts and Diamond Cabaret, but this is a serious issue."
Breast cancer is a sensitive issue. So is the skin trade.
Stripper booty wasn't something Komen's Denver board could accept without agonizing over pluses and minuses.
"Our focus was on the greater good," said Valerie Chilewski, executive director of Komen's Denver affiliate. "The $100,000 donation probably translates to more than 500 mammograms, or breast- cancer treatments for two women."
A growing number of uninsured people are dying of breast cancer, Chilewski said. Should anyone's opinion of strip clubs interfere with saving lives?
"If it's legal money and someone wants to give it, I have no problem taking it," said Josh Hanfling, a frequent volunteer in Denver's philanthropic scene who helped organize the Komen dinner. "We don't have the major corporations we used to have."
Hanfling is a friend of Lowrie's who has helped place Lowrie's donations in the past. Some groups have turned Lowrie away, Hanfling said, fearful of the association. Others have seen the money for the good it can do.
The Lowrie Family Foundation has donated $1.6 million in its six years, Lowrie said. Of that, $1 million went to help build a new library at Columbine High School. The teacher who lost his life in the shooting spree there was the father of a dancer at one of Lowrie's clubs.
Lowrie also has given money to schools and children's groups.
"I realize I am not the business you want to invite to every event," he said. "But I believe that I have to give more than other businesses. ... Our industry is accused of not being a good neighbor. Of exploiting women. We want everyone to know that we give back ... that we're contributors to women's health."
Lowrie isn't the first strip-club operator with a heart. Late Diamond Cabaret operator Bobby Rifkin was notoriously charitable, holding annual cancer benefits at his club.
For Lowrie's $100,000 donation, he'll take the stage at the Komen gala at the Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum. He will introduce "Tonight Show" host Jay Leno. (Note to Leno: Please address Lowrie as CEO of VCG Holding Corp. Resist comedic impulses to mention his boobie bars. This is high society you're talking to here. OK?)
Lowrie, after all, is on a mission to amass the top 30 strip clubs in America, achieving $200 million in annual revenues in 10 years. His company, VCG, is one of only two publicly traded strip-club operators in the nation.
Lowrie believes his industry is evolving from seedy dens of iniquity owned by dubious characters to safe, friendly clubs owed by respectable corporations - much like gaming in Las Vegas.
His donation to Komen is in line with his corporate strategy of garnering wider social acceptance. Komen is now a partner in this pursuit.
Still, money is money. No one should chide Lowrie for his generosity. And it's difficult to second-guess Komen's decision when lives hang in the balance.
Should cancer foundations accept money from big tobacco? Should environmental groups take donations from oil companies?
"Any nonprofit with a soul has a conversation like this at least once a year," said Shelley Thompson, development director for The Women's Foundation of Colorado.
Not even her Denver-based group, which promotes women's causes and a few feminist agendas, would slam down the phone if Lowrie called.
"It would not be accepted or rejected without a lively discussion," Thompson said. "There would be many different opinions expressed around the table. And I think that's healthy."
Al Lewis' column appears Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays. Reach him at 303-820-1967 or [email protected] .