Sponsors vital to Saturday’s ‘Stars’ event; tickets still available

Paul Griego, proprietor at Pauli’s Sports and Spirits, is contributing to Saturday’s UNMC-sponsored “Night of a Thousand Stars” party.

ESPN and UNMC may not have much in common, but they’re both important to Paul Griego.

Griego is the proprietor at Pauli’s Sports and Spirits at 41st and Leavenworth streets, the proclaimed “unofficial headquarters of the College World Series” and a hangout for ESPN workers during the CWS since 1984. Griego also has been a neighbor to UNMC for more than two decades, and he said he feels as if he’s part of the Med Center.

“What UNMC does, we want to be behind,” Griego said. “We all have to work together to keep Midtown vibrant, so we love to help at any event, if we can.”

Dennis Lewis, owner of Spirit World, also is contributing to this weekend’s UNMC-sponsored “Night of a Thousand Stars” party.

That’s why Griego is contributing to this Saturday’s UNMC-sponsored “Night of a Thousand Stars” party at the Omaha Woman’s Club, 518 38th St., beginning at 7 p.m. This year’s pre-party reception will feature a piano player, beverages, hors d-oeuvres, a party favor and valet parking.

Those attending the UNMC-sponsored event will be admitted to the main event, which will begin at 9 p.m. at the new Qwest Center Omaha. The featured entertainer at the Qwest Center event is pop star Lionel Richie, former lead singer of the Commadores and current singles artist.

The requested donation per person is $30 ($15 per student). The cost is tax-deductible because all of the proceeds will go toward the Nebraska AIDS Project. That is possible because of the generous donations of Griego; Dennis Lewis, owner of Spirit World; Karen Simon, district manager for Sodexho USA, which manages the food service at The Nebraska Medical Center; and other donors.

Tickets still available Tickets are still available for this Saturday’s Night of A Thousand Stars. Tickets will be sold outside of the Nebraska Café today from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Already, more than $8,000 has been raised for the event, and more than 250 tickets have been sold. Employees also can purchase the tickets from Mary Helms, Library of Medicine, 559-7099; Lola Martin, College of Nursing, 559-4350; Jane Jessen, Adult Dentistry, 559-8743; Julie Ditter and Robin Taylor, Pathology/Microbiology, 559-3549; Patty Davis, University Hospital, 559-9538; Don Miller, College of Pharmacy, 559-6579; Deanna Hansen, Infectious Diseases, 559-5392; Jayme Nekuda, Business and Finance, 559-8448; Bill O’Neill, Chancellor’s Unit, 559-9152; Amy Lamer, Business & Finance, 559-5221; and Marlene Schneider, Faculty/Employee Assistance Program, 559-5175.

“Without the support of the sponsors, this event wouldn’t be as beneficial to all of those who benefit from the Nebraska AIDS Project,” said Keith Swarts, director of Business Services at UNMC. “Time and time again, these sponsors provide support to projects on this campus, and they deserve to be credited for their generosity.”

Lewis, who has owned Spirit World for 30 years, said he’s donating to the project because “I believe in it.”

“I think it’s a disease that has had a stigma, and probably still does,” he said. “It’s important to eradicate AIDS for the entire country and the entire world. I’ve got to stand up and be counted.”

UNMC, Lewis said, is a “sleeping giant.”

“We haven’t touched the tip of the iceberg of what can happen in Omaha, Nebraska,” he said.