35 Years in Service
Rocky Mountain Minority Supplier Development Council
2009 Business Opportunity Fair:
More Than Names, More than Faces
Explore Your Opportunities and Achieve a Positive Impact
Friday, August 7, 2009 l The Colorado Convention Center, Denver, Colorado
1445 MARKET STREET, SUITE 300 :: DENVER, CO 80202 :: Phone 303.623.3037 :: Fax (303) 595-0027
Power Luncheon Keynote Speaker Reggie Rivers
Reggie is a native of Dayton, Ohio. He was born into an Air Force family as the fourth of five children. During his youth, he lived in Ohio, England, Florida and Greece before his family settled in the San Antonio area. He spent the remainder of his adolescence in Central Texas until moving to Denver in 1991, where he lives with his wife Stephanie and son Malik.
As a senior at Randolph High School in San Antonio, Reggie rushed for 1,200 yards and earned a full athletic scholarship to Southwest Texas State University. At the collegiate level, he amassed 2,500 career yards and was named to four All-American teams. He signed with the Denver Broncos as a rookie free agent in 1991. Reggie was with the Broncos for six years, and at the end of his first season was named to Pro Football Weekly's All-Rookie Team as a special teams player.
Reggie landed his first newspaper job when he was a senior in high school (1985), working for the now-defunct San Antonio Light as an obituary writer. In 1986, he enrolled at Southwest Texas State University (SWT) as a newspaper journalism major.
In 1987, Reggie was selected by the Texas Daily Newspaper Association as the Outstanding Editorial Summer Intern in Texas. In 1989, Reggie was one of 12 students selected nationally to attend the Graduate Enhancement Program in Communications at Ohio University.
Reggie graduated from SWT in 1991 with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism. He was selected by the SWT Alumni Association as the Lyndon Baines Johnson Outstanding Senior Student, and was also chosen to deliver the student salutation at graduation.
After moving to Colorado to try out for the Denver Broncos, Reggie was hired by the Rocky Mountain News to write a weekly sports column. The column was initially scheduled to be a four-week affair during his rookie training camp, but it turned into an eight-year relationship with the News.
Between 1993 and 1997 Reggie was a guest host on several Denver television and radio shows including Broncos Beat and Sports Extra on KCNC Channel 4, The Orange Zone on KUSA Channel 9 and a weekly radio segment called Rolling with Rivers on KOA-AM (850 radio). 1997-1999 Reggie hosted an evening call-in talk show on 850 KOA Radio. From 1999 to 2002 Reggie hosted his own daily afternoon drive time show on KHOW-AM (630 radio). Reggie was an analyst for ABC's College Football Division.
In 1994, Reggie wrote and self-published The Vance: The Beginning & The End, the as-told-to autobiography of Broncos wide receiver Vance Johnson. In 2000, he published his first novel Power Shift, and has completed his second novel 4th and Fixed which was released by Sourcebooks in 2004 and optioned for a movie in 2005.
Reggie is the Weekend Sports Anchor and co-hosts Countdown to Kickoff on KCNC Channel 4 (CBS) and writes once a month for Pro Football Weekly. Reggie is a featured guest commentator on "Court TV," and is the host of the television show "Global Agenda" a public affairs program on KBDI, Channel 12 in Denver, that focuses on Constitutional issues. Reggie also hosts the show, "Common Good," which is seen on Comcast 5 in Denver. Reggie completed his third novel "My Wife's Boyfriend & Our Feud With The Highlands Ranch Homeowners Association," published in November 2006.
Power Breakfast Keynote Speaker Roland R. Thornton
Executive Vice President
Wholesale Markets, Qwest Communications
Roland Thornton is the executive vice president for Wholesale Markets, a position he has held since 2004. He is responsible for sales, service, carrier relations and operations for Qwest’s wholesale business serving competitive local exchange carriers (CLECs), multiple system operators (MSOs), incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs), independent telephone companies (ICOs), international service providers, Internet/enhanced service providers (ISPs/ESPs), interexchange carriers (IXCs), national service resellers and wireless service providers (WSPs).
Mr. Thornton has spent more than 30 years in the telecommunications industry. Prior to his current role, Mr. Thornton was senior vice president of customer service operations for Qwest’s Wholesale Markets. He has held several other senior management positions including those of vice president, interconnection services for SBC; vice president, customer operations for Ameritech; and co-founder of the consulting firm Acquired Knowledge, Ltd.
Mr. Thornton earned a bachelor of science degree from Indiana University with a concentration in business administration. He completed graduate studies at the University of Illinois in the masters of information systems program.
He is a member of the board of directors of the Rotary International and is president-elect of the Rotary Club of Denver, where he also serves as a member of the world council of the Food Bank of the Rockies and the Colorado Black Chamber of Commerce (CBCC) and is president of the CBCC Foundation board. Mr. Thornton and his wife, who live in Denver, are the parents of three grown children.
Reggie Rivers
Roland Thornton
