Brook Colangelo, Director of technology, DNC Committee

Colangelo is 29 and could pass for a college sophomore, but he has one of the biggest jobs around for the 2008 Democratic National Convention.

That's because he signed up for the task of building a technology infrastructure that works for everyone: candidates, delegates,staffers, reporters.

He's the guy responsible for figuring out how many phone lines to install, how to build a computer network, how to make sure that every laptop in the Pepsi Center has a wireless Internet connection.

Right now, that means finding the answer to one question: "How are we going to do this?"

By next July, when work begins in earnest to convert the Pepsi Center into a political hall, he has to have a plan for stringing the miles of cable that will be needed for building a system that will hold up to the demands of four whirlwind days and reflect the Democrats' commitment to recycling and other "green" principles.

And then, when it's over, he better be ready to answer another question:

"What are we going to do with every mile of cable? How do we make sure it doesn't go in the dumpster?"

Elbra Wedgeworth, President, Denver 2008 host committee

Wedgeworth, a former Denver city councilwoman, is widely credited with spearheading Denver's bid for the convention. One of the host committee's main jobs will be to organize the volunteers who will welcome delegates at the airport and guide them around downtown.

"We'll need about 10,000 volunteers, and we have more than half already signed up on our Web site," said Wedgeworth.

The host committee has to live up to its name by throwing a series of parties, including a media kickoff party that should attract 15,000 people and 56 different parties for delegations from Guam to Maine. The volunteers will play a big role in extending convention festivities into neighborhoods all over the state.

The committee is planning dozens of parties where people will be able to watch the convention at local watering holes, and they hope to bring national leaders such as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., into gatherings citywide. Special programs for children also are in the works.

"It will be educational and fun," promises Wedgeworth.

Steve Farber, Co-chair, Denver 2008 host committee

Farber is one of Denver's most visible attorneys and a player in some of the biggest deals in town, but these days he spends a lot of time begging - for money.

Farber is president and founding partner of Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, and that keeps him busy. He's active in charitable causes.

But he's also heading up the effort to raise the $55 million needed to put on next year's Democratic National Convention.

Every day, he comes in with the same goal: make 10 phone calls to people and businesses who might be willing to write the checks that will make the convention happen.

He said the effort is going well - the committee has commitments for the $15 million in services it must raise and for more than $20 million in cash. And though the committee missed a June 1 deadline to have $7.5 million in the bank, Farber said he's confident the cash will be raised.

"My goal is more concerned with raising the dollars than getting it tomorrow," he said. "Would I love to have it tomorrow? Absolutely. But it's a marathon."

Larry DiPasquale, President, Epicurean Catering

DiPasquale, one of Denver's leading caterers, says there may be up to 400 different events during the convention.

"I have two managers who participated in the (1996) Chicago Democratic convention and they were swamped," he said. "That's what we're anticipating."

He's already booked several parties at local law firms, and has arranged to fly in more than a dozen out-of-town chefs to work for Epicurean that week. DiPasquale also has reserved extra refrigerators, ovens and stoves for next August.

"You need to do this when you're anticipating serving this many people," he said.

Steve Weil, President, Rockmount Ranch Wear

Rockmount is the undisputed LoDo headquarters for all things Western, from cowboy hats to rattlesnake belts, and Democrats from ranch-deprived places such as New York and Chicago can be expected to make a pit stop at this Denver institution.

The company is working with Mayor John Hickenlooper to come up with commemorative items. "We probably have 5,000 cowboy hats and 20,000 shirts (in storage) at any given time," Weil said.

Weil vows not to count on selling huge amounts of merchandise during the convention. He remembers his grandfather, Jack, telling him about an Elks convention in the 1930s that brought thousands of people to town. The Denver Dry Goods store stocked hundreds of Rockmount hats, expecting a rush. "10,000 Elks came and left, and the hats stayed on the shelf," Weil said.

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