Editor’s note: To help support the Holiday Huddle through the Boys and Girls Clubs of Metro Denver, click here! 

It’s tough to say which is more difficult: Assembling a 53-man NFL roster, or finding a coffee date that will work for six of Denver’s busiest women?

Barb Paton knows about both. Her husband, George, is the man in charge of putting together the Broncos’ best roster, each season and each Sunday. Barb took on the aforementioned coffee meeting.

But this particular meetup wasn’t akin to a typical Sunday brunch or girls’ night out. No, Barb Paton had a big – more accurately, important – idea. And the first step would be to get six women, who didn’t necessarily know each other, to sit down and discuss an idea that was born in Minnesota.

A friend planted an idea in Barb’s mind when George was the assistant GM of the Minnesota Vikings. Unfortunately, the timing and the landscape didn’t align; the concept was a good one, but it would have to wait in order to take flight.

So, in 2021, when George took the job as the GM of the Broncos, Barb picked up where she left off. In short, she wanted to connect the wives of every general manager in Denver for a mutual philanthropic effort to help her new community – Denver. Specifically, she had a soft spot for kids.

With the help of Tim Gelt, the former director of media relations for the Denver Nuggets, Barb researched the community initiatives already targeted by each team in town. It didn’t take long to discover that every single Denver team worked with A Precious Child and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Denver, both of which focused on children. She also quickly learned that Denver was a special place, one that would likely support such efforts on a different level.

“We just couldn’t believe how much people love their sports here,” Barb said. “I mean, it is really apparent.”

Back to that coffee date.

The initial guest list included: Linda Schmidt, wife of Rockies general manager Bill Schmidt; Debbie Sakic, wife of then Avalanche general manager Joe Sakic; and Negah Connelly, wife of former Nuggets general manager Tim Connelly.

After a considerable amount of schedule juggling – no easy task, since each sport has its own unique calendar – the gathering was set.

“When we all showed up, it was pretty much like we were all meeting each other for the first time,” Barb recalls.

Regardless, it didn’t take long to get on the same page.

Barb credits Debbie Sakic, who had organized countless charitable efforts on behalf of the Avalanche for many years, for offering the group its most beneficial piece of advice: “We don’t need to reinvent the wheel.”

Though the initial group was set, additions quickly took place. Keisha Booth, wife of new Nuggets GM Calvin Booth, stepped in as soon as Negah and Tim took a job with the Timberwolves. Alicia Self, wife of Mammoth general manager Brad Self joined, as well. Once the Avalanche won the Stanley Cup, Joe Sakic was promoted and Chandra MacFarland slid into Deb Sakic’s spot because her husband Chris was named GM. A year later, Alyssa Smith, who is married to Rapids president Padraig Smith, hopped aboard, too.

Each team had already established a great relationship with the two organizations already identified by Gelt and Paton. That part was set. Now, it was just a matter of enhancing those efforts by joining forces all at once.

“Are you guys on board?” Barb asked the group. “Every one of them was like, ‘Yeah, we all have kids. Let’s do it.’”

Kroenke Sports and Entertainment had been hosting the giveSports Equipment Drive at Ball Arena every September in conjunction with A Precious Child. The effort called on the community to help collect new and slightly used sports equipment, along with monetary donations designated to help kids play sports in the Denver area. From the jump, Barb and her newly formed group seamlessly fit in, promoting the event and advocating to their respective networks.

While that was a great jumping-off point, the group quickly turned its attention to the Boys & Girls Clubs. Barb has been actively supporting the Denver Broncos Boys & Girls Club for years, as the Broncos are the only professional sports team to fully fund its own branch of Boys & Girls Clubs of America. After meeting, it became evident that Barb’s group needed to help raise money for the funding of the annual Boys & Girls Clubs holiday parties; there are now 27 clubs across the Denver-metro area, and they each host a holiday party for their kids.

As such, the “Holiday Huddle” was born.

With wives representing every team in town, the splash the group was able to make at the very first Holiday Huddle was big. Coaches made special appearances; players popped in; team executives showed up and helped where help was needed most. Instead of gifts being exchanged in the bags given out at the store, wrapping paper was supplied. Decorations, cookies and cheer filled the space. None of it happened by coincidence; the effort was a direct result of six very busy women putting their heads and resources together.

Three years later, the group is stronger than ever. Some of the names and faces have already changed; in pro sports, general managers and coaches come and go – it’s simply part of the business. But for Barb, not only does anyone new in town get an invitation, but her group already has plans to expand beyond the title of “GM’s wife.”

“I need to open it up a little bit more,” Barb says, ushering in a new era that involves coaches’ wives and more. As the saying goes, the more the merrier.

On Dec. 20, the third-annual Holiday Huddle will take place. What began as a simple meeting amongst strangers has grown into a palpable benefit to Denver’s kids.

“None of us are competing against each other,” Barb says. “(The Broncos) are not playing the Mammoth next week… I love the fact that there are two events that we just piggybacked.

“We didn’t have to reinvent the wheel.”