Say it ain’t so, Glo!

Gloria Neal, a fixture in Denver radio and television, is leaving our fair city to take a job as the morning news anchor at CBS-affiliate WGCL in Atlanta.

On Tuesday, Neal posted on her Facebook page: “Where do I begin? I have always said that time brings change and to go against time … is like going against life. There are no words Colorado. With ears full of tears, a heavy heart and a strong spirit, I fly….”

Honey, hush.

After making her mark on local radio, Neal was hired “temporarily” in 2008 as a morning news correspondent on CBS4.

In a message to the staff, CBS4 News Director Tim Wieland said: “Back in 2008, I asked Gloria Neal if she might be interested in doing a daily segment for CBS4 Morning News on some of the stories surrounding the Democratic National Convention in Denver. Three or four weeks only. An ‘experiment’ to see how she liked working on morning television. Three or four weeks turned into eight years at CBS4 – a wonderful ‘experiment’ that led to so many memorable interviews, stories and news segments.”

According to her boss here, it’s an opportunity she “couldn’t pass up.”

By phone from Atlanta, Glo said, “Man plans and God laughs.” She was “stunned when they called me. I love Colorado, it’s going to be so hard … (leaving) but it’s also a great opportunity. (Atlanta) is a huge market. I’ve been here many times.” Her husband has clients there.

She sounds amazed that the Atlanta CBS folks want her as “a morning show anchor in the way that I want to anchor news, which is not the traditional way.” She calls it “the opportunity of a lifetime.”

Neal credits CBS4 management for trusting her with a break 10 years ago, and has no anger toward the radio business which kicked her around: “I am the better for it,” she said. “I grew a lot in Colorado.”

Her last day on the air in Denver will be mid-late May.

A veteran of Clear Channel radio in Denver (she did afternoons on KOA), and of progressive talk radio KKZN, as well as entertainment shows on the FM side, the multimedia journalist Neal landed well in TV, making appearances on national panels as well as the local CBS station. She has been active in local community organizations for years, among them the Colorado Women’s Chamber of Commerce, The Women’s Foundation, The Association for Women in Communications and The Mile High United Way, as well as national groups including the National Association of Black Journalists.

Hate to see you go, Glo, but best of luck in Hotlanta.

Denver Union Station hosts a free jazz celebration to honor Billie Holiday’s 100th birthday from 4 to 6 p.m. Saturday  in the Great Hall, 1700 Wynkoop St. Venus Cruz, local jazz vocalist and host of KUVO’s “Jazz Odyssey,” will perform a centennial tribute alongside some of Denver’s finest jazz musicians.

Sometimes referred to as the “Harlem of the West,” Denver’s Five Points neighborhood was once a major hub for jazz greats during the 1930s, 40s and 50s. Along with many important jazz figures of her era, Holiday performed at The Rossonian Hotel, a jazz club nestled in the heart of the Five Points community.

Denver Union Station hosts Holiday’s centennial celebration as a way to commemorate the legacy and impact she left on the Denver jazz scene and American jazz culture at large. The Apollo Theatre in New York also is commemorating Holiday’s centennial with her induction into the Walk Of Fame and a special performance Friday by vocalist Cassandra Wilson.

I told you last week about the sneak peek of the golf movie “The Squeeze” on Monday at the Wellshire Event Center & Golf Course, 3333 S. Colorado Blvd.

The event, a benefit for The First Tee of Denver, was to feature a Q & A session hosted by producer/director Terry Jastrow and producer/actress Anne Archer, but when Archer faced a scheduling conflict, the movie’s star Chris McDonald (“Happy Gilmore,” “Requiem for a Dream,” “Thelma and Louise”) stepped in to take her place.

Doors open at 5:30 p.m. with an open bar and appetizer reception; screening begins at 6:30 p.m. with an introduction from Jastrow.

After the screening, there will be a Q & A session hosted by Jastrow and McDonald followed by an informal reception and cash bar.

Cost is $85 for a single and $300 for a foursome. Register at www.TheFirstTeeofDenver.com/TheSqueeze. Sponsorship Opportunities available. Email EventOvations@msn.com or call 303-744-9195.

If you prefer to pay by check, please submit either $85 for individual registration or $300 for a foursome. Make your check payable to: First Tee Denver. And mail: First Tee Denver, c/o EventOvations, 2109 S. Clarkson St.. Denver, 80210.

About the film: Caught in “The Squeeze” Jeremy Sumpter (“Peter Pan”, “Friday Night Lights”) and McDonald (“Happy Gilmore”) tee off in high stakes gambling matches careening through the South and landing in Las Vegas in Jastrow’s feature film directorial debut from his screenplay based on a true story from Texas.

After a 20-year run, partners Gregory Sargowicki and Lawrence French are closing Lifestyles Catering to concentrate on running Willow Ridge Manor, a Morrison weddings venue.

This Friday through Sunday, all Lifestyles Catering equipment will be offered in a liquidation sale at the Lifestyles Shop, 7711 W. Sixth Ave., Lakewood. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Everything must be sold, including dishes, glassware, serving pieces, chaffing dishes, beverage containers and much more. All items are sold as is and all sales are final. Cash only.

Eavesdropping on a woman signing up for a GHIN handicap card at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club: “I’d rather have a vodka card than a GHIN card.”

My musical theater experience goes back decades thanks to my mom who exposed me to nearly every show that included a tour stop in San Francisco.

And because my dad worked for the airlines, we could even sneak away for a New York weekend of nonstop Broadway shows.

So to say that “Motown The Musical” ranks among the best musicals I have ever seen is saying lots about the Denver production that plays The Buell Theatre through April 19. For Baby Boomers, it’s a musical tour de force with hit after hit that keeps your toes tapping and your lips syncing throughout the performance.

I overheard more than one attendee saying, “I saw this show on Broadway and this cast is better.”

Directed by Charles Randolph-Wright, “Motown The Musical” is the true American dream story of Motown founder Berry Gordy’s journey from featherweight boxer to the heavyweight music mogul who launched the careers of Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye and so many more.

Featuring more than 40 classic hits such as “My Girl” and “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” “Motown The Musical” tells the story behind the hits as Diana, Smokey, Berry and the whole Motown family fight against the odds to create the soundtrack of change in America. Motown shattered barriers, shaped our lives and made us all move to the same beat.

Single tickets start at $25. To charge by phone, call Denver Center Ticketing Services at 303-893-4100 (TTY: 303.893.9582). Groups of 10 or more: 303-446-4829. Purchase in person at The Denver Center Ticket Office, located at the Helen Bonfils Theatre Complex lobby. Buy and print online at www.Denvercenter.org. 

Sunday was a tease to the golf season to come with near perfect weather and course conditions at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club on the way to DIA.

GVR has been my home course for more than 10 years, and every year there have been impressive improvements to the course owned by Pat Hamill, who also owns Oakwood Homes, the real estate developer with homes surrounding the course.

While GVR is known as the home course of the Colorado Open Golf Tournament, perhaps the public is less familiar with the course’s private-public status with boasting rights to being the least expensive membership in the metro area.

Membership brings privileges with advance tee times, free access to the par three course, cart and merchandise discounts, etc. Check it out at www.gvrgolf.com.

The 11th hole view from the green at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club.

The Denver Turnverein is celebrating its 150th anniversary on April 18 with an open house and a masquerade ball. The open house (free to all from 3 to 6 p.m.) will showcase all six of the Denver Turnverein’s resident dance clubs as well as the history and cultural contributions of the Denver Turnverein and its affiliated organization, the American Turners, presented by the American Turners President David Liptak.

The public is invited to share in the open house celebration. In addition to the dance demonstrations and cultural presentation there will be a gymnastics demonstration, photo booth, fortunetellers and various vendors. There’s also a cash bar. The open house is a family event.

The Masquerade Ball (from 7 to 11 p.m., $10 members, $15 non-members) will offer two floors of dancing including ballroom, Argentine tango, salsa, West coast swing, country and Lindy Hop.

Free dance lessons are being offered to the general public in honor of this  anniversary. Beginner lessons will be held for three Sundays  beginning April 12.

Doors open at 12:45. Bring dance shoes or a nice pair of smooth sole shoes (non-marking). Rubber sole and heel shoes do not work for dancing.

The Denver Turnverein is located behind the Fillmore Auditorium at 1570 Clarkson St.

Thrillist.com, the national web arbiter of all that’s hip and cool, has  amassed its ranking of every Major League Baseball stadium based on its food and drink in honor of the new season.

Here’s what the site said, “In honor of opening day, we took it upon ourselves to rank all the MLB stadiums based on food and drink. We awarded extra points for local-centric foods, creativity, and craft beer dominance. We deducted points for weird-for-the-sake-of-weird Frankenfoods. Ready? Play ball…”

Coors Field, home to the Colorado Rockies, registered a respectable No. 9:

“Major cool points for being the only stadium with an actual working brewery (this is where Blue Moon was first created), meaning seasonal and ballpark-only brews are available to Rockies fans to dull the pain of trying to watch pitchers hold leads at altitude. There are also whispers that the regular Blue Moon product at the park is a bit superior (freshness!). Local favorite green chile burritos are on hand, as is the made-to-order Helton burger, which is a decided cut above the token “upscale” stadium burger you encounter at most ballparks, and the stadium’s collective burger game became even MORE impressive with the addition of Oskar Blues’ CHUBurger in its outfield party deck, along with an array of OB’s beers.”

See how the rest of the ball parks ranked at www.thrillist.com/eat/nation/food-and-drink-in-every-major-league-baseball-stadium.

A burger from CHUBurger at Coors Field.