Showcase

As an event producer most of the time we are working on meetings for corporate or association clients to help their employees or members work smarter, be more innovative to increase market share and to recognize the performance of their audience.

Then there are events that are for the greater good of our society and in this case it was for the people who live in Chicago’s low income south and west sides as on Thursday, September 19th at St. Ignatius High School the Chicago Area Chapter of Meeting Professionals International as part of our Community Outreach Program had the privilege of planning and producing the 50th Anniversary Commemoration of the Carole Robertson Center for Learning.

CRCL’s three locations which daily serves 700+ people are dedicated to the memory of Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, Cynthia Wesley, and Carole Robertson. These are the four girls who died in the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, on September 15th, 1963.

These centers evolved in response to the voiced needs of the communities’ families. Since the Center’s inception, they have added many programs to meet community need including center–based and home-based child development programs for children from birth through five years of age, school age and youth programming for children and teens through age 18, extensive family support, social services, and parent education activities, adult education and community training, and imbedded program enhancements including music education, family literacy and family health education.
This event was a rededication to their mission and services to those who were so tragically killed, as well as a link to the past, the present, and the future. CRCL’s goal was to revisit their historical roots, talk about the center’s progress to date, and where they hope to go in the future.

The Mistress of Ceremonies, Leah Hope of ABC 7 News Chicago, led the program which included inspiring speeches from several of their past leaders including Carole’s sister Dianne Robertson Braddock.

The keynote speaker was William McNary who has worked for the public interest for 25 years, delivered a rousing speech to motivate the audience.

Rounding out the evening was 14-year-old Alex DuBuclet, whose voice inspired everyone and demonstrated how CRLC can nurture its students to such a level of excellence. The evening concluded with the CRCL students singing “Wake Up Everybody”.

Wendy Mitchell Gill, Vice President for External Relations for CRCL followed up by saying, “We are still floating after last Thursday’s spectacular event! Each of us had smiles on our faces from ear to ear throughout the evening’s program and that feeling has certainly carried over to this week. The energy from the evening has fueled the fire within us to push on and use this as our opportunity to springboard CRCL into the future and on to bigger and better things. The feedback we received from our guests and staff alike was extremely positive.

We thank you for everything you’ve done to help leave a lasting impression on the minds of those who were in attendance Thursday! I truly believe the best is yet to come!”