Judy Baar Topinka to open Women's Power Lunch Sept. 18
SHARE Fox Valley will host the sixth annual Women's Power Lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 18, at Two Brothers Roundhouse, with registration beginning at 11 a.m. The keynote speaker for the event is American Red Cross, Greater Chicago Region, CEO Fran Edwardson. All the proceeds will go to Mutual Ground Inc.
Opening remarks will be from Illinois State Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka. She was sworn in as Illinois State Comptroller on Jan. 10, 2011, becoming the first woman in Illinois history to serve in two state constitutional offices. Before becoming comptroller, Topinka served as the Illinois State Treasurer from 1994 to 2007. She was the first woman in Illinois history to hold the post and was re-elected to three consecutive terms.
Edwardson serves as the chief executive officer of the American Red Cross, Greater Chicago Region, covering 9.4 million people in 13 counties in Northeast Illinois and Northwest Indiana. Edwardson previously served as a partner in the law firm of Mayer Brown and executive director of the Illinois Securities Department. She also served as senior vice president, general counsel and secretary of UAL Corporation, predecessor to United Continental Holdings Inc., and its principal subsidiary, United Airlines. During her decade in the air transportation industry, Edwardson faced no greater challenge than as a part of the executive team who steered United through the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorists attacks.
This year SHARE Fox Valley has nominated Community Activist Lulu Blacksmith as the recipient of the Woman of Power Award 2014.
Blacksmith serves as the director of governmental and multicultural affairs at Waubonsee Community College. Over the years, Blacksmith has served Aurora as a volunteer in many capacities. Her interest in helping others stems from her life experience as an immigrant and lifelong learner. She founded Companeros en Salud / Partners in Health, NFP in 1999 to provide the Hispanic community and other diverse groups with the means to access resources and services for their health and well-being. In 2000, she also founded Language Access to Healthcare, a free community based health care interpreting service to increase access to health care. Blacksmith is active in several groups, including the Kane County Health Committee, Presence Mercy Medical Center's Mission Committee, Aurora Downtown Board, and the Aurora Regional Chamber of Commerce Board.
SHARE Fox Valley is a committee formed of women who are committed to Supporting individuals, Giving Hope and Respecting Everyone, is again coordinating the 2015 Women's Power Lunch. All proceeds go to Mutual Ground Inc. which was founded in 1975, with the goal of providing services to victims of domestic violence and sexual assault and their families. Mutual Ground is one of the largest and oldest domestic violence shelters in the state. All services are victim-centered and focus on advocacy that empowers each individual to make her/his own decisions.
Ticket donations are $50, $60 at the door for the luncheon. Checks are to be made payable to Mutual Ground Inc., a 501(c)(3) organization. For sponsorship information or to reserve your seat at sharefoxvalley.com by Sept. 12. For more information, call Mutual Ground at (630) 897-0084 or email events@mutualground.org.