John Edwardson and The Valspar Corp. receive Chicagoland Habitat Hero awards

Chicagoland Habitat for Humanity honored John Edwardson, retired CEO of CDW, and The Valspar Corp. at its inaugural Habitat Hero Award Dinner, recognizing decades of leadership and commitment in their roles working with Habitat in the Chicago area and beyond.

More than 300 guests toasted the honorees at the Loews Chicago Hotel and helped commemorate 40 years of Habitat for Humanity building strength, stability and self-reliance through shelter.

"Tonight is a celebration of so many different heroes," said Ted Dosch, CFO of Anixter International Inc. "We also want to honor the Habitat homeowners for the pride they invest in their homes and the pride they inspire in us." Dosch was a co-chair of the event along with Tony Gambell, a partner at McKinsey & Company, and Tom Richards, Chairman and CEO of CDW.

"The Habitat Hero Award is an important opportunity to recognize the people and companies who share the Habitat for Humanity commitment to make decent shelter a matter of conscience and action," said Iram Shah, SVP, Customer Transformation North America, Schneider Electric. Schneider Electric was the presenting sponsor of the event.

For 30 years, Habitat for Humanity has had a local presence in the Chicago area, serving as a catalyst that mobilizes people to build thriving neighborhoods because everyone wants to live in a strong, stable community. Since their beginning in the Chicago region, the eight Habitat for Humanity affiliates collectively have served close to 5,200 individuals in the area. The number of individuals served in our region has tripled between 2010 and 2015 and is projected to reach 1,308 in Fiscal Year 2016, with an ultimate goal of serving 2,000 individuals per year regionwide by 2018.

Unable to attend in person, President Jimmy Carter sent a special message of thanks to the honorees, sponsors and guests. "Thirty years ago this month, Rose and I were in Chicago with 150 volunteers to build a four unit townhouse during our third annual Carter Work Project week. Since then, Habitat has grown in the Chicago area - serving six counties with eight affiliates and nine ReStores - and today has ambitious goals for even greater impact."

"Here in Chicagoland, Valspar and its local executives have been instrumental leaders in our work to change more families' lives," said Tony Gambell, Partner at McKinsey & Company. "In addition to deploying thousands of employee volunteers, Valspar has provided a quarter-million dollars in cash and product donations to the Chicago region alone."

"John Edwardson has been a significant corporate supporter of Habitat, as well as a personal donor, for many years," said Tjada McKenna, COO of Habitat for Humanity International. "When he arrived in Chicago, he gave generously both personally and through his multiple corporate affiliations."

For more information, visit www.chicagolandhabitat.org/habitathero.