Palatine couple to be honored by Clearbrook at Friday’s Shining Star Ball
Clearbrook will honor a Palatine couple on Friday for their unwavering support of the agency over the last 25 years.
Jim and Marie Gallagher and their family will be at the forefront of Clearbrook’s largest fundraiser, the Shining Star Ball. The black tie event will be held at the Four Seasons in Chicago, and raises money for the Clearbrook Clinic and its therapeutic care.
Approximately 300 guests are expected to attend, including Ravi Baichwal, weekend anchor with ABC 7, who returns to emcee the evening. Former CEO of Illinois Tool Works D. James Farrell and his wife, Maxine, are honorary chairmen of the event.
The Gallaghers will be presented with the Shining Star Award, which is the agency’s most prestigious honor and is given to those who champion the rights of individuals with disabilities.
Jim Gallagher is the son of Arthur J. Gallagher, and he followed his father as CEO of the insurance conglomerate, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., based in Itasca.
“From the beginning, their commitment to Clearbrook has been a labor of love,” says Carl La Mell, Clearbrook president. “Together, Jim and Marie have stood at train stations and food stores with their Tag Days cans, and have worked on every committee and fundraising event.”
He dates their involvement back to 1985, when they agreed to support a fundraiser for the agency in honor of the daughter of one of Gallagher’s employees who lived in one of Clearbrook’s group homes.
“They not only agreed to help financially,” La Mell says, “but they hosted the entire benefit cocktail party.”
When the first Shining Star Ball took place in 1988, Jim and Marie Gallagher attended, along with other influential business leaders, representing the Chicago Bears, McDonald’s, Aon Corporation, and Crate & Barrel, to name a few.
The Gallaghers have attended nearly every year, and their contributions to the agency now are matched by the Arthur J. and Katherine Gallagher and Robert E. Gallagher foundations.
“We’re just interested in what they’re doing,” Jim Gallagher says simply. “We’ve followed it and have stayed a part of it.”
Gallagher served on Clearbrook’s board of directors for seven years, working closely with Scott Lindahl of Hoffman Estates, a former board chairman.
“We support everything they do,” Gallagher adds, “from the clinic services to the job training and services. All of it.”
La Mell says the Clearbrook Clinic is one of the programs that sets the agency apart, and proceeds from the ball continue to underwrite its costs, including staff.
The clinic provides 20,000 hours of therapeutic care a year, including occupational, physical and speech and language therapies, as well as behavioral programming and counseling.