Robert Gates, Allison Arwady highlight Barrington's 5th Town-Warming

Former U.S. Secretary of Defense and CIA Director Robert Gates will be the keynote speaker at this year's Barrington Town-Warming, which also will feature panels of health and security experts.

The theme of the fifth annual event is "Security in a Post-Pandemic World." It will be held Feb. 5 at Barrington's White House and is organized by the Barrington Cultural Commission as a re-creation of the lecture series held in town during the Depression era.

Gates will appear in a virtual "fireside chat" with Motorola President and CEO Greg Brown. The other speakers and panelists will be there in person.

"We are very excited to have the Town-Warming both in-person at Barrington's White House and virtually this year, after last year's virtual-only event," Village President Karen Darch said. "Robert Gates is an extraordinary individual with a deep understanding of our nation's security issues, and it could not be a better time to explore those themes.

"We also will hear from wonderful experts in the health care field who can help us put the pandemic in perspective and give us thoughts on where we go from here," Darch said.

The event will include two morning panels:

• "Present-Day Threats" will be moderated by cultural commission member Diane Bergan and feature Mark Gossett, executive vice president and chief risk officer for Northern Trust; Alicia Tate-Nadeau, director of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency and Illinois Homeland Security adviser; Brian Vercruysse, rail safety program administrator for the Illinois Commerce Commission; and Beth Windisch, regional prevention coordinator for the Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships, U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

• "The Security of Our Well-Being" will be moderated by Corey McPherrin, news anchor for Fox 32 Chicago, and feature Dr. Allison Arwady, commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health; Karen Lambert, president of Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital; and Mark Pfister, executive director of the Lake County Health Department.

After lunch, Barrington historian Barbara Benson will introduce character actor Ron Keaton, who will appear as Winston Churchill to discuss the topics of history and national security during World War II.

The keynote discussion between Gates and Brown will follow, with a reception capping off the day.

Previous keynote speakers at Town-Warming events were former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, presidential historian and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Doris Kearns Goodwin, and former U.S. Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson.

The event's presenting sponsor is Northern Trust. The keynote speaker sponsors are Greg and Anna Brown. The livestreaming sponsor is Kim Duchossois.

In-person tickets are nearly sold out, but virtual tickets are still available. Visit barringtonswhitehouse.com/events.