Carol Gieske named Altrusa Woman of the Year
Altrusa International of Elgin, Illinois Inc. is pleased to announce that Carol Gieske of Elgin will be honored at the 69th annual Woman of the Year Recognition Dinner at 6 p.m. Thursday, May 17, at Villa Olivia Country Club in Bartlett.
Dinner tickets are available at $35 each. Deadline for reservations is Saturday, May 12. For information and reservations, call Joanna Wester at (847) 528-3157.
The local Altrusa Woman of the Year Award began in 1950 when Harriet Armstrong was recognized as the first recipient. Since then, a long line of dedicated local women have been honored for their volunteer service to the greater Elgin area community.
"Carol Gieske has contributed in many ways to make Elgin a vibrant business and philanthropic community," said Dr. Clare Ollayos, Altrusa Elgin Woman of the Year chair. "As a lifelong resident of Elgin, Carol has given back to her community unselfishly through her leadership, volunteer commitments, and professional collaborations."
In her current position as president of the Elgin Area Chamber of Commerce, Gieske works closely with the City of Elgin staff, connects with Elgin City Council members, and serves with prestigious chamber board members. She collaborates, promotes, and assists the chamber's entrepreneur members. More than 600 businesses are members of the chamber and it boasts an 84-percent member retention rate. In 2014, the Elgin Area Chamber was named among the top 3 percent of all chambers nationwide.
For over 20 years, she provided strong leadership to the United Way of Elgin. She served as president for 15 years and with an extraordinary staff and volunteers, she successfully raised more than $44 million dollars to assist those in need through the Elgin social service network.
While serving as president of the Provena Saint Joseph Hospital Foundation (now Presence), Gieske successfully raised funds for the hospital's first capital campaign in more than 40 years for the new state-of-the-art Bob and Edna Meadows Cancer Care Center and new heart center. Eleven million dollars was raised to make a difference in the health care needs of our community.
Gieske is very active in the community. She was the first female member inducted into the Elgin Noon Rotary Club and served as president in 2003-04. She chairs the Elgin Advisory Board to the VNA Health Care; and has been an integral part of the award-winning Elgin Area Leadership Academy since its inception. She is a graduate of EALA and remains on its steering committee.
She is on the boards of Alignment Collaborative for Education; City of Elgin Parks and Recreation Foundation; Elgin Community College Foundation; Fox West Philanthropy Network; and recently on the Illinois Comptroller's Women's Advisory Board and Congresswoman Tammy Duckworth's Advisory Committee on Small Business. She is a member of the women's professional organization, WIM Fox Valley.
Gieske's honors include: Elgin YWCA Leader Luncheon Awards- Marie Grolich Award for Social Service and Beatrice Dorsey Award for Business & Professions; and Influential Women in Business - Business Ledger.
She is a graduate of Elgin's Illinois Park School, Kimball Junior High, and Larkin High School; and Northern Illinois University in DeKalb. She and her husband, Patrick, have been married for 35 years and have two grown sons, William and John.
Altrusa International of Elgin, Illinois, Inc. is an international service organization comprised of executive and professional women. In its history, it continues to sponsor a variety of projects in the community through volunteerism and monetary support. Members reside throughout the Northern Fox Valley area, including Elgin, South Elgin, Bartlett, Dundee, Sleepy Hollow, Carpentersville, Algonquin, Bartlett, Hampshire, Huntley and Pingree Grove.