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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CHICAGO
MAGAZINE ANNOUNCES ITS
CHICAGOANS OF THE YEAR FOR 2005
Magazine’s January 2006 Issue Celebrates
Chicago’s Hometown Heroes
CHICAGO, Dec. 12, 2005 – For the 12th
consecutive year, Chicago magazine is
pleased to announce its selections for
Chicagoans of the Year, individuals who have
made vital contributions to the life and
spirit of the city during 2005. This year’s
honorees range from a dedicated musician who
helped shape Chicago’s Latin music scene to
a suburban mom who supplied footwear to
victims of Hurricane Katrina. And in an
unprecedented choice—occasioned by an
exceedingly rare local achievement—the
magazine has also chosen to honor the
Chicago White Sox, who ended an 88-year
drought by winning baseball’s World Series
in October. Each of the honorees is profiled
in the magazine’s January 2006 issue, which
hits newsstands on Wednesday, December
14th.
In addition to the White Sox, the latest
Chicagoans of the Year—Hallie Amey; James R.
Grossman and Ann Durkin Keating; Angel
Meléndez; Ramona Purdy; and Carrie
Wicks—were selected from a distinguished
list of nominees suggested by readers,
community leaders, and Chicago
magazine staff. The magazine will celebrate
their achievements at the annual Chicagoans
of the Year luncheon to be held Wednesday,
January 18th, at the Four Seasons
Hotel, and sponsored in part by LaSalle
Bank.
“This year the White Sox showed us the
rewards of team play—but that’s a lesson all
of our honorees already knew by heart,” says
Richard Babcock, the editor of Chicago
magazine. “They have all demonstrated an
extraordinary commitment to their neighbors,
the city, and even other countries.
Chicagoans of the Year are passionate,
innovative thinkers and doers who, through
their energy and perseverance, serve as an
inspiration to us all.”
ABOUT THE 2005 CHICAGOANS OF THE YEAR
Hallie Amey –
As president of the Wentworth Gardens
Resident Management Council and a
commissioner of the Chicago Housing
Authority, the 82-year-old Hallie Amey was
instrumental in reviving her Wentworth
Gardens community by spearheading the
redevelopment of its 400-unit residence and
by promoting the development of a preschool
program, a teen and citizens’ council, and
other services. In December 2004, Amey
presided over the rededication of the
Wentworth Field House following a $1-million
renovation. A resident of Wentworth Gardens
for more than 50 years, Amey was honored
this past fall at U.S. Cellular Field by
Roosevelt University, which created a
scholarship in her name.
James R. Grossman and Ann Durkin Keating
–
Developed by the Newberry Library in
cooperation with the Chicago Historical
Society, the newly published, 1,100-page
Encyclopedia of Chicago obviously
required the investment of many people and
organizations. But the chief editors over
the course of the project—which includes an
extensive online presence—were James R.
Grossman, vice president of research
and education at the Newberry and a visiting
professor of history at the University of
Chicago, and Ann Durkin Keating,
a professor of history at North Center
College in Naperville.
Angel Meléndez –
For many years, only Latin bands from New
York and California earned national
recognition. But over the years, Angel
Meléndez—a hard working composer,
bandleader, and trombone player—assembled
Chicago’s talented Latin musicians and
spurred a lively—if underground—local Latin
jazz scene. This year one of Meléndez’s
projects, his 911 Mambo Orchestra, was
nominated for a Grammy for its first album (Angel
Meléndez & the 911 Mambo Orchestra,
produced on the city’s only major Latin
record label). In July, Meléndez hosted a
rare live event at Millennium Park with
world-renowned Panamanian pianist Danilo
Perez Jr., and his father, Danilo Perez Sr.
The 911 Mambo Orchestra is currently at work
on two new albums.
Carrie Wicks –
For 25 years, this Ph.D./R.N at the
University of Chicago Hospitals (where she
is the fetal and infant mortality review
director) has traveled from the Mississippi
River delta to the villages of Africa to
provide people with a variety of medical,
social, and educational services. She
regularly holds health conferences in the
U.S and Africa, and makes a point of
nurturing nurses studying at the University
of Chicago. One of those nurses recently
returned to her home village in Ghana, and
Wicks traveled over 4,000 miles to visit
her. Upon her return home, Wicks raised
money for a much-needed solar-powered lamp
so that the village midwife would not have
to deliver babies by candlelight.
The Chicago White Sox –
The last time a Chicago team won the World
Series—in 1917—Woodrow Wilson was President
and there were only 16 major league baseball
teams. But led by Jerry Reinsdorf and Ken
Williams in the front office, and on the
field by the club’s irrepressible manager,
Ozzie Guillen, this year’s White Sox
remained in first place from Opening Day
through the final day of the season,
compiling a 99-63 regular-season record and
running over the Red Sox, Angels, and Astros
en route to bringing the city a world
championship.
Since 1994, Chicago has honored 85
inspiring Chicagoans from visionary
educators and reformers to gifted healers,
leaders, and artists. Past honorees pushing
boundaries to improve the lives of others
include such nationally recognized names
as: Ella Jenkins, Liz Phair, Paul Sereno,
Koko Taylor, Scott Turow and Oprah Winfrey.
Other hometown heroes have included: Rachel
Barton, violinist; John Bryan, chairman of
the board of directors of Millennium Park,
Inc.; Michael Mulqueen, executive
director of the Greater Chicago Food
Depository; Margaret Burroughs, founder of
DuSable Museum; Robert Falls, artistic
director, The Goodman Theatre; Dr. Serafino
Garella, president of Community Health;
Rochelle Lee, president, Rochelle Lee Fund
to Make Reading a Part of Children’s Lives;
Ann Marcou, co-founder of Y-ME National
Breast Cancer Foundation; and Raúl Raymundo,
executive director, Resurrection Project.
ABOUT CHICAGO MAGAZINE
Chicago
magazine, operated by Chicagoland Publishing
Co., a subsidiary of Chicago Tribune Co., is
the largest city monthly magazine in the
nation. Its award-winning news and features,
along with entertainment and dining
listings, draw a circulation of more than
180,000. Chicago Tribune Co. also publishes
the Chicago Tribune, flagship
newspaper of Tribune Company (NYSE:TRB).
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