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Fr. John C. Cusick
Chaplain
September 2011
There was a time when twenty-five years of
marriage, working for the same company, etc. seemed like a long
time. But today it seems that a 25 year period of time seems to
go so fast. So, it seems like a year or two ago that the First Friday
Club of Chicago was formed. In that “short” period on
the first Friday of the month, October through May, we have been
privileged to assemble several hundred people for lunch, a speaker
and the opportunity to make some valuable connections between our
work, our faith and the current issues we face every day.
Beginning in 1986, using the inspiration and organizational
structure of The First Friday Club of Cleveland, The First Friday
Club of Chicago was born. Our monthly lunch in downtown Chicago
has allowed us the opportunity to listen to priests, bishops, cardinals,
corporate leaders, government officials, journalists, judges, attorneys,
doctors, nurses, chief executive officers, authors, university presidents,
professors, rabbis, theologians, union officials, community organizers
and radio and television personalities.
I believe that our roster of past speakers is
one of the very best in the Chicago area.
Now it is time to begin the next quarter century.
We will do that on October 7, 2011 at Noon in the Union League Club
when we welcome Mr. Ron Magers, broadcast journalist at ABC 7 Chicago.
The Board of Directors of The First Friday Club is in the process
of assembling another group of key speakers.
YOU are as important as each speaker. Together
you and I make up The First Friday Club of Chicago. I look forward
to seeing you on those first Fridays when you are available. “We
can do this” has gone from my dream to our mantra. Can you
keep this dream, organization and opportunity alive? I am asking
you to become a member of The First Friday Club in one of our membership
levels this year.
What a great opportunity: to connect our faith,
our work, our values and the issues of the day. “We can do
this!” I hope to see you on October 7th.
Father John Cusick
Chaplain
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Dr. Charles T. Menghini
r
Club President
Dear Friends of the First Friday Club:
As we begin our 26th year, I take this
opportunity to thank you for the incredible level of support you
have offered to our club during its first quarter century. Last
year set two records for the First Friday Club of Chicago and you
made it possible. Our membership soared to over 300 and 2,395 joined
us for one of our eight lunches.
The 2011-2012 season of the First Friday
Club promises to be another great array of speakers who will help
us connect the dots between our faith, our families, our work and
social issues of the day. We are proud to announce that our year
will begin with Chicago’s number one television news anchor
from ABC 7, Ron Magers on Friday, October 7. Mr. Magers has been
broadcasting in Chicago since 1981 and has been with ABC 7 since
1998, and epitomizes all that is good about television broadcasting.
I am also proud that we have secured former
Governor Jim Thompson for November and Fr. Richard Sparks from Old
St. Mary’s parish for December. Our board is currently working
on the 2012 slate of speakers and we will announce them as they
are confirmed.
And as wonderful as our speakers are, our
lunches are incomplete without you. There is nothing more rewarding
than to walk around the room and meet you, to chat with you, and
to watch you converse with your friends and acquaintances, old and
new. As advertised, the First Friday Club of Chicago offers you
a chance to “bite into something more than lunch.” It
provides us with an hour and fifteen minutes once a month to do
something completely different from our daily routines.
The First Friday Club is only made possible because of you. We rely
on your memberships in order to fund the operations of the club;
the computer, the internet, our club administrator, and even this
brochure is made possible because of your commitment, your membership.
If you have been a member in the past, I encourage you to join again
and ask you to consider “bumping up a level.” If you
have not joined before, then now is the time. Our membership goal
for this year is 325 and our attendance goal this year is 2,500.
It’s time to go to work. It’s time for us to get ready
to welcome you, and it’s time for you to complete your membership
and begin to make your reservations. While you’re at it, why
not reach out to a friend or some colleagues at work and introduce
them to the First Friday Club too?
I look forward to seeing you soon and on behalf
of the First Friday Club Board, thank you for making our organization
such a vibrant, important gathering.
Dr. Charles T. Menghini
President
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