Lisa Madigan Introductory Remarks
Howard Tullman Acceptance Remarks
Thank
you for that introduction and for inviting me to join you for Imerman Angels’ Wings
of Hope Gala.
Tonight,
I have the pleasure of introducing the Wings of Hope Awardee – Howard Tullman.
And
you couldn’t have picked a better person to honor.
Here’s
why:
When
Jonny Imerman, got cancer, at a much too young age, he wanted to meet someone
who had survived his type of cancer. To talk with someone who had not only
faced the same type of cancer, but beat it. To know that there is hope. Then Jonny
wanted to give that vital support to everyone fighting cancer.
But
we all know a lot of people in the world who have great ideas, but most of the
time they remain just that – ideas.
Too
few people turn their great ideas into reality.
But
we are here tonight, because Jonny didn’t just beat cancer, he turned his idea
into reality by creating Imerman Angels - to make sure that no one faces cancer
alone.
And
when I think about who in Chicago can turn ideas into reality, the first person
that comes to my mind is Howard Tullman. That’s why I can’t think of a better
person to honor with the Wings of Hope Award.
Howard
is a visionary.
Over
the years that I have known Howard, he has had at least 4 jobs. And really,
it’s not even accurate to say he had jobs.
What
Howard has are ideas - Big ideas! Ideas that help people. Ideas that help people
realize their dreams. That’s what Howard does: He turns dreams into reality. Howard
puts his heart and soul into bringing ideas to life.
Among
my favorite ideas that Howard has brought to life:
The
rebirth of Kendall College.
Howard
became the president of Kendall College and within 9 months, he had developed a
strategy to make it one of the top culinary and hospitality institutions in the
country. He sold the college’s Evanston campus, raised $60 million and moved
the campus to a state-of-the-art facility on Chicago’s Goose Island. It’s a
stunning school producing terrific chefs.
Howard
created Experiencia World.
It’s
has a little city, called Exchange City, that has all the services a city needs: a post office, a mayor’s office, a bank, an electric
company, a hospital.
Elementary
school kids come for the day and each gets to run something in the city. This
elaborate mini city allows kids to see and understand and have responsibility
for running everything to keep the city functioning. They learn how the real
world works.
Then
Howard started Flashpoint Academy.
He
knew that kids interested in gaming and animation needed to get out of their
parents’ basements and get an education with real experience. The first time I
toured Flashpoint, I was awed by the technology.
The
cameras, software and editing equipment at Flashpoint is sometimes so new it
isn’t even on the market yet. So students are trained to use state of the art
equipment in state-of-the-art studios and animation labs, and they have an edge
in getting jobs.
And
now, Howard is sharing his expertise as head of 1871.
At 1871, Howard is helping
people transform their ideas into start ups and creating a community where
people help each other.
These
examples demonstrate the core connection between Howard and Jonny:
They
don’t just inspire people with brilliant ideas.
They
don’t just talk about how nice it would be to help people:
They
make them happen.
And
as they move forward, they give back.
They
make our world a better place.
I
love and respect people like Howard and Jonny.
Take
a look at this video to see Howard’s commitment and impact on Imerman Angels.
Howard Tullman Acceptance Remarks
I want to thank Jonny
and everyone else at Imerman Angels for this great award and for all their
amazing work and unstinting service in support of so many others.
I want to thank my dear
friend Lisa Madigan for being here tonight and for her kind words. She
continues to be my favorite oxymoron: a politician you can believe in.
I want to thank my
co-chair Richard Price who instantly agreed to help and support me in this
endeavor. He’s one of the city’s great professional and charitable leaders and
an amazing cheerleader for everything that’s right in Chicago.
And finally, I want to
thank all of you for your generous support of this great cause and for honoring
us with your presence tonight. Having so many friends here has made a special
night even that much more spectacular. (A special shout-out to Joe Shanahan for
being with us and for being a guy whose courage and grace has been a true
inspiration. Joe was METRO before metrosexual was even a word.)
We all think we’re
immortal until our own lives (or the lives of those we love dearly) are touched
by sadness, loss, injury or disease and then we realize how fragile our lives
really are; how precious our health is; and how fortunate we are to have our
family and friends around us.
The very best we can do
is to live our lives fully every day (no one does this better or more
enthusiastically than Jonny) and also to resolve as well to help as many others
along the way as we can.
My life has been
blessed in too many ways to count, but we all have rough times as well when we
need the strength and love of our families, and I know that I wouldn’t be
standing here before you tonight without the constant love and support of my
wife Judy for so many years and through every peak and every valley we’ve
encountered together. I want to take a special moment to thank her and to share
this honor with her.
I tell the hundreds of
eager entrepreneurs that I deal with every week at 1871 that no one today does
anything by themselves and so I’m also extremely grateful that I have always
been surrounded, enabled, inspired and empowered by the efforts, commitment and
dedication of other special individuals whose actions, passions and examples
have enriched my life as well.
But at the end of the
day, it’s the unexpected and unrequested care and kindness of strangers who
offer their support in our times of need that most surprises us and reminds us
of the place and the importance that love and charity will always have in our
lives.
The particular
brilliance of Jonny’s idea – to organize and scale the power of one-to-one peer
assistance – is that it turns the rewards of unselfish service to others from a
conceptually nice and incidental thing to do into a visceral, concrete and
continual connection between two people that can last a lifetime; enhance the
lives of both individuals; and serve as a constant example for others that we
each have the power and ability to help make our world a better place. In the
Jewish tradition, we call this “tikkun olam” which means repairing the world.
And that is what I believe that the Imerman Angels do every day.
This is why I have been
a long-time supporter of IA and why I’m so honored and grateful that many of
you here tonight have - on my behalf – joined with us to help move this great
organization forward and to extend its reach and impact so that they can
continue each day to make a difference in the lives of so many.
Thank you again.
