Ann Marie Scheidler

Still Together, At Home

Kristen Field is wearing a black jumpsuit and green cardigan by Tory Burch, neimanmarcus.com PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROBIN SUBAR / STYLING BY THERESA DEMARIA / HAIR AND MAKEUP BY SARA SALTANOVITZ FOR DISTINCT ARTISTS

Friends of Prentice (FOP), a nonprofit organization working in partnership with Northwestern Medicine Prentice Women’s Hospital to fund innovative and leading-edge research benefitting the lives of women, raised nearly $600,000 at its annual fundraising benefit on Saturday, October 24. Themed Still Together, At Home, this is the first year that the gala was held virtually. Close to 1,000 guests tuned in from the comfort of their own homes. Mike Borders, Friends of Prentice Board President, along with Executive Director Kristen Field, co-hosted the event.

“To say this was a big undertaking would be stating it mildly,” says Field, who joined FOP a year ago and now leads its board of 50. “But in this time of COVID-19, there is this desire of people to want to feel more connected. People don’t want to be standing on the sidelines if there is a way they can make a difference. We often surprise ourselves of what we’re capable of during challenging times.”

Since 1983, FOP has raised over $20 million and awarded grants to more than 100 researchers and clinical programs. FOP’s annual grants initiative has funded projects in the areas of COVID- 19 research, gynecologic oncology, mental health, heart disease, disparities in access to care, diabetes, HIV, uterine and pelvic medicine, genetic biomarker research, home health care outreach, and more. Funds raised during the gala go directly to research, education, and patient care programs at Prentice.

This year’s gala featured one-of-a-kind online auctions, music from DJ Megan Taylor and The Dr. Bombay band, as well as a cocktail hour led by two-time James Beard award-winner and mixologist Belinda Chang. Emmy-award winning television host Val Warner served as emcee for the event that encouraged guests to “come together” virtually to honor the health care community while raising critical funds for medical research. In addition, the frontline health heroes, clinicians, and physicians who have received grants from Friends of Prentice shared highlights of their research and the positive impact the funding has had on the research conducted within their respective areas of women’s health.

“If there was a silver lining from us having to make our gala a virtual event, it’s that it made it accessible to anyone who wanted to be a part of it and see what we were up to,” says Field, who explains the board made the decision to make the virtual ticket price free. “The FOP reach is great—so many people have a story and feel connected to our mission of providing crucial funds to clinicians and researchers who are shaping the future of women’s health care.”

When planning for the gala began, Field put a stake in the ground and said the board would strive to raise what they had in past years. “Fundraising isn’t fixed—it’s always evolving,” Field says. “We knew with this being the first virtual gala, it was going to be the best one we ever had. At this dark time, we wanted this event to be a light and really bring our community together.”

While Field is new to FOP, her roots in nonprofits and health care are deep. “My father and grandfather were both doctors and my mother was a nurse,” she says. “Although I didn’t go to medical school, I speak the language of ‘medicine’ and appreciate the importance for great health care and the need to celebrate our health care heroes. I’ve been reflecting on this a lot lately and the sacrifices our health care providers make day in and day out. We may never be able to truly thank them for all they do, but we can sure try.”

To make a donation to FOP or learn more about the organization, visit friendsofprentice.org.

Honoree Dr. Michael Socol and Dr. William Grobman in 2019

A Season of Gratitude

Photography by David Leslie Anthony / Styling by Theresa DeMaria

IF YOU ASK BRITT CARTER, founder of and senior interior designer at Britt Carter & Company, to describe his feelings about 2020 in one word, you might be surprised by his answer.

“Grateful. I’m thankful every day that I come to work,” he says. “This has been such a hard year for so many people. But the blessing for us has been that people are spending more family time at home and are interested in improving their living spaces. We’re happy to help them make their dreams come true.”

Carter grew up in the “mom and pop” furniture business. His stepfather owned a number of “Happy Days-era” stores in the northern suburbs that sold everything from sofas to air conditioning units.

“As a teenager, I used to help out at the stores a lot,” he remembers. “And I’ll never forget the first time someone actually asked my opinion about a design question they had for some furniture they were buying. I was encouraged that they wanted my opinion and really trusted it.”

Fast forward into Carter’s adulthood when he was early into his 45+ year marriage to Vicki and decided to open his own showroom. “In 1980 when I was 26 years old, we borrowed $50,000 from Vicki’s parents to open our small shop in Libertyville,” explains Carter. “Prior to that when I worked with my stepfather, I realized there was a need for high-end furniture offerings that wasn’t being met. This would be—and always has been—our focus.”

In 1987, Carter moved his showroom to Vernon Hills, tripling the size of his retail space. One day, a young contractor walked into Carter’s showroom and asked him what he was paying in rent. He then told Carter he could build him his own stand-alone retail space for the cost of his rent.

“I believe people come into your life at certain times for specific reasons, and that day this young man came into our showroom and gave me the nudge I needed to build the showroom I had always dreamed of.”

That was 1994. Today, the 24,000-square-foot Britt Carter & Company showroom still stands in Lake Forest.

“I sketched out every square foot on my kitchen table and I’m still in awe of how it all came together,” Carter explains of his showroom located right on Rte. 41 that now showcases more than 30 vignettes of high-end home furnishings. “New customers and clients often come in for the first time and say they’ve driven past our showroom a thousand times never realizing how distinctive the showroom is.

Soothing tones of cream, blue, and taupe in a Carter interior

Furniture industry leaders that I’ve met in High Point, North Carolina who have visited us have said there’s nothing else quite like it. We’re really blessed to have what we have here.”

When asked the secret to his long-term success, Carter confidently espouses that he and his family love meeting and helping new people and creating interiors they love coming home to.

“I started this company because I knew if I spent time investing in our customers, there would be a ‘win’ for everyone,” Carter says. “Our years of experience merchandising, laying out the showroom, and our keen focus on every aspect of the home furnishings industry has honed our passion for interior design. Our clients and customers appreciate the fact that they can experience the home furnishings first-hand, instead of ordering product sight unseen as if the case for many design firms.”

In addition to offering high-end home furnishing, décor, and accessories—Britt Carter & Company offers full interior design services. They’re the only leading professional interior design firm in Chicago with a large showroom. So often guests will arrive looking for a specific item like a sofa, dining table, cocktail table etc., but after walking the showroom they become inspired, and often ask if the store offer interiors design services. Many times, at this point, a client relationship begins.

“I can be a client’s eyes and also their heart,” he explains. “The relationships we build with our clients are truly at the core of what we do. My heart is in every project as if I were designing it for my family.”

To that end, Carter launched the Britt Carter Signature line of furniture that he has developed in response to client custom needs.

“There are times when I can’t find the perfect piece of furniture for a particular space, so I dream of what it should be, then draw it, then have it made to the highest standards,” Carter says. “My clients love it. This is the kind of thing you can do when you’ve been in the business for as long as I have and know as many people in the industry as I do.”

Carter also adds that he and his team love collaborating with other designers. “I hope designers know they can send their clients to our showroom to review products, just as if they would send them down to the Merchandise Mart. We never step on the toes of another colleague,” Carter says. “We’re here to help them do what’s best for their clients. And we’re a lot closer than downtown Chicago.”

One of Carter’s greatest sources of pride is having two of his five children working with him in the family business. His son Shaun is his right-hand in the showroom, while his son Jeremy oversees the “business side” of things.

“Shaun was our son who would come down on Sunday for church dressed to impress,” he says with a smile. “We should have known back then that he would be a natural in our business.”

Being in the furniture business for more than 40 years has taught Carter and his team the importance of creating a rewarding experience for clients and customers. “That said, we can always improve,” says Carter. “We really don’t know what tomorrow brings—but we believe it will be exciting because it’s another day to work with someone new.”

Britt Carter & Company is located at 1350 S. Skokie Highway, Rte. 41, in Lake Forest, 847-735-1180, brittcarter.net. On Carter: Brunello Cucinelli grey turtleneck, Armani Collezioni tweed sport coat, wool trousers by Armani Collezioni, Neiman Marcus Northbrook Court; Allen Edmunds shoes, Nordstrom, Old Orchard, Skokie.

Hole-In-One

Courtney Trimble
Brunello Cucinelli blouse and sweater, Dolce & Gabbana plaid wool wide leg pant, Chloé cream loafer, neimanmarcus.com PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROBIN SUBAR / STYLED BY THERESA DEMARIA / HAIR AND MAKEUP BY CAMMY KELLY OF DISTINCT ARTISTS

Courtney Trimble and her husband relocated to Barrington less than two years ago. The couple has had lengthy careers in the golf world with Trimble having coached women’s golf at the collegiate level, most recently at the University of Louisville. So it should be expected that one of the first things she was looking for when she got to town was a great place to play golf.

“It was this incredible surprise to find that the Barrington Park District golf course is this gorgeous, tree lined, five-hole gem,” she says. The par-3 course at Langendorf Park is owned and operated by the City of Barrington.

“What I love most about this course is that it’s accessible to so many people,” she explains. “A lot of people give up on the idea of playing golf because it takes so much time. But you can literally play this entire course in about an hour. It’s great for beginners, children, families, or golfers who just love to play. And right now you can just jump on the course and play—there’s no need to reserve a tee time.”

Trimble is currently working with six other community members, in conjunction with the city’s park district, to develop a strategic plan for the Barrington Park District golf course—including enhanced programming to spotlight what golf can offer to the community.

This fall, under Trimble’s company, Fore Leaders, Barrington Park District introduced a junior golf program for children ages 7 to 12. Fore Leaders uses an approach that helps players learn, and fall in love with, the sport of golf. The Barrington Park District has also supported the First Tee program. First Tee is a national golf initiative with a mission to impact the lives of young people by providing educational programs that build character, instill life-enhancing values, and promote healthy choices through the game of golf.

“Given our current world with the pandemic, the more people we can expose to golf at an earlier age, the better,” Trimble says of one of the few sports people have been able to participate in this year where no contact and social distancing are the norm. “This sport creates lots of opportunities for people and I love seeing young girls getting involved. This is a sport you can play for life.”

Raising awareness of Barrington’s five-hole course is at the cornerstone of the initiative Trimble is consulting on. “I have a hunch there are people who have lived in Barrington for years who don’t know this course is here,” she says. “We really believe that if we build the programming, with the help of the Barrington Park District and the First Tee Program, the golfers will come.”

To learn more about the efforts in place to support the Barrington Park District golf course, contact Courtney Trimble at [email protected].

The Show Must Go On

Dancers at a ballet barre PHOTOGRAPHY BY DAVID LESLIE ANTHONY / HAIR, MAKEUP & EDITORIAL STYLING BY THERESA DEMARIA

Salt Creek Ballet has staged the longest running production of Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker in the Chicago area—and nothing—not even a pandemic, will interrupt this achievement.

“At Salt Creek Ballet, the love of the art form of dance is present in all of our students, and that love has transferred from generation to generation and culture to culture,” says Kathy Hamilton, a Salt Creek Ballet board member since 2012, as well as a classically trained violinist. “In this tumultuous year, Salt Creek Ballet has rededicated itself to training its students in the classical ballet tradition. It’s because of the continued support of our community that we’ve been able to flourish and make productions like The Nutcracker accessible to families throughout the region and make it their holiday tradition.”

Eddy Ocampo is Salt Creek Ballet’s new Interim School Director, after being a part of Salt Creek Ballet first as a guest artist, and then joining the faculty in 2015. Salt Creek Ballet offers classes for students of all levels, from ages 2 1/2 through adult. By taking the proper and necessary precautions for COVID-19, they are offering socially distanced in-studio classes, as well as virtual classes for students who are more comfortable learning from home.

“I take pride in knowing that I am partially responsible for moving Salt Creek Ballet in a new direction,” Ocampo explains. “As we navigate through this ever-changing time, I’m confident that Salt Creek Ballet will continue to flourish and grow as we look to a time when we can return to enjoying live performances and dance training without restriction.”

Salt Creek Ballet has been a premier pre-professional training ground for the young and aspiring ballet dancer in Chicago for 35 years. “I feel a huge sense of pride to have been charged with moving an already well-established program into a new direction,” says Ocampo. “As we navigate through this pandemic, we’ve created two innovative programs that will allow us to stay in line with our mission.”

First, Salt Creek Ballet’s adaptive and responsive learning program creates an environment in which everyone can feel safe to dance. Whether they choose to train from home or in-studio, all the necessary precautions and online platform upgrades have been implemented to ensure that a student’s love of dance can still be nurtured during the current pandemic.

Salt Creek Ballet dancers rehearse a scene from *The Nutcracker*.

And second, with no live theater performances expected in the near future, Salt Creek Ballet has created a virtual performance season to encourage the appreciation and awareness of dance in our communities and families. With Salt Creek Ballet’s upcoming virtual performance of The Nutcracker in December and a contemporary ballet program to be presented in March, Salt Creek Ballet is innovating and adapting to allow audiences to experience professional quality dance programming and provide high-level training opportunities for its dancers.

“This year’s production of The Nutcracker will definitely be a new experience for both the dancers and the audience,” says Kyle Seguin, Salt Creek Ballet’s Ballet Master. “The format is different. We will be presenting a filmed version of Act II of the ballet rather than our usual live full-length production. Dancing for film is both challenging and exciting for the dancers, and audiences will be able to experience the film in a variety of formats, from online streaming and viewing parties to drive-in movie theater showings.”

But the health and safety of all involved is center stage of this year’s performance. “Our class sizes have been reduced to 20 percent in-studio capacity, with a hybrid learning platform implemented for those who choose to learn at home,” Ocampo says. “We’ve separated the spaces in the classrooms to be at least 8-feet apart at both the ballet barres and the center of the classrooms. Rest assured that we are taking every precaution.”

Ballet Master Kyle Seguin coaches a Salt Creek Ballet student.

Seguin often hears from parents about the positive impact all the work they’re doing in the studios has had on their dancers’ overall energy and mood. “While our daily operations have adapted to ensure dancer and staff safety, our foundation has remained the same—providing high-quality dance training to students of all ages,” he says. “Being in the studio provides dancers with a sense of normalcy and the opportunity to focus on technique and artistry, which can be therapeutic during tough times.”

Although this year’s version of The Nutcracker will be unlike any other, audiences can still look forward to an up-close view of the dancers. “Sets, costumes, and the storyline will remain the same,” Seguin says. “The film will be elegant, traditional, and a reflection of the rich history of Salt Creek Ballet’s beloved production of The Nutcracker.”

If you would like to sponsor or attend—virtually or in person—SCB’s Act II production of The Nutcracker on December 5, visit saltcreekballet.org, follow them on Facebook (Salt Creek Ballet) and Instagram (@ saltcreekballet), or call 630-769-1199 for more information. Salt Creek Ballet, 98 E. Chicago Avenue, Westmont

Building a Forever Home

New Laundry Room PHOTOGRAPHY BY JON CANCELINO

When one North Shore family decided they loved their Winnetka location so much that they would rather renovate than move, they turned to Lake Bluff ’s Lynch Construction Corp. to turn their current house into their forever home.

“We have worked with this family over the past several years,” explains Jeff Lynch, owner and founder of Lynch Construction. Lynch Construction is a full-service firm specializing in residential construction, home remodeling, historic renovation, home maintenance, and cabinetry design. “These clients were service customers, who we had helped with a number of home maintenance projects. I know we won the competitive bid for this major renovation on their house because of our working relationship.”

The initial project scope: to install new floors on the first floor, add a new kitchen and family room, and remodel the master suite and addition for the master bath in a home built in the 1950s.

“While working with architect Paul Konstant and designer Soucie Horner, the project crept in scope and doubled in size,” Jeff explains, detailing the shoring up the structure of the house, installing new plumbing and electrical throughout, adding a third floor, and addressing its primary challenge—water issues caused by its proximity to a floodplain.

“When Jeff is working with an architect or homeowner, they look to him for his expertise on difficult issues,” says Jeff ’s wife, Joan, who handles the business operations for Lynch Construction. “Jeff knows how to look at existing conditions and make things work, and make them happen seamlessly. This is where we shine. We never want anyone to walk into one of our projects and say ‘nice addition.’ Our goal is to make it look like the renovation was original to the home’s design.”

Family room through to covered patio with pocket doors for complete transparency

No design elements were sacrificed for functionality on this project, a house that incorporated a number of high-end finishes. A perfect example of this would be the state-of-the-art pergola off the family room.

“Maximizing the home’s entertaining space was very important to this family,” adds Jeff. “They were interested in having a pergola that would be functional for more than just one season in Chicago. After a great deal of research, we landed on a structure that exceeded the clients’ expectations. It gave the homeowner the aesthetic they wanted and the flexibility they were seeking. Using a remote control, the homeowners can seal its roof, enclose it with screens, turn on heaters, and switch on LED lights and surround sound. It took some back and forth to get the piece delivered and to work the way it should, but the results were worth it.”

This attention to detail is also seen in the exquisite carpentry of the cabinets installed in the kitchen, butler’s pantry, mudroom, and throughout the house. “Our cabinet shop can create almost anything,” says Joan. “If a homeowner doesn’t see something they like online or in a catalog, we can build it for them.”

The homeowners were so pleased with the initial renovations to their first floor that they retained Jeff and the team to rework the bedrooms, bathrooms, and laundry room on the second floor, and then to remove the roof and add two more bedrooms and a bathroom to a third floor.

“As the project unfolded, the homeowners were determined to repair all of the house’s other issues,” Jeff explains. “Things didn’t happen in the order they would have had we started the project knowing everything we were going to do. But we were lucky that the family wasn’t living in the home while the work was underway.”

While Lynch had managed the water and flooding issues during construction, when the project was nearly finished, the homeowner decided to have the basement water problems fully resolved.

“All of the construction and decorating was near complete when we got the call to get the water problem fixed once and for all,” says Joan with a laugh. “It was early spring, and we literally had to pump water and sand out of the basement windows so we didn’t disturb any of the work we had just finished on the upper levels. It was a challenge.”

The best part of this project, in addition to creating a beautiful home its owners absolutely love in a location they’re committed to, the family was able to move back in just before the pandemic.

“The homeowners say that the renovation was a lifesaver in more ways than one,” notes Joan, mentioning that the family was also able to have their swimming pool finished in time for them to enjoy the summer.

“This has been a very trying time for all businesses,” Joan adds. “We’ve been fortunate, that people are investing in their living spaces because this is where they are spending all of their time. We’ve been able to continue working and we’ve implemented all of the necessary protocols to keep our homeowners and team members safe. We’re hopeful that this next year will be good for all of us.”

Lynch Construction Corp., 100 N. Skokie Highway, Lake Bluff, Illinois, 847-295-1825, lynchconstruction.biz.

Camp Hope Magic

Camper Matt Carr receives his personally delivered box of Camp Hope essentials from Jack Doheny, Buddy; Kevin Goon, Small Group Director; Alisa Giannelli, Buddy; Joseph Santello, Small Group Director. Portrait photography by Robin Subar

WHEN WORD CAME down in the spring that Camp Hope would have to be virtual this summer, even its steadfast supporters doubted it could work. “Camp Hope has the ability to make you feel as if you’re experiencing heaven on earth,” says long-time Camp Hope leader Joseph Santello. “We just didn’t know if we could recreate online what we feel when we’re all together at camp.”

But somehow, they did it.

To take a step back, Camp Hope is a five-day residential and recreational summer camp for adolescents and young adults with varying disabilities that is typically offered to about 50 campers over two weeks in July. It was started more than a decade ago in Lake Forest within the Church of St. Mary’s youth group. Camp Hope strives to give its campers a traditional summer camp experience, while providing their parents a much-needed break from the care many of the campers need. In their place, each camper is matched with a high school or college-age “buddy” who gives one-on-one attention to the camper for the week.

“We started meeting weekly this spring to figure out if it would even be possible to pull off a virtual summer camp,” explains Abby Bowman, who along with Santello and Kelli Jacobs, leads a group of young volunteers to make Camp Hope happen. “Our board really believed we could do this and did anything and everything to free us up so we could.”

Because Bowman, Santello, and Jacobs were all having to adapt to a virtual experience for their day jobs in education, sales, and communications, they were able to leverage what they learned about various online platforms and put this to work in structuring a camp experience.

“One critical step we took was to survey the campers’ parents to see if this was something they would be interested in,” says Jacobs. “We had to see if parents would be available to help their children log in, as well as if they had the technology at home to even make this a possibility.”

Once the team had an idea of what they were working with, they set off to create a plan that would make Camp Hope easy for parents to oversee.

“It wasn’t lost on us at all that we were going to need parents to be involved in order for this to work,” Bowman says. “And this goes directly against one of Camp Hope’s pillars to be a respite for these families. But what most parents told us was that their families needed some form of Camp Hope this summer—even if it was online.”

The team decided that Camp Hope would run for one week, with two one-hour sessions—one at lunch time and one later in the evening. Prior to camp starting, each camper received a box that was personally delivered by a Camp Hope buddy that included everything that would be needed for the week of activities. Additionally, each camper received a unique gift so they knew they were being thought of, as well as a photo book from last year’s camp.

“Making and delivering these boxes was such a special part of this year,” says Jacobs. “We got to personally deliver nearly every box, even reconnecting with campers who had aged out of the summer camp but were still such a special part of our Camp Hope family.”

“I loved putting together these boxes,” adds Bowman. “We all met in Andrea Perino’s garage for a box-making party and it was so much fun envisioning what the campers would think when they opened their boxes. Ann Burke literally had hundreds of things delivered to her house that we used to put them together. We couldn’t have done camp without these two amazing ladies.”

The last piece of the puzzle was convincing the campers that being together online was going to be as much fun as being on-site at camp.

“Lillie Romeiser, one of our former directors, put together a six-minute video to show the campers how great Camp Hope 2020 could be,” says Santello. “I talked with one of my favorite campers, Matt Carr, after he watched it. He said ‘Joseph, this is going to be ok,’ with the same excitement he brings to camp every summer. I knew he was right.”

So, camp kicked off with nearly all of its players from past years on both the camper and buddy sides. Each day, Camp Hope happened virtually with its arts and crafts, singalongs, disco parties, talent shows, s’mores making, and gift exchanges.

“I think we surprised ourselves at how well it went,” says Jacobs. “There was definitely some plan shifting and situation adapting that took place in real time if we sensed something wasn’t working, but what we really found out was how much the campers liked seeing each other and us online. Most of the time when we’d be done with a session, campers would ask if they could just hang out a little bit longer. It was so great to watch.”

Parents thoroughly enjoyed the sneak peeks they were given.

“We heard over and over in our feedback after camp how grateful parents were to see how this all worked,” Bowman says. “Even though it wasn’t exactly the same, parents could see the relationships the campers have with each other and what makes Camp Hope so special.”

Although there will never be a real replacement for two weeks of in-person summer camp for the Camp Hope community, this year—when they had to—they came pretty darn close.

“That magic that happens at Camp Hope, it was real this year,” says Santello. “I know we’ll all be feeling it until we’re back together next summer.”

To learn more about Camp Hope, visit camphopeillinois.org.