Sterling Friendship Award

The Sterling Friendship Award

Honoring the contributions of distinguished adults 65 plus

The Sterling Friendship Award is one of many ways Friendship Village honors the contributions of mature adults in our society. Each year, the Award is presented at the annual Sterling Friendship Award Dinner to a person age 65 or older who is distinguished by significant and continuing accomplishments in business, the community, or other fields.

 

Bill Kurtis and Walter Jacobson
The 13th annual Sterling Friendship Award Dinner honors two Chicago news legends, Bill Kurtis and Walter Jacobson. We're celebrating their over 40-year careers in investigative journalism as well as the impact they have had on the Chicago community.

Come and celebrate another wonderful year at Friendship Village and join us in recognizing two honorees who have not only brought the news into our homes for over four decades, but who have dedicated their lives to making a change in our community.

13th Annual Sterling Friendship Award Dinner will be:

Friday, October 1, 2010
Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center Hotel
1551 N. Thoreau Dr.
Utopia Ballroom

6:30 p.m. Cocktail Reception
7:30 p.m. Dinner
9:00 p.m. Award Presentation followed by dessert and mingling

For more information about the event, to reserve tickets or make a donation, please contact Friendship Senior Services at (847) 884-5007.

Proceeds will benefit the Capital Campaign for the restoration of the Secret Garden.

Past recipients include:

  • 2009: Robert M. "Bob" Alston, President and CEO of Friendship Senior Options/Friendship Village, Retired
  • 2008: Michael Madden, Director of the Schaumburg Township District Library
  • 2007: R. Thomas Jaeger, a nationally recognized architect who was an integral part of the recent expansion at Friendship Village of Schaumburg
  • 2006: Ruth Park, Schaumburg Civic Leader and co-founder of the Schaumburg Business Association
  • 2005: Dr. Margaret Taylor Goss Burroughs, Founder of the DuSable Museum of African American History in Chicago
  • 2004: Willard Scott, NBC "Today" show weatherman and television personality
  • 2003: Dr. Joyce Brothers, psychologist, author, and television personality
  • 2002: Art Linkletter, nationally known radio and television personality
  • 2001: Harry Volkman, longtime Chicagoland weather forecaster
  • 2000: William Warfield, Grammy-Award-winning bass-baritone
  • 1999: The Honorable Virginia Macdonald, former Illinois State Representative
  • 1998: Ray Meyer, former DePaul University basketball coach

The first Sterling Friendship Award Dinner was held in 1998, and the award itself was created that same year by artist and sculptor Joseph Burlini, who resides in Arlington Heights. In Mr. Burlini's words, "The shape represents the fullness of life and the wholeness of the individual. The inner metal piece represents the core of the individual – the purpose that drives them – and the shiny finish provides an opportunity for each of us to see the potential within ourselves." It's a design that reflects Friendship Village's own focus on the individual, making the Sterling Friendship Award an ideal symbol for our community and our mission.