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| Photo: Dan Rest |
Please join us in welcoming Charlie Gardner to the position of Chairman of the Board of Directors!
The Auditorium Board members and staff are extremely pleased to welcome our newly appointed Chairman of the Board, Charlie Gardner.
Charlie has long been a loyal steward of the Auditorium Theatre, serving on the Auditorium Board of Directors since 2003. A certified public accountant by training, Charlie previously served for a time in the office of Board Treasurer. He’s been part of our extended Roosevelt community for even longer, actively serving on the Roosevelt University Board of Trustees since 1993.
In his professional life, Charlie was President and CEO of The Chicago Dock & Canal Trust, a publicly traded real estate investment trust. With Chicago Dock, Charlie helped develop jewels like the Sheraton Chicago Hotel and Towers, the NBC Tower, the University of Chicago’s Gleacher Center and more than 1,000 condominiums and rental apartments in projects that today are known as Cityfront Center and River East. “It was a lifetime dream to be involved in a major piece of land in a major city and in a great location,” says Charlie.
Charlie and his wife, Patti Eylar, always answer our calls for support. They are “Friends of Too Hot to Handel,” tirelessly concerned with preservation efforts of our National Historic Landmark building, and happy patrons of our dance presenting and producing.
This fall, you will see Charlie and Patti here at the Auditorium enjoying a performance of The Joffrey Ballet, the Twyla Tharp--50th Anniversary Tour, and the Billy Strayhorn gala on November 21. They subscribe every year to our dance series and many other productions like Too Hot to Handel.
In fact, their contributions to dance, and to ballet in particular, go far beyond our stage. Patti was a founding member of Chicago City Ballet, directed by Maria Tallchief and Paul Meija, and currently co-directs Chicago Ballet Arts in the west Rogers Park neighborhood. She is currently the President of the Joffrey Ballet Women's Board, and an active board member of Chicago Dancers United and Audience Architects, Chicago’s dance service organization.
Charlie is also active around town, serving on the board of the Civic Federation, and as a member of the Joffrey Circle Committee. He is also a former member of the Boards of Northwestern Medical Faculty Foundation, Northwestern Memorial Foundation, the Illinois Gaming Board, and the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority. He is a Life Trustee of Northwestern Medicine.
Charlie retired from business in 1997. But if that inspires you to challenge him to a pick-up game of hoops, a word of caution- you’ll need to bring you’re A-game. Charlie is a former basketball player with the ABA team Denver Rockets.
Welcome, Charlie! We are thrilled to have you serve as Chairman of the Board.
