Always presenting the right speaker for the right time has been the secret of 31 sold-out successes of the Woman’s Board of Rush University Medical Center’s Spring Luncheons. Presidential historian and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Doris Kearns Goodwin, for five decades the interpreter of the American Presidency, kept that winning streak intact recently as she discussed America at 250 and how the founders instilled hope from the ground up.
Chaired by Cindi Brankin, the Spring Luncheon, benefiting The Woman’s Board Endowed Fund for Research and Clinical Trials at Rush and community engagement programs, was attended by 450 guests.
Woman’s Board President Kate Peterson spoke about the equitable and high-quality care provided at Rush, noting: “Who gets the chance to be heathy? At Rush the answer is a resounding everyone.”
The perennial favorite luncheon moments are when Dr. Omar Lateef, goes off script, often about his love of the pretzel rolls at the Four Seasons Chicago where the luncheon is held. His words are also always the most inspiring of the day. He described Rush and the service the Woman’s Board provides:
“We offer health care with equity and an innovative approach which is intentionally broad. The Woman’s Board is involved in all aspects of Rush’s mission. We are number one in Illinois for quality and outcomes and now it is more urgent than ever before to take the opportunity to reinvent. Doing right can’t be wrong, and somehow, someway, it all works out.”
In dialogue with Nathalie Wheaton, archivist of Rush University Medical Center and Rush University since 2014, Goodwin spoke about several US Presidents she has profiled, including Abraham Lincoln. Goodwin is a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian, public speaker, #1 New York Times bestselling author, and presidential scholar whose work has shaped public understanding of American leadership and democracy for more than five decades. Wheaton also hosts walking tours and lectures centered on Chicago’s health history through the nonprofit organization Chicago for Chicagoans.
Goodwin told guests:
“I have loved history as long as I can remember and think that it tells us we can emerge from huge challenges like wars and the Great Depression with a greater sense of power. Almost every act of the Revolution was a precedent of what was ahead, and it was the kind of power that wasn’t from the top down. What they accomplished gives us perspective, solace and most importantly, hope.”
Goodwin pointed to Illinois’ Abraham Lincoln recalling his storytelling and empathy. “He put his three chief rivals beside him in his cabinet, each more celebrated and educated than himself. Lincoln knew that he had to have the strongest at his side. He had a unique combination of humility and confidence.”
Also contributing to the day’s enjoyment: Freeman’s displaying glorious jewelry for upcoming auctions, the Book Stall’s booth selling a variety of Doris Kearns Goodwin’s books, and for VIP guests, a copy of her book An Unfinished Love Story: A Personal History of the 1960s, a memoir that blends her personal life with the political history of the 1960s, focusing on her late husband, Richard “Dick” Goodwin, a key advisor to JFK, LBJ, and RFK.
Luncheon sponsors were: The Garlands of Barrington, Bedeker Family, Bulley & Andrews, Freeman’s, ITW, Performance Wealth, Schain Banks, Segal Family Foundation, and Lisbeth Stiffel.
For more information visit: thewomansboard.org
