THANK YOU for a Successful 2017 Annual Banquet! [Photos!]
THANK YOU
On behalf of the CAIR-Chicago board and staff, we extend our deep gratitude and appreciation to all of our guests, sponsors, volunteers, speakers, community members, family, friends, and allies for making our 13th Annual Banquet an inspirational and successful night.
PHOTO GALLERY
Can you spot yourself in our photo gallery? Photos are courtesy of the professional and talented photographers Allison Ziemba and Matthew Kohnhorst! View our photo gallery here!
Please be sure to credit photographers when sharing their photos!
ATTENDANCE
We're grateful to have
SOLD OUT
at over
1,200 attendees
representing the diversity in Chicagoland and the tri-state area, in terms of ethnicity, age, gender, religion, and profession, including countless allies and partners from other communities!
SPONSORS
We are also thankful for the tremendous support of our key partners from the Chicagoland mosques, coalitions, interfaith groups, companies, law firms, and official sponsors.
SPEAKERS & HIGHLIGHTS
This year, the event was star-studded with many special speakers: For the second time ever we added a musician to the lineup, CAIR-Chicago Communications Coordinator Hoda Katebi played a movement from Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto in D, and Zeshan B serenaded the audience with his powerful rendition of the civil rights anthem "cryin in the streets."
Along with the powerfully moving speech by Rep. Ilhan Omar, dynamic emcee by CAIR-SFBA Executive Director Zahra Billoo, and important reminder of community commitment by Ahmed Rehab and Sheikh Kifah Mustapha, powerful moments included honorable mentions to the amazing dedication of the TAP/O'Hare Lawyers.
Some of the touching stories Ahmed recognized in his speech who received standing ovations. Pictured: The O'Hare attorney group including leaders Holly, Jaime, and Matt, and some of the travelers we helped. Second from left in the back is Iman Boundaoui, new TAP coordinator. Seated in the front, to the right is Sahar who had been banned and sent back when she tried to fly in to Chicago to meet her mother (seated next to her) who had just had cancer surgery. CAIR-Chicago worked to bring her back aided by attorney Kalman Resnick, standing behind Sahar. Sahar successfully flew in one day before the banquet and both she and her recovering mother attended the banquet to a standing ovation.
RECOGNITION
We wish to thank the 75 public officials including both Illinois Senators, a dozen congressmen, Mayor Emanuel, and a record breaking number of state, city, and county officials who sent us letters of support this year, and those officials who attended our banquet including the consul generals of several countries.
VOLUNTEERS
This year's banquet was presided over by 100 staff and volunteers who were hard to miss all decked out in their gold and black uniforms! We wish to thank the amazing volunteers who worked incredibly hard to present the community with an evening befitting of its stature.
THE FILM
The highlight of the night, our annual documentary, visualized this year's theme, "resilience," from the CAIR-Chicago office to the community. We'll be uploading this shortly, so stay tuned!
OUR ANNUAL REPORT
Our official 2016 Annual Report is here! This 56-page report details the work of each department at CAIR-Chicago and some of our highlights and accomplishments over the past twelve months.