Father Robert Oldershaw, Assistant City Manager Judith Aiello, and publisher Mary Helt Gavin were recognized at the annual Chamber of Commerce meeting and gala on April 17 at the Woman’s Club of Evanston.
Ms. Gavin, publisher of the 10-year-old Evanston RoundTable, received the Small Businessperson of the Year award. She said she felt she had joined “one of Evanston’s most elite and prestigious clubs. We may not all know each other, but we have in common the challenge of operating a small business to offer high-quality products and services to the people of this city that we all love.”
Ms. Aiello, who retires this week after 32 years of service in Evanston City government, accepted the Community Leadership Award. She enticed developers to and fostered growth in Evanston. She said she had learned something from each City Council with which she had worked and added it was an “honor” to serve the people and the City of Evanston.
Father Oldershaw, a lifelong Evanstonian and 18-year pastor of St. Nicholas Catholic Church, was named the Public Service/Non-Profit Person of the Year.
He said he has always had “one foot in the community and one in the church,” and counseled the large audience, “I really believe the challenge facing Evanston is not the height of the tower but the depth of our concern for one another.”