Save the Date – Monday, August 22, 2016 – For the 53rd Annual Little City Invitational Golf Classic Honoring John F. McDonough, President & CEO of the Chicago Blackhawks
Palatine, IL (PRWEB) June 01, 2016 -- This year, Little City is proud to honor John F. McDonough for supporting the hundreds of children and adults with autism and other intellectual and developmental disabilities served by Little City.
Mr. McDonough will be receiving The Morrie Kellman Humanitarian Award, presented annually to a distinguished and philanthropic individual whose efforts are felt throughout the community at large. The award is in memory of Morrie Kellman, founder of the Little City Invitational Golf Classic (LCI).
LCI is recognized as one of the most prominent and longest running charity golf tournaments in Illinois. Participants will enjoy 18 holes of golf at the prestigious Twin Orchard Country Club in Long Grove, IL. The day is capped off by an exquisite dinner plus silent and live auctions that are guaranteed to impress. Register today at http://www.littlecity.org/lci. For more information and for sponsorship opportunities, contact Phyllis Shipbaugh at 847-221-7892 or pshipbaugh(at)littlecity.org
John F. McDonough, President & CEO, Chicago Blackhawks
John F. McDonough joined the Blackhawks in 2007 as President and was named President and Chief Executive Officer on June 1, 2011. Under his guidance, in what Forbes Magazine has called the “The Greatest Sports-Business Turnaround Ever,” the Blackhawks have revitalized the team’s profile and re-energized its fan base. Since McDonough joined the Blackhawks, the team has won Stanley Cup titles in 2010, 2013 and 2015, becoming the first organization in the NHL’s salary cap era to capture three championships.
With McDonough’s leadership, the Blackhawks have become one of professional sports’ biggest success stories. The Blackhawks have entertained 373 consecutive capacity crowds at the United Center and have grown a season ticketholder base from 3,400 to more than 14,000. In addition, the Blackhawks have led the NHL in attendance for eight consecutive seasons. The Blackhawks’ success was recognized by SportsBusiness Journal in 2009 and 2014, when the team earned coveted nominations for the publication’s Professional Sports Team of the Year, in addition to being named The Hockey News’ choice for “Best Franchise” in their 2014 “Franchise Ranking” issue.
McDonough was instrumental in bringing the NHL Winter Classic to Chicago on Jan. 1, 2009, a contest between the Chicago Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings in front of 40,818 fans at Wrigley Field that drew over 4.4 million U.S. viewers overall. Recently, during the team's run to the 2015 Stanley Cup, the Blackhawks registered three of their top five most-watched games, including the highest on record, a 41.0 HH average rating during Game 6 of the Final on June 15, 2015.
Shortly after McDonough's arrival, the club welcomed back Blackhawks legends and Hall of Famers Bobby Hull, Stan Mikita, Tony Esposito and Denis Savard as official team ambassadors and instituted the annual Blackhawks Convention, the first of its kind in the National Hockey League. In addition, in a landmark partnership with Comcast SportsNet and WGN-TV Channel 9, the Blackhawks announced that all 82 regular-season games would be televised for the first time in franchise history in 2008-09. That year, the Blackhawks also announced an exciting new radio partnership with WGN Radio AM-720.
Prior to joining the Blackhawks, McDonough served as President of the Chicago Cubs. During his tenure, the Cubs won the 2007 National League Central Division while setting an all-time franchise attendance record. As the Cubs’ chief, and in his previous role as Senior Vice President of Marketing and Broadcasting, he was widely viewed as a sports marketing and management innovator who played a major role in increasing the Cubs’ fan base and attracting sponsorships for one of the most successful professional sports franchises in America.
During his 24 years with the Cubs organization, the club consistently reached record attendance and revenue figures. In addition, McDonough was the architect of the seventh-inning stretch celebrity “guest conductor” concept at Wrigley Field and created the annual Cubs Convention, which is now viewed as a prototype for team and league fan festivals.
With McDonough’s many achievements have come several honors and awards, including Major League Baseball’s Marketing Excellence Award, Chicago Baseball Executive of the Year and a place in “America’s Top Ten Marketing Executives” by Promo Magazine. In addition, McDonough was named to The Hockey News’ “100 People of Power and Influence,” and was inducted into the Chicagoland Sports Hall of Fame in 2008.
John F. McDonough has also been recognized with the Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota Presidential Medal for Outstanding Merit, the Bill Veeck Lifetime Achievement Award, a place in the Notre Dame High School Hall of Fame and the 2008 Executive of the Year Award by the Chicago chapter of the Public Relations Society of America. McDonough serves as a frequent guest speaker and panelist across the country, including at the 2010 MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference, the 2014 SXSW Conference and Harvard Business School. He has also served as commencement speaker for the Loyola University School of Communication and Grand Marshal for Chicago’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade in 2014.
McDonough is a frequent lecturer at the University of Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business and Northwestern University. He serves as a Sustaining Board Member for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Illinois Board, and also sits on the Athletic Advisory Board of Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota, the Special Olympics Illinois Foundation Board, Chicago Blackhawks Charities Board of Directors, the NHL Club Business Advisory Board and the NHL Board of Governors.
A Chicago native, McDonough is a graduate of Notre Dame High School in Niles, Ill., and Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota. He currently resides in the northwest suburbs with his wife, Karen. They have three children, Colleen, Ryan (Katie) and Michael; and a granddaughter, Riley.
About Little City
For more than 50 years, Little City Foundation has developed innovative and personalized programs to fully assist and empower children and adults with autism and other intellectual and developmental disabilities. With a commitment to attaining a greater quality of life for Illinois’ most vulnerable citizens, Little City actively promotes choice, person-centered planning and a holistic approach to health and wellness. Little City’s ChildBridge services include in-home personal and family supports, clinical and behavior intervention, 24/7 residential services and special needs foster care and adoption. Little City’s LifePath Adult Services offers a variety of residential options, employment opportunities, home-based services, case management, day supports, Special Olympics, an award-winning Center for the Arts and more. The organization is an open, therapeutic 56-acre community located in Palatine, Illinois with offices in Schaumburg and Chicago. Visit http://www.littlecity.org.
Lawrence Heisler, Little City Foundation, http://www.littlecity.org, +1 847-221-7825, [email protected]
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