Awardees include Cardinal Blase J. Cupich, former Deputy Mayor Steve Koch, CIBC, Blue1647 and Kathleen Borland

On Friday, December 8, World Business Chicago (WBC) and Chicago Sister Cities International (CSCI) will host the annual Chicago Consular Corps Gala: A Tribute to our Global Partners at the Hilton Chicago. The gala is the largest international event of its kind, and honors Chicago’s unmatched international community. The Chicago Consular Corps represents 86 countries from around the world. This year the following awardees are recognized for their international service, combined with their commitment to Chicago:

Cardinal Blase J. Cupich, Archbishop of Chicago, will be honored with the Global Citizen Award for his outstanding contributions to the city. Each year, the award is presented to the individual who has made an extraordinary contribution to Chicago’s international reputation, stature and global reach. Committed to a life in service for others, Cardinal Cupich was also a recent recipient of the Sword of Loyola, the highest honor granted by the institution.

Former Deputy Mayor of the City of Chicago Steve Koch, will be presented with the Chicago Legacy Award, a new award honoring Koch’s service and dedication to making Chicago a world-class city. As a former city official, Koch played a key role in rebuilding Chicago’s post-recession economy through innovative programming. Koch also serves as chairman of the board of both the Sinai Health System of Chicago and the Greater Chicago Food Depository as well as the co-chairman of the Green Ribbon Committee on Sustainability and Climate Change of Chicago.

CIBC (formerly PrivateBank) will be presented with the 2017 Corporate Ambassador Award, which will be accepted by Larry D. Richman, president and CEO, CIBC Bank USA, SEVP and group head, U.S. region. The award recognizes CIBC for its efforts in raising Chicago’s profile as a premier global business destination, its steadfast commitment to the community and its contributions to the economic growth of the city. The Chicago-based lender continues its commitment to making a significant and lasting contribution to the well-being of its communities.

Blue1647, an entrepreneurship and technology innovation center that fosters economic development, will receive the ChicagoNEXT Award, which recognizes a company’s commitment to the tech community. The honor will be accepted by founder and CEO Emile Cambry. Blue1647 continues to provide economic opportunity to a myriad of marginalized communities through initiatives including 1919 Women in Technology, the 21 Century Youth Project, Latina Girls Code, BLUE1647 Able program, among many more.

The Chicago Sister Cities International Volunteer of the Year Award will be presented to Kathleen Borland, chairman of the Social Services Committee, for furthering CSCI’s mission to promote Chicago as a global city, developing international partnerships and networks and sharing best practices through citizen-to-citizen connections. Borland was selected for her work in leading 2017’s Social Services Conference, which brought together professionals from around the world. The largest and most active sister cities program in the U.S., CSCI has built multidisciplinary social services exchanges with its sister cities in Birmingham, Paris, Durban, Hamburg, Osaka, Casablanca and Shanghai, and has worked to share best practices and policy experiences to improve social services here and abroad.

More than 600 guests are expected to attend the black-tie gala, which raises nearly $1 million each year to support the work of WBC, CSCI and the Chicago Consular Corps scholarships to the University of Illinois at Chicago. Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Ms. Amy Rule, and the Dean of the CCC, the Honorable Patricia Maza-Pittsford and Mr. Philip Pittsford, serve as Honorary Chairs.

Tickets for the gala are still available. For more information or to register, visit http://www.worldbusinesschicago.com/consular-corps-gala/