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Celebration 2024

Wednesday, May 1, 2024

Event Chairs Renée and Lester Crown and the Board of Trustees invite you to celebrate WTTW and WFMT’s purpose to enrich lives, engage communities, and inspire exploration.


Event Location

Union League Club of Chicago
65 West Jackson Boulevard
Chicago, IL 60604

Please contact the WTTW and WFMT Development Team at (773) 509-5579 or via email for more details.


WTTW | WFMT Renée Crown Leadership Award

Sandra and Jack Guthman

Sandra and Jack Guthman

The WTTW | WFMT Renée Crown Leadership Award is presented to Sandra and Jack Guthman in recognition of their dedication to the city of Chicago and to WTTW and WFMT. The couple are generous friends of the stations, and early champions of programs such as Chicago Tonight and our animated children’s series Nature Cat. Sandra has been an essential member of WTTW and WFMT’s Board of Trustees for nearly 50 years, including her tenure as Board Chair (2002 to 2008).

The Guthmans share a commitment to the civic life of Chicago, having led and inspired the work of its arts and cultural institutions. The couple assumed leadership roles in the planning of Millennium Park. Sandra is a founder and continues to sit on the boards of both the Harris Theater for Music and Dance and the Chicago High School for the Arts. Sandra’s tenure as Chair of the Polk Bros. Foundation is widely heralded. She served as Chair of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and sits on the boards of Rush University Medical Center and Navy Pier, Inc. Jack is a founder and Chair of the Chicago Architecture Biennial, has served on the boards of the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Chicago Architecture Center, Chicago Sculpture Exhibit, Museum of Science and Industry, and United States Artists and provided pro bono legal representation to many Chicago artists and local arts venues.


Featured Interview

Judy Woodruff

For nearly five decades, acclaimed broadcast journalist Judy Woodruff has covered politics and other news at CNN, NBC, and PBS—serving as PBS NewsHour’s Anchor and Managing Editor. Over the course of her career, Woodruff has received numerous awards and accolades, including the Peabody Journalistic Integrity Award, the Poynter Medal, an Emmy for Lifetime Achievement, and the Radcliffe Medal. Woodruff and the late Gwen Ifill were named co-anchors of the PBS NewsHour in 2013, marking the first time an American national news broadcast would be co-anchored by two women. Together, they were awarded Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism. Woodruff is a founding co-chair of the International Women's Media Foundation, an organization dedicated to promoting and encouraging women in communication industries worldwide. Her latest project for PBS, America at a Crossroads, provides audiences with a better understanding of our country’s political divisions and explores how we can develop common ground.


Featured Artist

Kurt Elling

Called “a voice for this historic moment” (Washington Post), Grammy Award-winning baritone Will Liverman is the 2022 Beverly Sills Artist Award recipient and co-creator of The Factotum (Lyric Opera Chicago, 2023 world premiere). This season Liverman appears with the Metropolitan Opera (X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X, Roméo et Juliette), Opera Philadelphia (10 Days in a Madhouse, world premiere), Dayton Opera, Caramoor, Cincinnati Song Initiative, Lexington Philharmonic, Houston Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, The Washington Chorus, Grand Rapids Choir of Men and Boys, and Nu Deco Ensemble. He is Artistic Advisor for Renée Fleming’s SongStudio at Carnegie Hall. Liverman’s Dreams of a New Day: Songs by Black Composers (Cedille Records, 2021) was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Classical Solo Vocal Album. He is an alumnus of the Ryan Opera Center (Lyric Opera of Chicago), The Juilliard School (M.M.), and Wheaton College (B.M.). WTTW and WFMT welcomes Will Liverman as our musical guest for Celebration 2024. We are grateful for his partnership in our mission to connect our community of listeners in Chicago, and around the globe, through classical music.


Sponsorship and Benefits

We hope you will join WTTW and WFMT’s Celebration 2024! We welcome support from individuals, corporations, and foundations and are pleased to offer a number of unique ways to recognize your generous involvement. Learn more about sponsorship and related benefits.

Make your gift online, or call (773) 509-5579 or email.