Chicago Star Media celebrated its 3rd birthday during a lively party at the iconic Gene and Georgetti restaurant in River North on April 26. Over 60 guests, that included supporters, advertisers and contributors, mixed and mingled in the Chicago Room enjoying cocktails and a lavish buffet created by Chef Cristiano Bassani.
Chicago Star Media's 3rd birthday celebration (Photos by Kelsy Goodwin)
Sally Schwartz, Catie Keogh, Ashlea Hearn and Elena Smentkowski.
Jimmy Place, Michael Kutza and Bonnie Spurlock.
Elaine Hyde and friend.
Celebratory poster courtesy of Kehoe Designs.
Candace Jordan, Barb Harrington, Mike Foran and Elaine Hyde.
Beautiful birthday cake courtesy of Mariano's (Amanda Puck & Team).
Bonnie and Jim Spurlock
Rick Kogan and Kate Murray.
Festive decor at Gene & Georgetti planned with G&G event organizer Jessica Brown.
Angela Gagnon and Elaine Hyde.
Melissa Harris and Eunice Han.
Celebrity Chef Jaime Laurita chatting with Gail Spreen.
Jim Spurlock, Joe Aguilera, Chuck Jordan and Jimmy Place.
Almira Yllana with Ashlea Hearn and friends.
Catie Keogh and Dave Anderson with Sally Schwartz and Reid Brody.
Janquel Jennings, Susan Berkes and Elena Smentkowski.
Bob and Leslie Zentner with Elaine Hyde.
Nina Mariano and Julie Barrish.
Bianka and Andy Frye.
Dennis Downes, Gail Spreen, Susan Berkes and Almira Yllana.
Yanez Byll and Maegann Martin.
Candace Jordan and Joe Aguilera.
Elena Smentkowski, Ashlea Hearn, Elaine Hyde and Candace Jordan. (Prop courtesy of Kehoe Designs)
A beautiful, branded cake from Mariano’s (Amanda Puck and Team) delighted partygoers following remarks from Elaine Hyde (Publisher/Editor), Candace Jordan (Associate Publisher) and Ashlea Hearn (Associate Editor). Elaine welcomed guests and shared the platform’s latest statistics following the switch from print to digital (45K monthly page views, 25K unique visitors with a median household income of $159K+). Ashlea spoke about the new editorial series opportunities that consist of sponsoring some of our most popular articles, including Ask Candid Candace, Doorperson, Business & Nonprofit Spotlight, Unique Homes, Get Cookin’ With, and many others. (See more info here)
Partygoers posed with fanciful props courtesy of Kehoe Designs (Tom Kehoe and Team) and left with goody bags containing branded baseball caps, pens and "I Am A Chicago Star" pins.
Attendees included Michael Kutza (board member), Barb Harrington, Mike Foran, Joe Aguilera, Anastasia Smith, Bonnie Spurlock (board member) and Jim Spurlock, Chef Jaime Laurita, Nina Mariano, Julie Barrish (board member), Sally Schwartz, Reid Brody, Gail Spreen and Dennis Downes, Kate Murray and Rick Kogan, Maggie Baczkowski, Curt Rose, Melissa Harris (board member), Eunice Han, Leslie and Bob Zentner (board member), Sebra Khai, Yanez Byll, Aidan Pazan, Maegann Martin, James Wollwert, Janquel Jennings, Yanez Byll, Sebra Khai, Caroline Chabata and many others.
Contributors in attendance included Almira Yllana, Catie Keogh, Angela Gagnon, Susan Berkes, Andy Frye (and wife Bianka), Joe Cuniff, and others.
Special thanks to all who helped make our third birthday so festive! (chicagostarmedia.com, sign up for exclusive subscriber email here and follow us on social media @ChicagoStarMedia.)
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