Celebrating Women’s Leadership 2026

What a wonderful evening at Celebrating Women’s Leadership! We were thrilled to welcome Illinois Senate Majority Leader Kimberly A. Lightford, representing Illinois’ 4th District, as the inaugural recipient of the Forest Park Vital Voices Award. We were so honored to celebrate her leadership and contributions and grateful that she could be with us for such a special evening. The amazing food from Chef Julianna Westgor of Table & Lain made the night even more memorable, along with the great conversations and connections throughout the evening.

We are thrilled to announce that we will be donating $3,815 to Sarah’s Inn! Sarah’s Inn provides free, confidential support, advocacy, counseling, safety planning, and legal assistance to survivors of domestic violence and their children, while also working to prevent violence and educate communities. A huge thank you to our incredible sponsors who helped make this possible: Cardinal Advancement Services, Table & Lain, Village of Forest Park, team blonde, VIA, She Can Fix That, Swing Away Sports Club, Twisted Cookie Cookie Cafe, Mary Bromet, Megan Roach, and Debra Vines. And a special thank you to our wonderful volunteers Shannon Wood, Monique Cotton Yancy, and April Baker for helping make the evening such a success. We are so grateful to everyone who came together to celebrate women’s leadership and support Sarah’s Inn!