Glenview's Best Business Person of the Year: A Nonprofit Leader
Sheridan Turner, president and CEO of The Kohl Children's Museum, has won a title she did not expect this year: The Glenview Chamber of Commerce Business Person of the Year. The Awards Ceremony is part of the Chamber's Board Installation and Awards on January 10th 2018.
One inspiration for the award: To be successful a nonprofit has to be run like a business, Turner says. Like a business, a nonprofit must raise revenue, but unlike a business, extra revenue goes directly into programming and growth. And the Kohl Children's Museum is successful: Nearly 330,000 people visit the museum each year.
That's 330,000 people who might not have visited northwest Glenview, wandered through The Glen shops, stopped for a movie or a meal, or maybe even wandered by a real estate office soon after. Besides offering well-researched educational experiences, an early childhood connection program, and a commitment to children across the region, including children living in Chicago, Kohl contributes to the economic health of the region.
A long-time executive with the museum, Turner took the lead in moving the museum from its original spot in Wilmette to Glenview in 2005. With help from state legislators and other civic leaders, land being used to recycle concrete while The Glen was being built became Kohl's nine-acre home, via an 80-year lease from the Village of Glenview. The move also coincided with a shift in the museum's funding moving away from primary dependence on a single donor, founder Delores Kohl, to a community-based approach. In a sense, Turner helped the museum find and spread its wings.
Turner also sits on the Glenview Chamber of Commerce board. She's a volunteer with the Chamber's micro-internship program for high schoolers and career changers. In everything she does, she's generous, says Elizabeth Fritz, real estate sales director for 22nd Century Media, who has served with Turner on the Chamber board. Sheridan is generous in spirit, in her time, in her ideas. When you need help, she always says, Yes.
A 90+ year old nonprofit, the Glenview Chamber of Commerce is dedicated to ensuring that Glenview is a great place to live, work, and own a business. The Chamber sponsors community events, runs business-education programs, generates community-building programs, along with several community publications. More information is available on our website at www.glenviewchamber.com.