× Exit

Media Celebs to Emcee Holiday Celebration

ABC7 Meteorologist Tracy Butler and WLS Radio’s Roe Conn to Emceethe Metropolitan Family Services 32nd Annual Holiday Celebration

Celebrate the season of giving at the Metropolitan Family Services 32nd Annual Holiday Celebration Saturday, December 7, 6 p.m., at the Chicago Hilton, 720 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago. ABC7 Meteorologist Tracy Butler and Roe Conn, co-host of “The Roe Conn Show with Richard Roeper” on WLS radio and contributor to ABC7’s Windy City Live, will serve as emcees for the evening.

The event will feature live entertainment from Sammie Torres and Friends, cocktails, dinner and dessert with Chicago’s leading business, civic and cultural leaders. Fabulous items are waiting to be won in the silent and live auctions, and there will be a special raffle for a wine collection featuring select vintages. 100 percent of proceeds benefit the programs and services of Metropolitan Family Services, which, since 1857, has empowered families to learn, earn, heal and thrive.

Tickets are $350. For more information, visit or call 312-986-4172. For sponsorship information, contact Pat Mathis at 312-986-4046, mathisp@metrofamily.org.  View photos from the 2012 Holiday Celebration.

About the Emcees

Tracy Butler has been the meteorologist for ABC 7 News This Morning and ABC 7 News at 11 a.m. since 1995. She joined ABC 7 in 1994 as a weekend weathercaster.

Butler also co-hosts ABC 7’s broadcast of the Chicago Air and Water Show, as well as the “Chrysler All-Star Shoot-Out,” a celebrity golf tournament that airs throughout the summer. From 1993 to 2002, Butler filled in for weather anchors Spencer Christian and Tony Perkins on ABC’s Good Morning America. Before joining ABC 7, Butler anchored the morning and noon weathercasts at WRIC-TV in Richmond, Va. (1992-93). Earlier, she was the chief weather anchor at WFMJ-TV in Youngstown, Ohio (1988-1991).

Butler began her broadcasting career as a weekend weathercaster at WTRF-TV in Wheeling, W. Va. (1988).

Butler is a sealed member of the National Weather Association and the American Meteorological Society. She was named “Woman of the Year” by the Executive Women’s Golf Association and won the Illinois Treasurer’s Public Service Award in 2000.

She promotes the creativity of children through her Weather Sketcher’s Club, which encourages children to send their weather-related drawings for a potential airing on ABC 7 News This Morning.

Butler earned her B.S. in Broadcasting from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and was awarded her meteorology certification from Mississippi State University in 2001. She is married and has two children.

Roe Conn is co-host of The Roe Conn Show with Richard Roeper on Chicago’s WLS Radio and a contributor to ABC7’s Windy City Live.

A lifelong Chicagoan, Roe has been one of the city’s top rated radio personalities for the last two decades.  Roe has been recognized by Talkers Magazine as one of the “100 Most Influential Talk Show Hosts in America.” and has received the prestigious Radio and Records Industry Achievement Award for Best Local Talk Host in America.

Roe is a regular contributor to ABC Radio News political and event coverage. He hosted The Roe Report, a syndicated daily news feature, for ABC Radio Networks and United Stations Radio Networks. He has also hosted ABC Radio’s PRIME TIME, and has lent his talents to WABC in New York, WJR in Detroit, the SW Network, and Walt Disney Pictures. Roe is a frequent guest on cable news programs and served as a commentator and fill-in host for CNN and HLN.

Roe produces and hosts an annual benefit concert with singer/songwriter Richard Marx. He is on the board of the Chicago Police Memorial Foundation and the USO of Illinois. Roe was recently honored with the FBI Director’s Community Leadership Award for his work in support of law enforcement.

Before joining WLS, Roe produced EMMY-winning commentaries for WBBM-TV and started his career at NBC’s WMAQ Radio in Chicago.

Event Honoree

Metropolitan Family Services is pleased to announce The Boston Consulting Group and its Senior Partner and Managing Director, Michael Silverstein, will be honored at this year’s event. Since 1998, The Boston Consulting Group has contributed invaluable pro bono strategic planning services that helped Metropolitan maintain its pre-eminent position as one of the finest human services providers in Greater Chicago.

Special Thanks

Metropolitan Family Services would like to thank the following individuals whose dedication and support have been integral to this year’s gala:

  • Event Co-Chairs – Merle Goldblatt and Seymour A. Cohen, Roger and Stephanie Hochschild, Tony and Susan Hunter, Ashley Duchossois and Michael Joyce, John and Catherine MacCarthy, Martha and Richard Melman, and Barbara Rapp.
  • Host Committee – John MacCarthy, Committee Chair; Erik D. Barefield; Rob Carr; Merle Goldblatt Cohen; Gary Gerst; Stephen M. Griesemer; Roger Hochschild; Tony Hunter; Kirk James; Ashley Joyce; Martha W. Melman; Peyton Owen; Virginia Johnson Pillman; Barbara Rapp; Sophia Ruffolo; Eileen P. Scudder; and Adrienne Weiss.
  • Corporate Sponsors to date for this year’s Celebration: Chicago Tribune Media Group; Discover; Winston & Strawn LLP; ITW; Deloitte; Nuveen Investments; Mesirow Financial; Kirkland & Ellis LLP; U.S. Cellular; Oberweis Asset Management, Inc.; Jenner & Block LLP; Chase; D& M Plastics; Convergence Acceleration Solutions Group; and Modern Luxury CS.

About Metropolitan Family Services
Metropolitan Family Services empowers families to learn, to earn, to heal, to thrive. Part mentor, part motivator, part advocate, since 1857 Metropolitan Family Services has been the engine of change that empowers Chicago-area families to reach their greatest potential and positively impact their communities.