January, 2012
Dear Members,
My father, Don DePorter, was raised in Seattle Washington and loved to walk through the massive pine tree forests near where he lived. He worked for Hyatt Hotels, and when I was very young, we moved around a lot. It seemed like my father was opening one hotel after the next. We moved to Chicago from San Francisco in 1979. Our drive into the city from O’Hare was not a good one. As I was looking out the window, I was greeted by graffiti, litter and mud. There were no trees. I didn’t see anything that looked green. I told my dad right then that we needed to go back to San Francisco and that I did not want to live in Chicago. My father realized that if this was my first impression of Chicago, anyone visiting the city for the first time could have the same negative reaction. He told me that he was going to change all of this by planting trees, bushes and flowers—that he was going to beautify and green the expressways and gateways leading into the city.
In 1986, his vision came to life when he founded Chicago Gateway Green, a non-profit organization dedicated to the greening and beautification of Chicago’s expressways, gateways and neighborhoods. He began by reaching out to the leaders of the CCTB, Illinois Hotel Association and The Greater North Michigan Avenue Association to share his vision and ask for help. The hospitality industry got behind it immediately. When my father passed away in 1996, Mayor Daley and Governor Edgar dedicated the Ohio/Orleans/Ontario Gateway leading into the city, "The Donald J. DePorter Gateway," to honor my father for his leadership on greening and beautifying Chicago.
Jerry Roper was a great friend of my father’s. He has been involved with Gateway Green from the beginning and knew that when my father passed away, my dad’s vision could be in jeopardy. Jerry stepped up to fill the void left by my father. Jerry served as Chairman of Gateway Green for more than 10 years. As President and CEO of the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, he engaged the business community in beautification efforts for the city. Thanks in large part to Jerry, we have now planted 57,000 shrubs, 53,000 perennials and 2,050 trees; installed public art and removed more than one million pounds of refuse from the expressways. The expressways and first impressions of the city have drastically improved over the last 25 years thanks to Gateway Green and Jerry Roper.
To honor Jerry for his leadership, Governor Quinn and Mayor Emanuel are declaring January 25 as Gerald J. Roper Day, and the Governor will be proclaiming the Edens/Kennedy Junction, "The Gerald J. Roper Gateway." Congressman Quigley recognized this honor as part of the Congressional Record, and Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle and Commissioner John Fritchey sponsored a Cook County resolution recognizing Jerry’s civic leadership. January 25th will mark only the second time that a civic volunteer leader has been given the honor of having a Gateway named for them.
GNMAA salutes Jerry’s hard work and accomplishments and thanks him for his commitment to business, tourism and education in Chicago. Jerry has been an invaluable supporter of GNMAA and we have all benefited from his leadership. I hope you will join me and GNMAA leaders as we honor Jerry’s accomplishments during Gerald J. Roper Day on January 25 with a grand reception at the Hyatt Regency Chicago.
Let us continually look to Jerry as a leading example for conducting business in Chicago. Jerry’s actions help remind us what sets this city apart: the willingness of organizations to work together to promote business growth, tourism growth and a robust community. We only move forward as a business district and tourism destination as long as corporate civic partnerships are successful. Let us continue to foster these partnerships to make Chicago a great place to live, work and visit.
Grant DePorter
Chairman of the Board
