Jazz Champagne Brunch Honors WE (WorkEthic) Students, Raises over $20,000

More 200 guests, including three Evanston mayors (past, present and recently elected) gathered for the Forrest E. Powell Foundation’s annual Jazz Champagne Brunch to raise over $20,000 for the newly launched Evanston Work Ethic Program on Sunday, April 9.

The Brunch , which has been an Evanston institution for more than 12 years, has always been a forum for recognizing and promoting a strong work ethic. This year’s recipient of the Work Ethic Award was Jon Frazier, a WWII veteran who worked for 32 years for Kenilworth Union Church as the superintendent of buildings and grounds.

An outgrowth of the Forrest E. Powell Foundation, the Work Ethic Program plans to select ETHS students each year who want to find well playing careers, but aren’t interested in a four-year college path. “Our students may opt for associate’s degrees, trade schools, apprenticeships or short term certification programs,” explains WE Program Executive Director, Nancy Baker. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, by 2020 only 35% of the projected 55 million new jobs created will require a 4-year college degree.

And while the goal at Champagne Jazz Brunch is to raise funds for this first-year program, the emphasis was on fun, good food, raffle prizes and the cool music of the Ron Perrillo Trio.

“We’re off to a great start,” said Hecky Powell, whose Forrest E. Powell Foundation is named for his late father. The first cohort of students who hail from the US, Rwanda, Ireland and Iraq, are matched with mentors who partner with them through the remainder of their high school career and beyond. Paid summer apprenticeships are a cornerstone of the Program. Said one Brunch guest, “ Hecky gives so much to the community; showing our support at the Brunch is our way of giving back to him.”

Photo Dino Robinson, Founder, Shorefront Magazine, outgoing Evanston mayor, Elizabeth Tisdahl and Hecky Powell, Founder, Forrest E Powell Foundation.