Gorton Community Center Dedicates Nagel Family Room

In appreciation for the family’s legacy of generational support of Gorton Community Center, Gorton’s Board of Directors is proud to dedicate the newly renovated Nagel Family Room.

“Beginning in the 1970s and continuing under Blair’s leadership as Board Chairman (2012-2014), the Nagel family has played a pivotal role in ensuring that Gorton Community Center is a healthy, vibrant gathering place for all Lake Forest and Lake Bluff,” said Gorton Board Chairman Mark Ventling.

“Our family’s love affair with Gorton began with a call from Brooks Smith to my husband, Karl,” recalls Barbara Nagel. “Brooks invited him to tour Gorton and particularly look at the projection booth in the auditorium. Karl was undecided if Gorton should be saved from the wrecking ball or not. To Karl’s surprise and delight, there was his name on the wall -- still recognizable from the days he was a student at Gorton; still legible, just as he had written it! The Nagel family has been committed to the future of Gorton ever since, with each generation participating!”

The Nagel Family includes Barbara and Karl, their children Blair (Becky), Matt (Janet) and Joy McGreevy (Mark), and grandchildren Greta, Mercedes, Vicente, Austin, Bridget, Karl and Jenna. Karl, Matt and Blair have all served on Gorton’s Board of Directors.

“The family’s commitment extends far beyond their leadership financial support,” said Board Development Chair Sally Downey. “It includes years of dedicated volunteer work, advocating for and participating in important programs and events, interning and spearheading our current renovation.”

“Becky and I were using the Drop-In Center for our children when it was shuttered, and Becky said we just couldn’t let that happen,” said Blair Nagel. “That was the moment we realized we had to get involved.”
The Nagel Family Room on Gorton’s first floor is designed to be a warm, welcoming community living room for more intimate gatherings and meetings or a place parents can take a moment out of a hectic day to relax during a child’s violin lesson or play rehearsal.

The renovation of the Nagel Family Room is part of the Community Spirit Transformed capital campaign, which provides the resources to renovate the first floor and the theater to create a state-of-the-art center for performing arts, film, lectures, and special events and a strong endowment to secure Gorton’s fiscal future.

The Board’s gesture in naming the Nagel Family Room came as a complete surprise for Blair and the family. Said Blair, “We had no indication this was coming, it’s quite an honor.”

Gorton Community Center is a privately-funded, not-for-profit 501c3 organization which operates in partnership with volunteers and the City of Lake Forest to enrich the lives of its residents through cultural arts, education and charitable service. Gorton relies on the generosity of residents and businesses to help fund programs, services and building improvements offered in the historic building owned by the city. The gathering place in the heart of our community where people connect, converse, learn, listen, play and perform.