Record #: R2020-474   
Type: Resolution Status: Adopted
Intro date: 7/22/2020 Current Controlling Legislative Body:
Final action: 7/22/2020
Title: Recognition extended to Bartlett J. McCartin III for civic leadership and community engagement
Sponsors: Osterman, Harry
Attachments: 1. R2020-474.pdf

RESOLUTION RECOGNIZING BARTLETT J. MCCARTIN, III FOR HIS YEARS OF SERVICE AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

WHEREAS, Bartlett J. McCartin, III is nearing the end of his unprecedented second term as the Chairman of the Corporate Board of Boys & Girls Club; and

WHEREAS, The Chicago City Council has been informed of this milestone by the Honorable Harry Osterman, Alderman of the 48th Ward; and

WHEREAS, Bartlett grew up in the Chicagoland region in a tight-knit family that had a tremendous understanding of the value of service to others; and

WHEREAS, While attending St. Ignatius College Prep school in Little Italy, Bartlett became involved in the trades and learned the family business part time; he went on to become the first in the McCartin family to attend college, earning a degree in Business Administration and Public Relations from Pepperdine University; and

WHEREAS, Recognizing the critical importance of higher education, Bartlett later attended the London School of Economics and International Institute for Management Development Business School in Switzerland and brought that knowledge and experience back home to Chicago, where he served as President and Chief Executive Officer of his family company, the McCartin Group/McCartin Industrial Services Group, and successfully lead the 103-year-old, third-generation industrial construction and engineering company until 2005 when they merged with multi-national company, Aker; and

WHEREAS, After overseeing the merger of the family company with Aker, Bartlett served as First Executive Vice President of Aker, responsible for the company's $2.1 billion construction and engineering group operating in the US, Canada, South America and the European Union; and,

WHEREAS, In 2009, Bartlett began serving as a principal, managing partner, and part-owner of National Investment Services; even though the positions he has held have afforded him the opportunity to travel and relocate to anywhere in the world, Bartlett has always returned to Chicago, the city he was always called to serve; and

WHEREAS, Beyond his professional career, Bartlett has also been actively engaged in his communities, serving as both as a firefighter in the Chicagoland area and California for the last 22 years, and as a sworn part-time police officer in the Chicago south suburbs for over 11 years, where he has been recognized numerous times for his quality of work and bravery, including receiving the Cook County Sheriff Medal of Merit, the Indiana State Police Lifesaving Award, and the Illinois State Crime Commission Bishop Shield Award for Business; and

WHEREAS, Bartlett has always been one to jump into action when others are in need, and has taken the opportunity to help many times, including traveling to New York to participate in rescue and recovery efforts in the week following the 9/11 attacks; participating in a joint police and fire rescue and recovery effort that caravanned to the Gulfport area in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, and, after spending a week in the field working at the direction of FEMA, helping to organize a joint clothing and sundries drive in Chicago for victims of Katrina; and joining a rescue and recovery task force team assisting in the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti; and

WHEREAS, Dedicated to giving back to the community in every way possible, Bartlett has tirelessly served numerous charitable and noble causes over the years, including: 10 years as a trustee for St. Ignatius College Prep; five years on the board of directors for the Catholic Charities of Chicago; over 25 years with the "Pirates of Northwest Indiana", a fundraising organization for charitable children's organizations in northwestern Indiana, as a former Chair and current board member; as a trustee on

 

 

the United Association National Scholarship Fund, a charitable scholarship organization for children of union members; and as a third generation, 25-year member of the local Pipefitters Union UA Local 597 of Chicago; and

 

WHEREAS, Despite serving numerous causes, no cause has been closer to Bartlett's heart than the Boys and Girls Clubs of Chicago (BGCC), where he started 15 years ago as a volunteer at the Chicago Valentine Club on the City's South side, and expanded his involvement to encompass not just financial support, but hands-on mentoring and tutoring of individual children from the surrounding neighborhood, and was ultimately nominated to serve as Chairman ofthe Corporate Board of Directors; and

 

WHEREAS, In his 15-year tenure with BGCC, Bartlett's leadership has brought the organization to new heights, including expanding the organization's daily programming offerings from serving less than 11,000 at-risk and economically challenged kids at a $2.5 million per year deficit to serving approximately 22,000 kids per day across Chicagoland and tripling the organization's charitable fundraising; due to his amazing successes, Bartlett was unanimously voted to serve an unprecedented two-term, four year tenure as the Chairman ofthe Corporate Board of Directors; and

 

WHEREAS, Drawing on his unique experience, Bartlett initiated a partnership between BGCC and the Chicago Police Department, bringing in the established best-practices ofthe CPD in community engagement, public safety, and social justice, which formed bonds not just between the youth served in the community and police, but also between the police and the parents, and the police and private donors that fund the BGCC charity; and

 

WHEREAS, This partnership has benefitted both organizations and has resulted in opening dialogues between various groups throughout the City; collaborative projects, including basketball events, STEM events, public safety seminars, and domestic violence prevention, youth dating safety, and internet safety programs; and the offering of a voice to the youth of the BGCC in the formulation of CPD policy; and

 

WHEREAS, Bartlett's community involvement also included work on the North Side, where BGCC kids were provided an opportunity to shadow numerous professionals in their work environments, including CPD personnel, the Attorney General of Illinois, the Cook County State's Attorney, City Aldermen, staff of the Mayor of Chicago, the Chicago Fire Department, and staff of the Aragon Ballroom; and

 

WHEREAS, Bartlett's years of dedication have improved the quality of life of countless individuals not just in Chicago, but in numerous other communities, several branches of government, private industry, and charitable organizations; now, therefore

 

BE IT RESOLVED, That we, the Mayor and members of the City Council of the City of Chicago, gathered here this twenty-second day of July, 2020, do hereby recognize Bartlett J. McCartin, III for his years of service and community engagement and wish him happiness and success in all his future endeavors; and

HARRY OSTERMAN Alderman, 48th Ward

 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be prepared and presented to
Bartlett J. McCarlin, III as a token of our honor and respect.                     I f~\