Why I Oughta...

Over the years, I've written a few times about the Chicago Athletic Association . It is NOW (or...I suppose when I say "now", I really mean pre-COVID because I haven't been anywhere near the CAA for a couple of years) a hip, boutique hotel with a great rooftop bar (Cindy's) and a cool lobby-adjacent bar and gameroom . But, that's the place's second life. The first life was as the real-deal Chicago Athletic Association. A membership-based club like the Union League or University Club. Old-school. It also was the place where my oldest sister was married. All the way back when I was in high school. I also was invited to have a few lunches there from Tom Roeser back in the aughts. Was always a lot of fun to hear Tom tell stories. Years after that, the club failed.  I think the membership aged out, the value of the real estate was too high and they couldn't make it work.  But, it was always a place that was on my radar.  And, because it was around

I've written a few times about the Chicago Athletic Association here in Chicago over the years .  It is a place that holds a special meaning in my my life as it was where my oldest sister was married back in the early 1990's.  It has since been reborn as an uber-hip hotel with a cool rooftop bar (Cindy's).  I've been there for both drinks with friends and also work meetings/events .  On a couple of occasions, I've come across artifacts from the CAA at stores and estate sales.  Nat and I have bought a few serving pieces for my sister and her husband and given them as Christmas/birthday gifts over the years.  The CAA has a wide variety of serving pieces and dishes that have been sold/taken that have shown up in the market online, too.  This is a silver spoon from Reed and Barton that I when I saw it, I knew that I had to buy it.  When you pick it up, you notice that it is old.  It is tarnished and just feels old.  It is heavy yet delicate.  A look at the end

Last week, I was, once again, at the Chicago Athletic Association building for an event called the Carrier Summit from one of my #clients at Edelman called Businessolver.  The folks at Businessolver are doing some incredible things for benefits administration and I'm honored to be able to partner with them to build their business and deliver solutions for HR pros.  Again...making sure I put this here:  #client.   But, while there was some good stuff during the sessions, one of the stars of the show, was again the building at the CAA.  I've posted about the building and my visits before on the blog ( here's the full set of posts ) and I have a super soft spot in my heart for the place.  My oldest sister was married at the CAA back in the early 1990's and I spent more than a few afternoons eating sandwiches with the great Tom Roeser back in the aughts where we talked about his blog and he told some pretty incredible stories.   And the building keeps delighting