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EVENT DETAILS

Benefiting Law Enforcement Mental Health & Wellness

Friday October 21, 2022 | 6PM

Bank The Blue’s Second Annual Fundraising Gala will take place on Friday October 21, 2022 at the lovely Belvedere Events & Banquets in Elk Grove Village, Illinois. Join us for a chef prepared cuisine, open bar, live music, dancing, live auction and more!

The goal of this event will be to build awareness around the importance of improving officer wellness, to combat the stigma associated with officers and mental health, and to fundraise for this important cause. We anticipate 1000+ attendees from both the law enforcement and civilian communities. Fundraising proceeds will directly support Illinois Law Enforcement mental health treatment and training programs.

On behalf of Bank The Blue, we want to thank you for your support and look forward to celebrating with you!

location & parking

 Belvedere Events & Banquets
1170 W Devon Ave, Elk Grove Village, IL 60007 

Self-park options are available on-site at Belvedere Events & Banquets.
Uber or Lyft suggested if planning to consume alcohol.

EVENT PROGRAM

6:00 PM -7:00 PM
Cocktail Hour

7:00 PM – 7:30 PM
CPD Honor Guard
CPD Pipes & Drums
National Anthem sung by Wayne Messmer
Welcome address by Masters of Ceremonies FOX 32 Anchor Anita Padilla and Sports Anchor Lou Canellis

7:30 PM
Introduction to Bank The Blue given by Founders
Dinner Is Served!

8:00 PM
Guest Speaker Kristen Ziman

8:30 PM
Live Auction

9:30 PM
Dancing begins!

Guest SPEAKER

Kristen Ziman
Former Police Chief of the Aurora IL Police Department (Ret.)
Speaker | Author | Leader | Change Agent

Kristen is the former Police Chief of the Aurora IL Police Department (Ret.). In Kristen’s 30-year career in law enforcement, she blazed trails: she became the first woman Lieutenant in 2008, first woman Commander in 2010, and eventually the first woman Chief in her department’s history in January of 2016. Kristen was also the Chief on watch during a mass shooting in her hometown Aurora, IL.

Since retiring from the department, Kristen has now stepped into her new career as a professional speaker and consultant for organizations and police departments focused on the areas of leadership, women empowerment, positive psychology, and mass shooting prevention.

Kristen is also the author of Reimagining Blue: Thoughts on Life, Leadership, and a New Way Forward in Policing, a passionate and personal memoir of a misunderstood profession through the vantage point of a female police chief.

Reimagining Blue: Thoughts on Life, Leadership, and a New Way Forward in Policing

Reimagining Blue is a passionate and personal analysis of a misunderstood profession from the vantage point of female police chief Kristen Ziman.
Ziman credits her colorful childhood for the temperament that led her to gravitate toward policing, a profession where chaos is all in a day’s work. Many times, she learned life and leadership lessons through the revelation of what not to do.

But nothing could have prepared Kristen for the turmoil that would unfold during her tenure. A mass shooting, a pandemic, and civil unrest that threatened the trusting relationship between her department and her community became her greatest professional challenges.
This deeply moving memoir is a story of resilience and perseverance in policing―and in life.

It’s a raw and honest portrayal told by a flawed human about a noble profession suffering an identity crisis. Reimagining Blue is an urgent call to find a way forward, not because the system is broken, but because it can always be better.

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