I first encountered T. Tolbert Chisum late in 2000. By that time, he had been chairman of the Board of Governors of the Metropolitan Club in Chicago for a couple of years and the club already was benefiting from the far-reaching business and civic connections of the managing director of Wintrust Financial Corp. In fact, he had just added Stedman Graham to the impressive board roster — the point of my phone call to the chairman. I wanted his newest recruit for a cover story for Private Clubs magazine. Although we were “all in the family,” Tolbert was a stringent gatekeeper and we had to show him the right stuff. I’d like to think we passed his muster because the cover of the March/April 2001 issue featured Stedman, who had released his latest book in his best-selling business success series and whose educational company had expanded its offerings of corporate training and leadership development programs.
But I digress.
Board chairs (men and women) are key to the success of any club.
In the case of T. Tolbert Chisum, the Metropolitan Club board chairman and I share the common bond of having grown up in Texas, so maybe I am biased. But then, a lot of other organizations have the same bias. In addition to his professional affiliations and an active role in the Republican Party of Illinois, Tolbert is vice chairman of the Chicago Sunday Evening Club, the producer of the religious television show 30 Good Minutes, vice chairman of Athletes Against Drugs, Village president of Kenilworth (where he and his wife, Carrie, have lived for 17 years), executive board member of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation, founder of the President’s Council of Heartland Alliance, and a member of Kenilworth Union Church.
Most recently, Tolbert was actively involved in the plans to renovate the Metropolitan Club. And, in case you haven’t visited the club recently and figured out the illustration on this page — the fun piece of art depicts Tolbert and me at lunch in the secluded, all-red-all-over banquette in the Met Grille. Tolbert unofficially has claimed it as the “chairman’s corner” ... Cheers to all board chairs.
Patricia Baldwin
Editor in Chief
privateclubs@clubcorp.com
Photo illustration by Jonny Mendelsson.