The Chicago Blackhawks promised — and delivered — the #BestDayEver for their February 17 game against the Ottawa Senators. One hundred Magellan clients, staff & family members gathered at the United Center for a day where Tiny Hawks (kid fans) were royalty.

Pre-game festivities included balloon animals, a puppy meet-and-greet with adoptable pooches, and loads of games in the United Center concourse. Our guests then adjourned to a banquet that was complete with a chalk talk with legend Denis "Savoir Faire" Savard and Magellan's own resident hockey guru Josh Dunnington.

And the fun did not end there. The Blackhawks snapped an eight-game losing streak with a 3-2 win. Best day ever, indeed!

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It was a PACKED house during the Chicago Fire's 2024 Season Kickoff Luncheon, sponsored by Magellan and held at Swissotel Chicago on Tuesday, February 20. Our crew enjoyed EVERY SECOND of it!

Fire President of Business Operations David Baldwin promised a rousing season (we're holding you to it, Dave) during a keynote address, the crowd was introduced to the entire 2024 Fire first team and coaching staff, and all the while we were raising funds for the Club's P.L.A.Y.S. Program (Participate, Learn, Achieve, Youth, Soccer).

Among guests and staff at Magellan's tables were Wayne Arner, Phil Salter, Gabriella Pan, Abby Bruggeman, Betty Bogg, Antonio Marshall, Bob Arthur, Adam Pierce and Irshad Ahmed -- joined at table by Head Coach of the Chicago Fire, Frank Klopas. Also attending were Nicholas Burandt, Tim Parilla, Patrick Dahl, Kayla Roan, Alison Ashley, Joey Eshleman and Kasey Madden, whose table happily hosted Chicago Fire winger Xherdan Shaqiri.

Magellan is delighted to once again be sponsoring the Chicago Fire. Can't wait to see these guys on the pitch!

One of our favorite people! Alison Ruble is a superb leader and we are proud to count her among Magellan’s dear friends. Thank you, Alison, for helping make our partnership with USO Illinois seamless and mutually beneficial.

The USO offers programs to active duty, guard and reserve military and their dependents in Illinois, with a mission to strengthen the well-being of the people serving in our armed forces.

Through financial contributions, hands-on volunteering at the Great Lakes Naval Base, donations of marketing assets with our professional sports partners, support of a new USO recreation facility, and contributions of hundreds of tickets to games and special events over the years, Magellan has been actively involved with the USO and proud to support their efforts. No one has been more instrumental in solidifying and strengthening this partnership than Alison. Alison is leaving the USO, and Magellan wishes her the best of luck in future endeavors.

Presenting her with a token of our appreciation is our own David Twiford Ret Force Master Chief, USN).

Employee milestones continue! On January 31, Magellan celebrated two plus decades of dedicated commitment, hard work, and enough steel bundles organized to build a bridge to the moon by teammates Lorena Perales-Tatoris and Luis Camacho. Luis is the guru of the warehouse, knows the ins and outs of our inventory like the back of his hand, and is the go-to guy for any missing bundles of steel. Lorena began her career with us working on freight bills and manning the Magellan window at Noramco. She moved to the Traffic Department and to our main offices proving her versatility and indispensability.

We also recognized a VERY momentous 25th anniversary of Douglas Lila with a DOUG DAY AFTERNOON. Doug has worked in virtually every department and every role at Magellan Corporation, and has seen and helped us grow every step of the way.

There were toasts and a luncheon in our Deerfield offices, and a taco truck fed the guys at the warehouse. Our staff is the lifeblood of Magellan, and we never forget it!

“The strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the team,” Chicago Bulls Coach and so-called Zen Master Phil Jackson famously said. And on Thursday, January 11, 2024, the successes of the outstanding individual Chicago Bulls players, coaches, staff and a Championship team were celebrated with the first ever Chicago Bulls Ring of Honor Gala, proudly presented by Magellan Corporation.

The Class of 2024 included the incomparable Artis Gilmore, Phil Jackson, Bill Klein, Jerry Krause, Michael Jordan, Redd Kerr, Toni Kukoc, Bob Love, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, Tex Winter, Jerry Sloan, Chet Walker, and the 1995-96 Championship Team. Hosted at the United Center – where else? – the evening featured cocktails among incredible memorabilia, mingling with the awardees and other Bulls players and staff, followed by an incredible meal on the court – which has been transformed into a glamorous 5 star restaurant, a meal by James Beard Award winning chef Sarah Grueneberg, and a fascinating program featuring Bulls announcers, coaches and players.  

Magellan staff, clients and friends enjoyed an outstanding night celebrating these greats.

Former Blackhawk great Chris Chelios was signing hats, meeting fans, and offering insights into the game at the Magellan Customer Appreciation Banquet on December 17, 2023.

Our sponsorship of professional athletics offers Magellan unique opportunities to entertain and thank clients, suppliers and staff. Attended by more than 100 Magellan fantastic and much appreciated clients, their friends and family members and Magellan staff members, the day kicked off with a tasty spread behind-the-scenes at the United Center. In addition to camaraderie and a meal, guests were entertained when Chelios gave a little Chalk Talk, took time to mingle and snaps some pics with fans, before all adjourned to terrific seats to watch the game. The only glitch in the otherwise perfect Sunday afternoon was a 4-3 loss to the Vancouver Canucks.

Dr. Janet Voight of Chicago's Field Museum spread her passion and knowledge during a highly enjoyable and informative Lunch & Learn entitled, "The Deep Sea and Me." Janet has been a curator at the Field for more than 30 years, and was the only female curator when she first started. She has made significant contributions to deep-sea research, particularly in her study of octopuses. She's gone on with dives in the Human Occupied Vehicle ALVIN to depths of over 3200 meters and has participated in hundreds of Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) dives, involving filming hundreds of octopods at nearly 3 kilometers depth off Costa Rica as they brooded eggs. And she was utterly fascinating!

Were grateful for the layers of cultural opportunities our partnership with The Field offers Magellan; it truly is a jewel of Chicago!

Is everything bigger in Texas? On September 27, 2023, the fun was!

Magellan clients and friends enjoyed a fantastic dinner with the star women athletes and front office of the Houston Dash soccer team.

A perfect complement to the evening was a stirring presentation by our friend Gretchen Evans. Thank you to Jessica O'Neill, Dora Villalobos and the whole Dash team for helping create such a winning evening!

We'll be honest, our offices are not exactly on the beaten path.

So when Bulls great Joakim Noah made it all the way to our Deerfield offices, we were more than thrilled to roll out the welcome mat. The former pro joined the Bulls back in 2007 and played with our hometown team until 2016. Joakim was named to the All-NBA First Team in 2014, the same time he was named NBA Defensive Player of the Year.

But we know him as a friend. He took the time to visit with staff, sign some balls, take a few selfies, tour the office and chat with his many, many admirers -- and take a baseball bat off the wall and practice his swing.

Magellan is a longtime partner of the Chicago Bulls.

Skills, drills and plenty of thrills!

Magellan staff, clients, friends and families gathered at Halas Hall for an evening of training, noshing, and hanging out with Bears alums Brandon McGowan and Ahman Merritt.

As is evident from the photographs, there were plenty of future footballers on the gridiron that evening practicing shooting, passing, and conditioning. Well, sort of. They were, though, definitively having loads of fun, using the very practice facilities of the actual Bears.

This special opportunity comes with Magellan's partnership with the Chicago Bears, and we were delighted to share it with this great group!

GEAR UP! Such was the message from Chicago Sky new head coach Teresa Weatherspoon at an October press conference announcing her arrival.

No shrinking violet, T-Spoon holds an Olympic gold medal, is a Hall of Famer, five-time All-Star, and was voted as one of the Top 15 players in WNBA history. “I’m excited to be a part of the Chicago Sky Family,” Weatherspoon said. “To be the leader, as Head Coach, of an organization in a city with so much history and culture is a dream come true. The things that we are about to do as a team, a business and in the community will be rooted in excitement, excellence and hard work.”

Coach Weatherspoon shared the dais with Sky Operating Chair Nadia Rawlinson and Sky star Kahleah Copper. Weatherpoon promised, "I am here to stir things up!" Magellan is here for it, Coach. And we'll be cheering loudest.

When tennis legend, 39 Grand Slam Title winner, Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient, equal rights champion and all around GOAT Billie Jean King talks, we ALL listen!

Magellan clients and friends gathered in Seville, Spain, for the Billie Jean King Cup 2023 for a glorious long weekend in November. Five days of world class women's tennis, together with old world Spanish culture, traditional entertainment (featuring flamenco!), spectacular regional cuisine (jamon, jamon, jamon), unparalleled sightseeing and -- above all -- camaraderie, couldn't be beat!