2025 Veteran of the Year Luncheon

Tuesday, November 11, 2025 | 11:15 am to 3:30 pm

Please join the Union League Club of Chicago and Illinois Joining Forces as we host a Veterans Day luncheon that honors service and explores the deeper meaning of leadership and character.

The keynote guest, General Stanley McChrystal (U.S. Army, Ret.), former commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan and author of On Character, will share reflections drawn from a life tested in war and transformed by humility. His message is clear: character is not measured by titles or monuments, but by conviction and discipline lived out each and every day.

An interview with General McChrystal, moderated by Paris Schutz political correspondent for Fox Chicago, will anchor the luncheon and invite us to consider how conviction and discipline shape not only individual lives but the future of our democracy. The program will also feature the Illinois Joining Forces Veteran of the Year Awards, celebrating those who continue to serve beyond the uniform.

In addition to the keynote and conversation, the luncheon will recognize two honors within the Veteran of the Year Awards program: Veteran of the Year and Veteran Service Organization of the Year. These awards lift up individual leadership and the power of team efforts that stand behind our military-connected community.

This gathering is designed to honor service and to bring together veterans, service members, families, and partners from the corporate, nonprofit, and government sectors. By convening across sectors, we aim to strengthen collaboration, accelerate access to resources, and spotlight solutions that help Illinois veterans thrive.

The book On Character will be available for purchase, and General McChrystal will be available to sign copies both before and after the luncheon, time permitting.

Attire: Smart Casual.

RSVP Required. Space is limited.

Stan McChrystal founded McChrystal Group in January 2011 to deliver innovative leadership solutions to businesses globally in order to help them transform and succeed in challenging, dynamic environments. As Founder and a Partner, he advises senior executives at multinational corporations on navigating complex change and building stronger teams.

A retired four-star general, Stan is the former commander of US and International Security Assistance Forces (ISAF) Afghanistan and the former commander of the nation’s premier military counter-terrorism force, Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC). He is best known for developing and implementing a comprehensive counterinsurgency strategy in Afghanistan, and for creating a cohesive counter-terrorism organization that revolutionized the interagency operating culture.

Throughout his military career, Stan commanded a number of elite organizations, including the 75th Ranger Regiment. After 9/11 until his retirement in 2010, he spent more than 6 years deployed to combat in a variety of leadership positions. In June 2009, the President of the United States and the Secretary General of NATO appointed him to be the Commander of US Forces Afghanistan and NATO ISAF. His command included more than 150,000 troops from 45 allied countries. On August 1, 2010 he retired from the US Army.

In 2013, Stan published his memoir, My Share of the Task, which was a New York Times bestseller; and is an author of Team of Teams: New Rules of Engagement for a Complex World, which was a New York Times bestseller in 2015. Stan also co-authored Leaders: Myth and Reality, a Wall Street Journal Bestseller based on the epochal Parallel Lives by Plutarch. He previously served as a senior fellow at Yale University’s Jackson Institute for Global Affairs, where he also taught a course on Leadership. He currently sits on the boards of Navistar International Corporation, Siemens Government Technology, and JetBlue Airways. He is a sought-after speaker, giving speeches on leadership and team dynamics to organizations around the country.

A passionate advocate for national service and veterans’ issues, Stan is the Chair of the Board of Service Year Alliance. In this capacity, he advocates for a future in which a year of full-time service—a service year—is a common expectation and opportunity for all young Americans.

Stan is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point and the Naval War College. He also completed year-long fellowships at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government and the Council on Foreign Relations.

Paris Schutz is Political Correspondent for Fox Chicago.

Schutz comes to Fox after 19 years at WTTW Chicago, most recently as investigative reporter and anchor of the nightly "Chicago Tonight" program and moderator of “The Week in Review.”

Before that, he was the station’s chief political correspondent, covering multiple political conventions, elections, and corruption investigations.

Schutz has earned two Midwest Emmy’s and 8 Peter Lisagor Awards, three of them for "Best TV reporter," and one for a documentary he produced and reported about the candidacy of Illinois Governor JB Pritzker.

Schutz is a native of River Forest, Illinois, a graduate of St. Ignatius College Prep, and a keyboardist and singer-songwriter in his spare time.

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