Joliet Chamber to honor Caroline Portlock with ATHENA award

Caroline Portlock, 58, of Shorewood clearly recalled the day Joliet civic leader Jean Hansen received the ATHENA award and thinking, “Look at all she’s done. I’d never qualify for it.”

Hansen received the Joliet Region Chamber of Commerce & Industry ATHENA award in 1988. Portlock, director of the Workforce Investment Board of Will County, is the 2022 recipient of the ATHENA award, which was established in 1982.

The ATHENA award program honors community leaders for high levels of professional excellence, improving the community members’ qualify of life and helping others, especially women, to attain their fullest leadership potential, the Joliet Chamber said.

The Joliet Chamber will honor Portlock with a luncheon at 11:30 a.m. Sept. 21, at the Jacob Henry Mansion Estate’s Victorian Ballroom in Joliet.

Portlock said it feels “surreal” to be honored for the above qualities because she was once that person relying on the mentorship and encouragement of others.

Take networking, for example.

Early in Portlock’s professional career, people stressed the importance of networking to her, she said.

“But they never tell you how,” Portlock said. “You go to these things and then you sit alone and then stand in the corner and wonder what’s next.”

Over time, Portlock built a support system of professional women who had her back, pushed her forward, lifted her up or pushed her down the right road, she said.

But support can arise from unexpected places – as can opportunities. In the early 1990s, Portlock, who had a community relations background, was working in human resources at Harrah’s and volunteering for United Cerebral Palsy-Center for Disability Services, when UCP approached her for help after its director of development left

Portlock protested, saying she’d only coordinated events at UCP and that she didn’t have the education to help. And Portlock said UCP told her, “You have everything we need.”

That opportunity made Portlock think about who else might need her skills, where else she might help and, ultimately answer the question, “What purpose do I want to have?”

“You get so caught in your head and your own doubts,” Portlock said. “That’s why I really believe that support system is so important. People throughout my career have told me I’m qualified. That’s why I believe so much in supporting other people.”

Portlock said her volunteer work at UCP led her to join the Kiwanis Club of Joliet in 1992. Kiwanis developed Portlock’s leadership abilities and introduced her to her future husband, Vince Portlock, a huge believer in “giving back,” she said.

“We were destined to be just always volunteering,” Caroline said.

Portlock is the former director of Workforce Development at Joliet Junior College, former president and chief executive officer of the Grundy County Chamber of Commerce & Industry, and formerly worked in human, community and public relations at Harrah’s Casino, the Joliet Chamber said.

She earned her Master of Business Administration from the University of St. Francis and an Institute for Organization Management designation from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Joliet Chamber said.

Caroline recalled her response when Will County Habitat for Humanity invited her to join its Women Build initiative: “Sure, I can swing a hammer on Saturday morning.”

But she loves how the initiative literally and figuratively opens doors for others to succeed. That’s why she mentors others now, too.

“And anytime you change someone’s life, you change the people around them, too,” Portlock said.

To make reservations for the ATHENA award luncheon, call the Joliet Region Chamber of Commerce & Industry at 815-727-5371 or visit jolietchamber.com.

At a glance

According to the Joliet Region Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Portlock has:

· Served as vice-chairman of the Illinois Workforce Partnership.

· Chartered the Grundy Will HR Association.

· Chaired the Grundy Will HR Association HR Summit.

· Served as Lieutenant Governor for Kiwanis Division 23.

· Served the Kiwanis as past Distinguished President (the third to hold that office in the club’s 103-year history) and past treasurer.

· Served as past president of the University of St. Francis Alumni board.

· Been a long-time volunteer for Will County Habitat for Humanity and its Women Build initiative.

· Served a keynote speaker for Shaw Media’s Women of Distinction 2014 and 2016.

· 2019 Distinguished Alumni Award – University of St. Francis

· Served as special events volunteer – Joliet Region Chamber of Commerce & Industry