The Anne and Robert H. Lurie Children’s hospital of Chicago is a world class facility saving lives every day. It's also the leading hospital in Illinois serving patients on medicaid. It’s easy to see why it is the perennial charity chosen by native Chicagoan, Brian Hodous and his annual Hodie Bash.
For 42 years this annual event, hosted by Brian and his wife Micki, has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for kids in need. On July 15th of this year, I was fortunate enough to have attended, and I can faithfully report, it was a rock-n-roll extravaganza.
Brian’s expertise as a products and entertainment promoter shines every year as the logistics for an invitation only event for 1,000 guests is no small task to pull off. Multiple venues along N. Clark street in Chicago were cordoned off for this year's show, featuring none other than Cheap Trick. Adjacent to the venue was an outdoor food station featuring favorite local cuisine and nextdoor was the neighborhood pub serving exclusively to Hodie Bashers before the Concert began.
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As word went out that the band was ready, the crowds filtered over to The Metro, a venue any rock aficiando would recognize as iconic; here is where the show was held the previous year and it was easy to see why the decision was made for it to return. The lights, the sound, the professionalism of the venue were all on display. And then came Cheap Trick. They rocked! Known as one of the loudest bands around, the energy of the crowd immediately erupted. Aint That a Shame, Dream Police, Surrender and so many other great tunes.
As a member of the core team at WebSight Design, I have worked closely with Brian for the past 3 years, managing his invitations and RSVPs using email marketing platforms and his website. When we met prior to the 2021 event, HodieBash.com was limping along on a cobbled-together Wordpress site. Since then we took over hosting and built a custom solution that manages all the unique data from his incoming RSVPs, allows his guests to edit their information if needed, and creates reports for Brian to see how the sign-up process is coming along.
This year I had the honor of making my way to Chicago to experience the event myself. It was a thrill to have participated so deeply in the process with Brian and Micki and all their volunteers and witness the culmination of all the hard work. See you in Chicago in 2024.
