Michigan Avenue - Niche Media - Michigan Avenue magazine is a luxury lifestyle magazine centered around Chicago’s finest people, events, fashion, health & beauty, fine dining & more!
Issue link: http://digital.greengale.com/i/78288
SPIRIT OF GENEROSITY The late chief of Enkerei Village in the Mara, Ben Ramet, plants a tree with the help of Jorie Butler Kent (CENTER) and Reute Butler. far away, so close ON THE EVE OF CHICAGO'S CONSERVATION BALL, BELOVED LOCAL BUSINESSWOMAN REUTE BUTLER IS LEADING FRIENDS OF CONSERVATION'S INTERNATIONAL OUTREACH TO PROTECT AND IMPROVE ONE OF THE WORLD'S MOST PRECIOUS PLACES, KENYA'S MASAI MARA. I n 1974 my mother, Jorie Butler Kent, took me to Kenya, where she and Geoffrey Kent were building Abercrombie & Kent (A&K) into the worldwide luxury travel business it is today. After six months I jour- neyed with a backpack through Sudan, Egypt, Cyprus, and Greece to England, hitchhiking much of the way. I lived between England and Africa for five years, working in different jobs, from waitress on Bond Street (I was terrible!) to polo groom and trainer at Cowdray Park (I was much better at that). Seeing the world that way taught me that kindness and nobility come from the heart, not the pocketbook. In 1982, flying over Kenya's Masai Mara, my mother was distraught to see it under siege: wheat farms encroaching on buffer zones, cattle grazing inside the Reserve, and tourist vehicles driving off-road in pursuit of wild- life. She decided that something had to be done and founded Friends of Conservation with A&K's support. Thanks to her foresight and dedication, A&K became a pioneer in corporate responsibility, and now A&K Philanthropy under her stewardship provides aid to grassroots projects in 35-plus countries. AKP remains FOC's core supporter. My serious involvement with FOC began in 1987. While on safari in Kenya's Abedare Mountains, I was telling my mother that FOC must have a newsletter. She agreed, saying, "Yes, and you are going to write it!" She continued on page 72 70 MICHIGANAVEMAG.COM