Boutique Design - June 2014 - 22

The Gettys Group
juxtaposed reclaimed
wood and hot-rolled
steel elements to infuse
a rustic elegance into the
Renaissance West Chester
in White Plains, N.Y.

OUTREACH ADVOCATE

A NATIVE OF RACINE, Wis., Roger Hill admits to

being a huge fan of the Green Bay Packers football
team. That boyhood allegiance notwithstanding,
Hill's adopted hometown of Chicago-where he
co-founded The Gettys Group hospitality design
consultancy 25 years ago and now serves as its
chairman and ceo-is the focus of much of his
passion and commitment.
Hill's community outreach efforts include
serving as a board member of the Lincoln Park Zoo,
and as both a past president and past trustee of the
auxiliary board at the Art Institute of Chicago. Why
those two organizations?
"The Lincoln Park Zoo is one of the largest free
zoos in the country, and it requires a lot of community support to maintain. I love the fact that anyone
can enjoy this zoo-it doesn't matter where you are
from or what your background is. It's been an
honor to help to make it a better place," he explains.
"My involvement in The Art Institute has been a
natural fit, because of my personal and professional
passions. It's an incredible organization at the forefront of design and technology. I'd have to say that
my favorite project there was 'Art on the Move'
which helped bring art back into classrooms."
Beyond those personal endeavors, the firm Hill
runs has started a companywide "Gettys Gives Back"
philanthropy program in conjunction with the
Ronald McDonald House organization. Hill says that
22

boutiquedesign.com JUNE 2014

program can trace its genesis to 2012, when representatives of Ronald McDonald House Charities of
Chicagoland & Northwest Indiana asked his firm to
provide interior design and procurement services for
the 100,000-sq.-ft. house being built near the Ann &
Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago. (Such
residences provide housing for families with children
being treated at nearby hospitals.)
"Our team handled the design for all public
communal spaces, including the entry lobby and
reception, all kitchens, dining rooms, living rooms and
reading areas, children's areas, and all 86 guest rooms,"
says Hill. "And through our company's procurement
connections, we were able to obtain donations for
many of the products, furniture and custom, locally
sourced artwork in the house, which is the largest
Ronald McDonald House in the world."
Based on that experience, The Gettys Group
decided to create an ongoing philanthropic program
with Ronald McDonald House. "Each year, our offices
around the world [Chicago, Miami, Hong Kong,
Jeddah and Manila] partner with their local chapters
for charity work, such as taking off days of work to
pack lunches for families and visit with children
staying at the houses," says Hill. "Our team finds this
effort to be both rewarding and invigorating."
In addition to its charitable efforts, Hill's firm
continues to be an impact player in Chicago's
hospitality market, thanks to its designs of such

high-profile hotel projects as The Kinzie, The
Godfrey and The Felix. Reinforcing The Gettys
Group's commitment to its hometown is the recent
move of its headquarters to bigger offices, on West
Wacker Drive.
Hill says the company's new space, designed by
an in-house team, is "a lab or think-tank environment that allows us to test out a wide variety of
ideas and designs. We encourage our clients to do
big things, and this new environment helps us
showcase a lot of our big ideas."

COU RTE SY OF RE NAI SSANCE WE STC HE STE R (3 ); COURT ESY O F THE G E T T Y S G R OU P ( H IL L )

ROGER HILL

http://www.boutiquedesign.com

Boutique Design - June 2014

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