When she took the reins of the Illinois Film Office, Suzy Kellett set her sights high:
”My goal was to make Illinois a household world (in the film industry). Kind of like Michael Jordan and Lemon Pledge,” she says.
Nearly eight years and more than $300 million in film revenues
(brought into the state) later, it`s clear she has succeeded. And her colleagues have demonstrated their resounding approval by selecting her as the recepient of 1991 Women in Film/Chicago Achievement Award.
During a recent gala benefit luncheon in the Four Seasons Hotel attended by more than 350, Kellett, a Northfield native, was praised as a master facilitator who has made Illinois a sought-after site for moviemaking.
”She embodies what`s good about being Midwestern,” said Valerie Mrak, president of the film organization which is marking its 15th anniversary.
”Filmmaking certainly is not all glitz. . .and she has that rare ability to draw different components together.”
Kellett also was praised as an inspiration.
”We`re here to celebrate a role model for success,” said Susan Gillette, president of DDB Needham, the advertising firm, and winner of Women in Film`s 1988 Achievement award.
Kellett, who began her career teaching migrant children and later worked as a writer and pictures editor for Time and People magazines, joined the film office as deputy director in 1981, under Lucy Salenger, the 1987 Women in Film/Chicago Achievement Award recepient.
She admitted that initially, she was a neophyte.
”I wasn`t even sure what a best boy (member of a film crew) was,” she said. ”I had assumed it was a member of a wedding party.”
A divorced mother of 15-year-old quadruplets, Kellett also confided that the true stars in her life aren`t those these she`s encountered on the job, but instead those at home.
She praised her ”remarkably wonderful kids” and her parents for their support in helping her fulfill dual domestic and professional roles.
”You`ve always been there for us,” she said.
