Corboy & Demetrio Partner Conrad C. Nowak receives Sister Cities Volunteer of the Year Award from Chicago Mayor

Corboy & Demetrio Partner Conrad Nowak received the prestigious Chicago Sister Cities International(CSCI) Volunteer of the Year Award at World Business Chicago’s annual Chicago International Gala on Nov. 14, 2025.

The Award was given to Conrad by Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson before a crowd of more than 800 people, which included business, civic, and cultural leaders, including Consuls General from over 75 countries.

In his speech that followed Mayor Johnson’s, Conrad thanked his family, the staff at World Business Chicago, his fellow Sister Cities committee members and Corboy & Demetrio for their support. 

Conrad recounted a heartwarming story about when his Polish grandmother sternly addressed some misbehaving neighborhood boys that were teasing Conrad when he was a young boy, directing them to sit on her steps and wait as she went inside the home. She didn’t speak English well, and they didn’t understand Polish.  She then delivered to the bewildered children, afraid they were in trouble, a big bowl of pierogies and a larger lesson as they ate the meal and ended up laughing together.

“Number one, you don’t mess with a Polish grandmother…and number two, sometimes you just have to find that way. And it’s not always easy and it’s not always apparent, and we may seem like we’re divided,” but his grandmother showed otherwise.

Conrad, who serves as Chair of the Warsaw Committee of CSCI and is member of the CSCI Advisory Board, in his closing remarks, said, “My message to all of you tonight, when we go out into the world, go to different places where things are different and they think differently, and try to find what that hunger is.  Try to find that common ground. It is always there.”

The Volunteer of the Year award recognizes a CSCI volunteer committee member who has played an important role in furthering CSCI’s mission to advance Chicago as a global city and promote peace through mutual respect, understanding, and cooperation through citizen diplomacy – one individual, one community at a time – for the benefit of Chicago and its sister cities. 

Conrad has served on the Warsaw Committee for more than 15 years, and as its Chair for the past eight years.

                          WATCH NOW:  Watch Conrad's Entire Speech on C&D's YouTube Channel