Child model from Mount Prospect now has agency of her own
Mount Prospect resident Paige L. Ehlman has parlayed child modeling gigs into a 20-year career in modeling and acting.
Now, at age 39 she has opened her own modeling agency, called Paige Model & Talent Agency in her hometown to help give others a chance.
But just because she’ll be helping to guide other talent, doesn’t mean she’s leaving behind the stage herself.
“My next performance will be singing Christmas carols at Millrose restaurant in South Barrington,” she said. “I have performed with a quartet every Christmas at Millrose for the past 15 years. We sing traditional carols as well as popular holiday tunes. Even Scrooges start singing along,” she jokes.
She has been involved with many community theater groups in the Northwest suburbs, including Harper College Performing Arts Center, Big Noise Theatre at Prairie Lakes in Des Plaines, Music On Stage and LZP Productions at Cutting Hall and Forest View. She also has appeared in numerous plays and musicals at Prairie Center for the Arts in Schaumburg. She’s performed in musicals with HOTT Productions in Schaumburg, she said.
Her past lead roles have been in Guys & Dolls, Evita, Grease, Some Like it Hot, Footloose, Beauty & the Beast, All Shook Up, Damn Yankees, Chicago, Oklahoma, Little Shop of Horrors and Grand Hotel, she said.
“I’ve also appeared as a contestant on several TV game shows, most recently on Wheel of Fortune, which aired last month,” she said.
Ehlman began her career as a child model at Montgomery Ward at the old Randhurst Mall. She also appeared in fashion shows and walked the runway at age 5, she said.
“My parents always encouraged and supported my acting and modeling endeavors, even to this day,” she said. “I continued my love of performing at St. Viator High School, where I appeared in plays, musicals and choir.”
After she graduated from Loyola University with a degree in communications and theater, she worked as an assistant with the late Pat McBlaine, who owned a talent agency in Park Ridge. She then worked at Royal Model Management in Schaumburg, where she was the agency director for almost a decade.
“I booked talent for print ads, commercials, film, trade shows, voice-over, fashion shows. When my boss retired this past September, my clients, family and friends encouraged me to start my own agency. I am so grateful for their support,” she said. Now she shows support for others. She currently represents about 300 models and actors, many who have followed her from other agencies.
“They are all ages and types from the average Joe to young mom or dad, grandparent types, high fashion models, improv actors, fitness models, kids and teens,” she said.
Author to sign books
Bartlett resident and author Sandra Marie Parsons will sign copies of her new book, “The Best Revenge,” starting at 12:30 p.m. on Sunday at Moretti’s Ristorante, 1175 W. Lake St. in Bartlett. The licensed social worker is also a certified alcohol and drug counselor and a 2010 recipient of the Elgin Image Advisory Commission Award, She wrote a self-help book that also chronicles how she transformed her own behavior by integrating the Twelve Steps of Al-Anon Family Groups and Alcoholics Anonymous.
Pittro a new leader
Diana Pittro, executive vice president of Chicago-based RMK Management Corp., has been elected president of the National Apartment Association’s Education Institute, which provides education and career development programs for the apartment industry. RMK has properties in Round Lake, Waukegan, Barrington, Palatine, Libertyville, Schaumburg, Oswego, Geneva, Aurora, Naperville, Downers Grove, Oakbrook Terrace, Evanston, Lombard, St. Charles, and elsewhere.
FastTrack
Joel Erickson has joined the commercial brokerage team at Murray Commercial in St. Charles. He has about 25 years of real estate experience, and is a long time resident of Geneva. ... Zane Fulton is the new tennis director at Midtown Athletic Club in Palatine. He served in this same position at Midtown Athletic Club in Willowbrook since 2009.
Oak Brook native Ashley Accettura, a leasing agent at The Residences at The Grove in Downers Grove, has been honored as Leasing Agent of the Year by the Chicagoland Apartment Association at its annual Chicagoland Apartment Marketing and Management Excellence awards ceremony. ... Jim Otepka marks 25 years as executive director of TriCity Family Services in Geneva.
Mara Hauser of The Hauser Group in St. Charles has been awarded the Cynthia Bland O’Toole New Venture Award by the National Association of Women Business Owners Chicago-area Chapter for the creation of Catalyst Coworking. ... Carol Murin of Solutions for Long Term Care Inc. recently gave a presentation on long term care insurance policy options and industry update at the Seraphin & Seraphin Law Firm in St. Charles.
Tom Hausier, service manager for Illinois Business Systems in Downers Grove, has been named one of five Midwest regional finalists for the Kyocera Annual Service Award. ... Highland Park resident Richard H. Korengold, managing director with Mesirow Financial’s Wealth Management group, was recently invited to join the Lake County Partners Board of Governors. ... Diane M. Shelton is the new president and CEO at the DuPAge Credit Union in Naperville.
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