25th Annual Eddy Awards

Every year at River Action's annual Fish & Fire Friendraiser and Fundraiser we acknowledge those who act as an eddy - "going against the current" to accomplish excellence on the Mississippi River in the areas of art, design, revitalization, river activity, education and stewardship in our community with Eddy Awards.

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See how the Eddy Awards are created. CLICK HERE for a video on the forging and constructing of the individual awards given the eddy winners.

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Past Eddy Award Winners

Art

• 2000: John Bald/John Bloom, “Waiting for the Ferry”
• 2001: Kunhild Blacklock, “The Gathering Place”
• 2002: Ted McElhiney, “Sunday in the Park”
• 2003: Quad City Arts, “Face the River”
• 2004: Buffalo School, Mississippi Mosaic
• 2005: On The River Magazine
• 2006: Moline, Bass Street Landing
• 2007: Ballet QC, “One River Mississippi”
• 2008: Artist’s Advisory Council, “Mississippi River Pallette”
• 2009: Dick Stahl, river inspired poetry
• 2010: Quad City Symphony, Riverfront Pops
• 2011: Julie Malake, Photography & Words
• 2012: Sierra Club, Environmental Film Fest
• 2013: Joe Taylor, East West Riverfest
• 2014: Barb Sandberg & Terri Smith, “Moline City of Mills” mural
• 2014: Lawrence Bay, “Will B Rolling” sculpture
• 2015: Mississippi Valley Blues Society, Mississippi Valley Blues Festival
• 2016: Pat Stolley & Josh Rose, Supporting Art in the QC
• 2016: Richard Bittner—Bechtel Trusts “Lincoln with Boy on Bridge”
• 2017: Heidi Brandt, "Art meets the River" Calendar
• 2018: QC Symphony, Joined by a River Season
• 2019: Chuck Oestreich, River Stages Play Series
• 2020: Brad Bisbey

Design

• 2000: RENEW Moline, John Deere Commons
• 2001: Iowa-American Water Company, renovations of East River Station on River Drive
• 2002: Davenport, Centennial Park
• 2003: The Mark of the Quad Cities
• 2004: QC Rowing Assn, Sylvan Boat House design
• 2005: Rock Island, Centennial Bridge Infield
• 2006: DavenportOne, River Music Experience; Sky Bridge; and Figge Art Museum
• 2007: Davenport Police Station Green Roof
• 2008: “It’s On The River” Restaurant
• 2009: Rock Island Renaissance & Illinois EPA, McKesson Building Green Roof
• 2010: Rock Island, Schwiebert Riverfront Park
• 2011: Genesis Medical Center, Dr. Joseph Lohmuller, Green Roof
• 2012: Western IL University Riverfront Campus
• 2013: Bill Ashton, Bridge Engineering/Design
• 2013: Rodney Blackwell, KONE Center
• 2015: IA DOT, I-74 Pedestrian & Bike Trail
• 2016: Zachary Peterson, River Hertiage Park
• 2017: Dr. Joe Rives, Western Illinois University Quad City Campus
• 2018: City of Dubuque, Bee Branch Watershed Flood Mitigation Project
• 2019: MetroLink, Metro Operations and Maintenance Center
• 2020: IH Mississippi Valley Credit Union, Brian Laufenberg
• 2021: Brad Martell and the R Richard Bittner YMCA
• 2022: Mike & Kim Whalen/Heart of America Group, Axis Hotel
• 2023: Greg Smith, DWHS, Bringing clean water to Kenya

Education

• 2000: Dianne Brugge, Environmental Club
• 2001: Roald Tweet for “Rock Island Lines” and writing the history of the Corps of Engineers
• 2002: Earl Hanson School, River Days
• 2003: Advanced Technology Environmental Education for “Brownfields in a Box” program
• 2004: Shaney Ford, Academy of Environmental Ed
• 2005: Chuck Oestreich
• 2006: Matt Hammil, WQAD TV River News
• 2007: Father Bud Grant, Environmental Club
• 2008: Cal Werner, support of Nahant Marsh
• 2009: Dr. Norm Moline & Dr. Charles Mahaffey
• 2010: Brian Ritter, Nahant Marsh Education Center
• 2011: Ballet QC, “The Ugly Duckling”
• 2012: Kristen Bergren, Author & Educator
• 2013: John Riches, Alcoa EagleCam/Education
• 2014: Robbin Dunn, K-12 curriculum & Watershed Festival
• 2015: Ellis Kell, Community Outreach Education
• 2016: Mark Roberts, Mississippi River EcoTourism Center Naturalist-guided cruises on the Miss. River
• 2016: Lisa Whalen, Environmental Education and Outreach
• 2017: Shifra Gassner, Joni Nelson, and Gail Heninger, Environmental Education and Outreach
• 2018: Dave Murcia, Wapsi River Environmental Education Center
• 2019: Alma Gaul, The Great River
• 2019: Jack Cullen, The Great River
• 2020: Eric Sorensen, WQAD-TV8 Meteorologist and Climatologist
• 2021: Beth Carvey and Tom Willcockson
• 2022: Chuck Wester, Retired Black Hawk State Historic Site
• 2023: Laura McCreery, North High Green Team

Revitalization

• 2000: Moline Park Board, Ben Butterworth Memorial Parkway
• 2001: Heart of America Restaurants & Inns, Heart of America building
• 2002: RI Economic Growth Corporation, riverfront lofts
• 2003: Riverstone Group, Moline industrial site & Rock Island path bridge
• 2004: Abbey Station, Union Station & Freighthouse for renovation and reuse
• 2005: East Moline, The Quarter
• 2006: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and MidAmerican Energy, Milan Bottoms
• 2007: Doug Reynolds, The Quarter & REDEEM
• 2008: Bechtel Trusts and Downtown Davenport Partnership Assoc., Bechtel Park
• 2009: RI Centennial Bridge Visitors Center
• 2010: Rock Island, Hydroelectric Plant
• 2011: Restoration St. Louis, Blackhawk Hotel and Forrest Block Restoration
• 2012: Brian Hollenback, RI Economic Growth
• 2013: Dave Schaefer/Davenport North Art Students & Kit Sayles/Davenport Central Art Students for repainting “Sunday in the Park” art sculptures
• 2014: Paul Rumler, Amtrak Chicago to QC Rail Initiative
• 2015: Karen Anderson & Charlie Heston, LeClaire, House Renovations & Programs
• 2016: Jeff Nelson, MetroLINK, The Locks/District Station
• 2016: Brian Hollenback, Renaissance Rock Island, The Locks/District Station
• 2017: Y&J Properties, Downtown Davenport
• 2018: Maria Ontiveros, Mercado on Fifth
• 2018: Anissa Wanat, Global Communities, Floreciente Neighborhood
• 2019: German American Heritage Center
• 2020: The Bend, Tim Knanishu
• 2020: Hauberg Gardens, Deb Kuntzi
• 2023: Brian Dockery, RiverStone Group, Renew Moline Projects

River Activity

• 2000: Great River Trail Council, GRT
• 2001: Quad City Marathon
• 2002: MetroLINK, Channel Cat
• 2003: Lake Davenport Sailing Club, regattas, Sailing School, and family activities
• 2004: Bettendorf Park Board, Eagles Landing and Boat Launch Area
• 2005: Grand Excursion 2004 Board of Directors
• 2006: Bettendorf Parks and Recreation, the Riverfront Trail
• 2007: Rock Island, “Get On Board”
• 2008: Rock Island, Rock Island Arsenal, and Bi-State, ADT Trail Crossing
• 2009: Race Committee & Quad-City Times, Bix 7 Road Race
• 2010: Friends of Off Road Cycling, Sylvan Island Trails
• 2011: The Loop Transit System
• 2012: Kevin Kernan, Princeton Outdoor Adventures
• 2014: Mike Wennekamp, Adaptive Rowing Program; Greg Albansoder, Credit Island Bridge
• 2015: Dean Mathias, Bicycle Advocacy & Conservation
• 2016: Mayor Sony Paddock, City of Riverdale, Mississippi River Trial
• 2017: Tim Nelson, Tweed Ride
• 2018: Greg Farnham and Frank Schier, Rock River Trails Initiative
• 2019: Dave Heller, Main Street Baseball at Modern Woodmen Park
• 2020: Buffalo Trail Committee, Jim Mathys
• 2021: Carlos Barreto, QC Kayakers
• 2022: Christina McDonough, Scott County Health Department
• 2023: Chris Boar, Keep Muscatine Beautiful, Almost Thursday Fest

Stewardship

• 2000: Chad Pregracke, Xstream Cleanup
• 2001: Bald Eagle Days
• 2002: Barb Arland-Fye, river newspaper coverage
• 2003: Dr. R. Josef Hofmann, community activism for trails and clean water
• 2004: Bob Bryant, Wapsi Environmental Center
• 2005: St Ambrose University, management practices
• 2006: RI, Stormwater Management Program
• 2007: Curtis Lundy, Xsteam Cleanup, Save Our Streams, and IOWATER
• 2008: Rock Island, Sylvan Slough Natural Area; Dr. Mike Giudici, Greenway Habitat
• 2009: Sylvan Island Dreamers, Island Park
• 2010: Jerry Neff
• 2011: Fritz Fuhs, river clean-up /AMP Organization
• 2012: City of Bettendorf, Stormwater Projects
• 2013: Joe Pennings, Lafarge Renewable Fuel System
• 2014: Kathy Morris, iLive Here QC & Recycling
• 2015: Tony Singh, Walk for the Bees Project
• 2016: Tim Huey, Lost Grove Lake Conservation
• 2016: Brian Parkinson, Agricultural Conservation and Practices
• 2017: Art Norris, Pollution Cleanup at Green River
• 2017: Nahant Marsh Education Center
• 2017: Blackhawk Township, Hennepin Canal Restoration
• 2018: Robb and Jennifer Ewoldt, Best Management Practices in Agriculture
• 2019: Quad City Audubon Society, 50 Years of Eagle Watching
• 2019: Olivia Dorothy, American Rivers Leadership
• 2020: Amy Kay, City of Davenport, Clean Water Manager
• 2021: Partners of Scott County Watershed
• 2021: Kelly McKay
• 2022: Melisa Jacobsen, Lower Wapsi River Annual Cleanup
• 2022: Kraig McPeek/USFWS, I-74 Mussel Relocation Project
• 2023: Jeff Craver, Amowa preserve development

Special Recognition

• 2008: Mark Beorkrem, In Memoriam
• 2010: Paddy Blackman, Public Access
• 2012: Sally Heffernan, RI City Planner
• 2014: Ann Breen & Dick Rigby, Creative Collaborations
• 2014: Tom Wine, Volunteer
• 2015: Steve DuPron, Volunteerism & RTR Support
• 2016: William Gluba, River Advocacy
• 2016: Tom & Pat Bolton, Organization and Leadership
• 2016: Walt Bassow, Ride the River Barge Transport
• 2017: Tracy Dvorak, Volunteerism
• 2018: Reggie McCloud, 25th Year of "Big River Magazine"
• 2018: Dave Hill, In Memoriam
• 2020: Anthony Heddlesten
• 2020: Roger Viadero, Ph.D.
• 2022: Joe Moreno, Quad City Marathon
• 2023: Ed Choate, LeClaire revival & development
• 2023: Molly Newell, EnviroNET, Watershed planning & soil remediation

Lifetime Achievment

• 2022: Bob Sinkler
• 2023: Mark Schweibert
  
  
  
  

  Eddy Scholarship

  In 2019 we began awarding the Eddy Scholarship with funding from the Joyce and Tony Singh Family Foundation to students who display the qualities of the Eddy Awards. Our past winners include:

  • 2019: Emily Vintika, Black Hawk College
  • 2019: Nicolas Sierra, Black Hawk College
  • 2019: Amy Bandman
  • 2022: Noah Raso
  • 2022: Jack Hughes
  • 2022: Emma Duncan
  • 2023: Landen Freeman
  • 2023: Portia Carrera
  • 2023: Hannah Reynolds

  
  

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  Click below to make a general donation to River Action via PayPal.

  
  

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