The board of directors of the Quad Cities Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB) has announced a reorganizaton of its office and visitor center. It will establish one office for all professional staff at the RiverStation, 1601 River Drive in downtown Moline. Also, it will partner with the City of Davenport and the Davenport Levee Commission to improve the current visitor center on the first floor of Union Station to become a full-service visitor center. And it will partner with the City of Rock Island to manage the Centennial Bridge Visitors Center, expected to open in May 2008.
Genesis Health System Board Chairperson Edwin Motto, M.D., has announced that the board has named Douglas Cropper to lead the organization effective March 2008. This announcement follows an eight-month-long, nationwide search that began in March following the announcement of the retirement of the current Genesis CEO, Leo Bressanelli. Cropper is currently executive vice president of Inova Health System, based in Falls Church, Virginia, and campus administrator of the 900-bed Inova Fairfax Hospital, named by U.S. News & World Report among "America's 50 Best" hospitals in five specialties.
Legal professionals are needed to volunteer as judges for the American Mock Trial Association's Midwest Regional Tournament to be held at St. Ambrose University on Friday and Saturday, February 8 and 9. During the two-day event, four rounds of mock trials requiring 24 volunteer judges will take place at multiple sites around campus. Legal professionals may serve as judges for any or all rounds of the competition. For more information or to volunteer, contact Vivian Force at (563) 333-6166 or (ForceVivianF@sau.edu).
Two local projects will receive more than $176,000 in grants. In Bettendorf, the Iowa Department of Transportation will use $106,291 to provide Mississippi River access points along the Great River Road for viewing vistas, picnicking locations, parking, water, and restroom facilities. An interpretive kiosk will also be created to discuss the history, industry, and recreation along the river. In Muscatine, the Iowa Department of Transportation will use $70,552 to design and construct a riverfront plaza designed to educate and inform visitors about the two historical bridges in Muscatine: the old High Bridge and the more-recent Norbert F. Beckey Bridge.
William Roba, a faculty member at Scott Community College, has been awarded a Fulbright Scholar grant to lecture at Ivan Franko Drohobych State Pedagogical University in Drohobych, Ukraine, during the 2007-8 academic year, according to the United States Department of State and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board. Roba will lecture on Ukrainian American Studies and is one of approximately 800 U.S. faculty and professionals who will travel abroad through the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program.
RSVP (Retired & Senior Volunteer Program) will host the presentation "Polite Is Right" by Deb Walz on Friday, December 14, at 2 p.m. at the Fairmount Branch of the Davenport Public Library, 3000 North Fairmount Street. She will offer tips on how to share some basics of politeness with children. This presentation is free to the public. For more information or to make a reservation, call (309) 793-4425 or e-mail (dlayton@wiaaa.org).
The Iowa Department of Human Services received $722,500 for its Working Together So All Can Work program. This initiative aims to improve the infrastructure of Iowa's Medicaid program to boost the employment rate and earnings of Iowans with disabilities.
For the past three months, the Davenport Public Library and Quad City Arts have cooperatively offered numerous "Big Read" programs revolving around Harper Lee's classic novel To Kill a Mockingbird. Beginning on Saturday, December 15, and running through Friday, December 21, they are offering the community a final chance to pick up a free copy of the book. Stop by any Davenport Public Library location (321 Main Street or 3000 North Fairmount Street) or Quad City Arts (1715 Second Avenue in Rock Island) to pick up a copy while supplies last. For more information, call (563) 888-3371.
On November 29, Deanna Jensen received the Paul Harris Fellow from the Rotary Foundation. The award was presented in honor of her work and dedication to the Rotary and Rotary Zone Convention. The Paul Harris Fellowship is named for Paul Harris, who founded Rotary with three business associates in Chicago in 1905.
