River Action's 24th-Annual Fish & Fire Fundraiser Dinner at the Quad-Cities Waterfront Convention Center -- April 30.
Thursday, April 30, 5 p.m.
Quad-Cities Waterfront Convention Center, 2021 State Street, Bettendorf IA
A celebration of the individuals and organizations that best represent the spirit of true river action in regard to our mighty Mississippi, River Action's Fish & Fire Fundraiser Dinner enters its 24th year with an April 30 event at Bettendorf's Quad-Cities Waterfront Convention Center, the evening's events including a social hour, silent auction, plated dinner and dessert, live auction, and the presentation of the annual Eddy Awards.
At the 24th-Annual Fish & Fire, citizens, artists, policy makers, corporate leaders, entrepreneurs, environmentalists, elected officials, and philanthropists from all walks of life will gather to celebrate the Mississippi River and the good work being done to make it and the communities along it more resilient. The festivities will begin with a 5 p.m. social hour at which attendees can browse silent-auction items, followed by a 6:30 p.m. dinner of catfish, chicken, and vegetarian options. The presentation of the 17th-Annual Eddy Awards will take place in conjunction with dinner, these honors recognizing individuals and organizations that have gone against the current to get things done and accomplished outstanding riverfront activity or development=--well designed and environmentally responsible. Awards are presented in six categories: Art, Design, Education, Restoration, River Activity, and Lifetime Achievement.
The 2026 recipients for their categories include:
Art: Melissa Mohr, Figge Art Museum, will receive the Art award for Evanescent Field, aa $4 million public art installation that has transformed the downtown and riverfront with everchanging color designs. The museum gave the artist a glass box; he found a Michaelangelo in it.
Design: The City of Moline will receive the Design Award for its riverfront plan that replicates natural processes when possible allowing nature’s wisdom to bestow a higher purpose on design. After receiving a Waterfront Edge Design Guidelines designation last year, the city recently received approval of its River Edge Redevelopment Zone application. The Riverfront+Centre Plan promotes community access, sustainability, economic development, and resilience.
Education: The Education Award goes to The Upper Mississippi River Center. Under the direction of Dr. Michael Reisner, Augustana College, the Center has done extraordinary work since its creation in 2012. Dr. Reisner knows how to identify potential, a skill he has used to build the Center and enter into partnerships with the City of Davenport, City of Rock Island, Rock Island County Forest Preserve, and most recently with the Milan Bottoms Task Force to assess riparian zones and water quality on 600 acres there.
Restoration: The award goes to Jack Cullen, Executive Director of the Rock Island Downtown Alliance who has proven to be the ideal leader in this pivotal moment of making so many investments in public services and public spaces in Downtown Rock Island. With a high degree of understanding of culture and business all at the same time, he has overseen everything from pocket parks to widespread streetscaping.
River Activity: The award goes to Colonel Joe Park, Garrison, Rock Island Arsenal, who saw opportunities for the Island when he arrived a little over one year ago. Since that time, he has overseen adding a new bike trail, reopened the golf course and a new golf clubhouse, made museum improvements, Quarters One renovations, and laid out plans for a water taxi dock near Quarters One. Awards also go to LeClaire and Port Byron, organizers of Tug Fest. This longstanding event in both communities exemplifies, in the most fun way, what “Joined by a River” can mean. With such infectious spirit in each community for Tug Fest, they excel at collaboration and end up pulling for each other!
Lifetime Achievement: The award will go to two powerful advocates for bikeable communities, Dean and Deb Mathias. They embody the spirit of service which our country urgently needs. With the goal to create bikeable cities, they work on bike events, blazing the Rock River and Hennepin Canal trails, advocating at DOT meetings for bike lanes on bridges, and setting up a foundation to advance bike trails. Their unstoppable nature is a coordinated strategy we would all be wise to follow.
Following the awards presentation, a live auction and Fund a Cause will be emceed by decker Ploehn, City Administrator for the City of Davenport. Admission to River Action's 24th-Annual Fish & Fire Fundraiser Dinner is $55-65, reservations are required, and more information and tickets are available by calling (563)322-2969 and visiting RiverAction.org/fishandfire.
