Quad City Native Honored For His Devotion to Cleaning Up Rivers
East Moline, IL/April 2, 2013 - The Lincoln Academy of Illinois recognizes Chad Pregracke for its highest honor, the Order of Lincoln. The Academy will present Pregracke with this award at its 49th Annual Convocation at 6 p.m. on Saturday, April 13th at Augustana College's Centennial Hall. The Order of Lincoln is presented to those who have a devotion to public service and the betterment of humanity
Pregracke started Living Lands & Waters in 1998 at the age of 23. In the past 15 years, he and his crew have worked with more than 70,000 volunteers and have collected and removed more than 6 million pounds of debris from our waterways. Living Lands & Waters works throughout the Mississippi, Illinois, and Ohio rivers, as well as many of their tributaries.
"This is an incredible honor not only for myself but for Living Lands & Waters and our volunteers. What we do wouldn't be possible without the generous support of our volunteers" said Pregracke. "I'm looking forward to continuing to fight the fight against trash and debris in our waterways."
There are six recipients of the 2013 Order of Lincoln Award; they are Brenda Barnes, William Hammer, Timothy Johnson, Bob Lane, Bob Ontiveros and Chad Pregracke.
"These six incredible individuals have one thing in common, and that's our community," Kai Swanson, executive assistant to Augustana College President Steve Bahls, said. "They spent a critical time of their lives in the Quad-Cities."
"Lincoln laureates are those who have excelled in their occupation and have led exemplary volunteer lives," Julie Kellner, executive director of the Lincoln Academy, said. The Lincoln Academy was established in 1964 and began honoring Illinoisans with the Order of Lincoln Award in 1965.
Chad Pregracke started Living Lands & Waters in 1998 as a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the beautification and restoration of America's major rivers and to the education of people about environmental issues. From his single boat beginning, LL&W has grown into an internationally known organization with a fleet of barges and workboats. LL&W engages thousands of volunteers each year in river cleanups, hands-on environmental education workshops, the Great Mississippi River Cleanup, Adopt-a- River-Mile programs and the MillionTrees Project.
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