2024 EDDY AWARDS
2024 River Activity: QC Health Initiative and Bi-State Regional Commission Bi-State is the map maker-- QC Health Initiative is the excitement maker. Together they host a website that promotes hundreds of trails an outdoor activity in the Quad Cities. Nicole Carkner, Executive Director of the Initiative, sounded the alarm after a QC health assessment about childhood obesity and mental health concerned area health o cials. She saw that her program, Be Healthy QC’s, partnering with a trail initiative such as QC Trails.org, could address the problem. Bi-State, already handling the technical demands of mapping, assistance to cities in nding funds for trails, and the intricacies of maintaining the trails website, welcomed assistance with Facebook posts to further engage the public in trail activities. Updates on conditions of the trails come from local governments; these are posted also. It is a one-stop shop o ering tools to keep track of all one’s trail adventures plus information about surface, di culty, and elevation of paths. That’s when the Initiative starts describing the fun. Denise Bulat, Executive Director, Bi-State Regional Commission, describes it as the perfect collaboration.. This association of health, economic, environmental, and social bene ts all within reach of a keystroke on QC Trails.org. and joining friends on the trails will make for a healthier Quad Cities. We have the QC Health Initiative and Bi-State Regional Commission to thank for it. Special Recognition Award: Jeff Nelson Je Nelson always seems to be 10 years ahead of everybody else. He has a clear vision and pragmatic insights on transit, sustainability, and community building. Add to that the grit and determination to stick with his vision for long periods of time—like 40 years— and you know why we are celebrating his distinguished career as CEO of MetroLink with a Special Recognition Eddy Award. Championing sustainability and inclusivity alongside growth, MetroLink, through his leader- ship, has not only broadened its services, but also had a deeply positive societal impact using technology to solve pressing issues. Working with the Mayor of Moline, he drew negotiated agreements with new big box stores that mandate accommodations for transit and reduced parking. In the 1980’s, he went to clean-burning diesel fuel in his eet, then to compressed natural gas, and now to battery electric becoming the rst transit district in Illinois and the Midwest to implement such a bus program. He always nds good policies which are environmentally and economically sound anticipating the future and actively working to shape it for the better. Equal parts visionary and pragmatist, Je and his team have pursued some of the most complex problems and accelerated the delivery of new technology in transit stations he has built. District Station is LEED certi ed, and the Operations and Maintenance Center in Rock Island is one of the most sustainable transit facilities in the nation. Public transit in a place built for cars is a really di cult problem, but tackling challenges are just opportunities to Je . Building the Channel Cat service to three water taxis, and adding three new docks with another planned for The Bend in 2025 has made ferrying loved by locals as well as tourists. There have always been two kinds of innovators; those who have a brilliant idea, and those who keep having them. Je is in the second group. He makes it look easy to acquire state and federal grants, build support among dynamic local leaders, and create a sense of pride of place so strong the momentum is catching. We don’t know how he does it, but we hope he continues with it! Nicole Carkner
Denice Bulat
6 eddy Magazine | www.riveraction.org
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