Great things are happening in our communities, but all too often they go unnoticed and unheralded. To change that, we present the 2008 Radish Awards, which recognize 10 great efforts undertaken within the past year in eastern Iowa and western Illinois. It wasn’t difficult to find worthy individuals, groups and institutions upon whom to bestow the Radish Awards. There’s plenty good being done in our region by many hard-working, caring and responsible people. Our challenge was to narrow the field to efforts which were either newly established in the past year or which had yet to be reported in Radish. In addition, to reflect the mission of our magazine, each recipient had to be involved in an activity which in some way had a positive impact on local foods or agriculture, the environment or our sense of responsibility toward our fellow humans. Following these criteria, we’re proud to announce the following 2008 Radish Award winners:
Steve Shriver: The 35-year-old Cedar Rapids, Iowa, man created the Organic Endurathon, a 260-mile run (the equivalent of running 10 marathons in 10 days) across Iowa in 2007 to promote organic foods. The event culminated on Earth Day in Iowa City.
Augustana College: The Rock Island institution of higher learning is teaching environmental stewardship by example. It uses technologies that reduce its environmental footprint, helps people consume less on individual levels and provides an educational program that includes sustainability.
Prairie Breeze Cheese: The first specialty cheese to come from the family-owned Milton (Iowa) Creamery, Prairie Breeze was a big hit in 2007. The creamery sells Prairie Breeze and its other cheese products in Iowa City, Davenport and Homestead.
Quad-City Women’s Outdoor Club: Kim Shields founded the QCWOC in 2007 to offer high-quality outdoor experiences to its female members. So far the year-round group has gone hiking, mountain biking, kayaking and rappelling.
Harvest of Hope / CCLP: The Wisconsin-based Churches’ Center for Land and People has expanded its series of Harvest of Hope winter farmers’ markets into Iowa and Illinois. Participating farmers donate 10 percent of their proceeds to the Harvest of Hope Fund to help small-scale farmers in need.
ePower Synergies, Inc.: Co-founders and owners Bruce Wood and Amy Nielsen of Port Byron, Ill., are distributing neighborhood electric vehicles (NEVs) and plan to manufacture their own NEVs and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles in the future.
City of Rock Island, Ill: Mayor Mark Schwiebert has led city staff and employees in a series of ongoing initiatives that embody environmental stewardship and leadership. These efforts include signing the Kyoto Protocol, buying a hydropower plant and establishing a “Green Team.”
World Relief: The Moline, Ill., affiliate of this non-profit international humanitarian organization assisted 111 new immigrants in 2007, in addition to providing services for 80 people who have been in the U.S. a bit longer.
Reclaiming Roots: Founded by three friends in 2007, the Iowa City-based group organizes projects and motivates others to take action to improve neighborhoods and bring people together. So far they have reclaimed a park and winterized several neighborhood homes.
Conor Dolan: After school and on weekends, 14-year-old Conor Dolan maintains the rows of chestnut trees planted by his father 12 years ago near their rural Muscatine, Iowa, home. Conor harvests and sells the nuts in the fall at the Davenport Farmers’ Market.
Be sure to read the individual stories about these winners. Each effort is a great example of the important and good work being done at a variety of levels to help us all live healthier, more sustainable lives.
