PRN’s Annual Dinner Was a Grand Tour for River Lovers

On November 21st, Prairie Rivers Network held its Eleventh Annual Dinner at the I Hotel and Conference Center in Champaign. Over 260 guests were welcomed, three amazing river advocates were honored, and eight lucky people won prizes.

Tim Palmer autograph’s his book for a PRN member

This year’s keynote speaker took us on a grand tour for river lovers. Tim Palmer, photographer and author of nineteen books, including Rivers of America, treated us to a slideshow documenting his personal engagement with and passion for our nation’s rivers over a forty year career of paddling, writing, photography, and activism. We saw rivers before they were flooded by dams. We saw the Sangamon, which Mr. Palmer photographed in the late 1960′s, fearing that it would soon be flooded. We saw rivers that once were and still are because of organizations like Prairie Rivers Network. There were quite a few misty-eyed river rats thinking of the rivers we love-and the rivers we want to preserve for tomorrow.

Thank you, Tim Palmer, for inspiring us.

And now…back to work! Prairie Rivers Network wishes to thank all of our longtime members, new guests, and dinner sponsors for your participation in our work. The Annual Dinner is a fundraiser, and it successfully raised funds, but it also recharges all of us, brings us together and reminds us that we have a vision of clean water: water we can fish and swim in, water we can drink, water clean enough so that everything depending on it can flourish.

Special thanks to our sponsors and raffle donors, whose generosity is so important to this event – please consider giving them your business!

And a very special thank you to our volunteers that have donated their time throughout the year and at the dinner. The staff truely appreciate all of the hard work: