FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Jeff Kohmstedt, Prairie Rivers Network, jkohmstedt@prairierivers.org, 217-344-2371 ext. 207
PRN Honors Illinoisans Working
to End Food Insecurity in Cairo, IL
Fox River Advocate training next generation of river stewards is also awarded
CHAMPAIGN, ILLINOIS – Prairie Rivers Network (PRN) will celebrate the accomplishments of outstanding community leaders from each end of Illinois at the PRN Annual Dinner event on September 22, 2023 beginning at 6:00pm.
2023 Outstanding Public Servant Award
The recipients of the 2023 Outstanding Public Servant Award are recognized for their work to open the Rise Community Market, a cooperative grocery store in Illinois’ southernmost city, Cairo. For the last seven years, members of the Cairo community have been without a grocery store, limiting access to fresh, affordable, and nutritious food. In June of this year, Rise Community Market opened its doors to the community and has begun to address food insecurity, environmental injustice, and disparities in food access worsened by climate change.
The award co-recipients are Steven Tarver and Marcella Woodson, co-founders of Men of Power Women of Strength and current co-op board members, Sean Park with the Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs, and John Shadowens with the University of Illinois Extension.
2023 River Steward Award
PRN’s River Steward Award recognizes and celebrates the important work of an individual who inspires us with their on-the-ground efforts to protect Illinois’ rivers and streams. This year’s award goes to Gary Swick of Elgin. Swick has dedicated his life to preparing the next generation to protect the Fox River Watershed in northern Illinois.
Swick is the current president of the Friends of the Fox River and has served on its board of directors since 1991, volunteering 30+ hours a week.
From stream monitoring to guiding nature walks to organizing river and shoreline cleanups, Swick fosters a deeper connection between people and the natural world. He’s on the Advisory Board of The Conservation Foundation, the Illinois Sierra Club Lobby Team, and is a monthly water sample collector for Illinois State Water Survey and Fox River Study Group. As the volunteer Fox River Water Quality Monitoring Director and teacher, he has been responsible for over 40,000 students collecting water-quality data in their local streams. Thousands more have been involved in 30 years of cleanups.
This year’s PRN Annual Dinner is made possible with the generous support of Elliott Counseling Group and the Common Ground Food Co-op.
At Prairie Rivers Network (PRN), we protect water, heal land, and inspire change. Using the creative power of science, law, and collective action, we protect and restore our rivers, return healthy soils and diverse wildlife to our lands, and transform how we care for the earth and for each other. PRN is the Illinois affiliate of the National Wildlife Federation.
