MAKING THINGS HAPPEN: The man behind Living Lands and Waters

What do you think when you see the words ‘Mississippi River’? Most of us would say that the Mississippi River is the largest river in America. They would think of the mighty ways in which the river tumbles throughout the whole stretch of North America, bypassing several states. For one individual, however, the Mississippi River was just part of his backyard.

Chad Pregracke has been living by the river his whole life. He had remarkable passion with every activity he spent on the river, and he created this amazing bond with the river that made him appreciate the Mississippi River more than anyone else. He based his whole life on the river; he spent his childhood and grew up there. He was primarily working as a commercial shell diver during summer breaks in high school and then went on to commercial fishing. Chad camped by the river for endless nights, and that was when he realized really how neglected the Mighty Mississippi was. Although he was only 17 then, Chad Pregracke already decided to clean up the rivers. He took pictures of the polluted Mississippi river and made calls to powerful government officials. He was a young man with big dreams; he was a man on a mission.

In spite of his ‘never say die’ attitude, Chad did feel down when he got rejections from companies continually, one after another. He always got the same negative responses, “who are you, you’re way too young”. It is at times like this when every other person would just give up altogether. But not Chad Pregracke. He was so positively motivated and he wouldn’t give up the clear and beautiful vision in his mind for all the rejections in the world. He saw the Mississippi river to be a beautiful place for recreation and leisure, and he wanted the world to see it his way. He started to put stickers about his movement on race car stickers. He did everything he could to spread the word. Finally, he got his big break when the media appreciated Chad’s efforts and did a story about him on the front cover on the local newspaper.

Things improved immensely after that, many companies gained trust in Chad and his big idea and they were willing to sponsor him, mostly for the national exposure. Chad received $84,000 to start on his first year of his organization. He bought a boat and he went out to clean the Mississippi river all by himself, one piece of garbage at a time.

At the tender age of 23, Chad Pregracke founded Living Lands and Waters, a non-government organization (NGO) that dedicated itself to cleaning up and preserving the natural beauty of the rivers in America. The mere vision and motivation of one man has grown into a full organization, which includes 10 full-time employees and a fleet of 4 barges, a towboat, 6 workboats, 2 skid steers, 5 work trucks and a large box truck. Just with this equipment, Chad, his crew, and over 60,000 volunteers have collected over 6 million pounds of debris from our nation’s greatest rivers.

When we heard about all this, we were just simply astounded, and if possible, more inspired than anything. This young man who came from a rural part of East Moline has been changing the world for the better, one piece of garbage at a time. It is just amazing. It teaches everyone a very important lesson, it gives everyone motivation. Chad’s success story just goes to show that anyone, be it someone from a big city or a small town can make a huge difference to our community. It teaches you to have a strong and independent attitude, to think differently and to have a firm stand on your idea no matter how much other people may ridicule it. It teaches you to be a leader.

Chad’s success speaks for itself too, it has been renowned worldwide. He has received many prestigious awards over the years, ever since Living Lands and Waters established. Most notably, Chad was the recipient of the Jefferson Award for Public Service (America’s version of the Nobel Prize) in June 2002. Chad accepted this award in the United States Supreme Court in Washington D.C

Another thing that makes Chad exceptional is that he never let all this publicity and admiration get into his head. When asked what made him happy during an interview, he casually replied “I'm happy about where the organization is, our accomplishments, where we're headed, and the fact that the sun is shining today.” He is a humble character who is easily satisfied, just by the nature of things.

"You should set goals beyond your reach so you always have something to live for.” This quote was from Ted Turner, an amazing environmentalist who is also Chad Pregracke’s hero. This quote basically sums up Chad Pregracke’s success. He aimed to clean out the Mississippi river, but he did so much more than just that. He touched a thousand people’s hearts, he raised awareness to the entire world and he achieved his ultimate goal together with the support of the people he loved all around him. He didn’t believe in failures, just momentum. He looked at everything as a success, and with the right momentum and with his undying passion, he eventually became a success and an amazing role model to the entire world.