Two inducted into QC Foundation 2017 Alumni Hall of Fame

Steven L. Nelson and Bob Vogelbaugh

At an Aug. 24 ceremony, two outstanding Black Hawk College Quad-Cities Campus alumni were inducted into the 2017 Alumni Hall of Fame.

Bob Vogelbaugh, aka “Mr. Thanksgiving,” and Steven L. Nelson, attorney/shareholder with Califf & Harper, joined 29 members of the QC Foundation Alumni Hall of Fame.

“Congratulations for living full, inspiring and very generous lives,” said Maureen Dickinson, executive director of the Black Hawk College Quad-Cities Foundation.

The QC Foundation received $2,060 in gifts in honor of Nelson and Vogelbaugh. The donations went to the Quad-Cities Campus Alumni Scholarship.


ABOUT THE INDUCTEES

Bob Vogelbaugh is most widely known in the Quad-Cities area as “Mr. Thanksgiving.” For the past 46 years, he has organized, funded and offered free Thanksgiving dinners for the community. In recent years, he has worked side-by-side with as many as 400 volunteers to serve the 2,500 people who attend his annual dinner.

Bob worked at Skills, Inc. as a food service instructor, helping dozens of physically and intellectually challenged individuals enter the workplace, earn wages, and live rewarding and independent lives.

After retiring from his career in social services, Bob became a school crossing guard and served two terms on the Moline School Board.

He has taken individuals from The Arc’s Opportunity Center to Adventureland in Des Moines, generously paying out of his own pocket and supervising from a safe distance so they could enjoy their independence and have fun.

After several years of training and weekly trips to Peoria, he was ordained as a deacon for the Catholic Diocese of Peoria.

Steven L. Nelson, an attorney with Califf & Harper in Moline, was the first person in his family to attend college.

After completing two years at Black Hawk College, he transferred to Western Illinois University where he earned a bachelor’s degree. He went on to earn a doctor of jurisprudence from Drake University.

Steven does pro bono legal work for Habitat for Humanity and is a member of the Project Management Team for the city of Moline. As an adjunct faculty member, he has taught business law at Black Hawk College and Western Illinois University.

Since 1984, he has served on the Western Illinois University Foundation Board. He was a member of the WIU Board of Trustees from 2006-2011 and from June 2016 to the present.

Steven also served on the boards of Skills, Inc. Rehabilitation Agency and Skills Foundation, Inc., and served as president of the Skills Foundation. He currently serves on the foundation boards for Seton Catholic School and Alleman High School.