Annual Golden Turtle Award presented to Cris and Tom Anderson

The annual Golden Turtle Award recently was presented to Cris and Tom Anderson.

Each year, the Golden Turtle award is presented by the River Corridor Foundation to an individual, group, or organization that has contributed to the development, preservation, enhancement, and appreciation of the Fox River Corridor in the city of St. Charles.

At the Nov. 6 Kiwanis weekly meeting, the Rev. Al Patten presented the 2018 Golden Turtle award to Cris and Tom Anderson.

Tom is a life-long resident of St. Charles and Cris is from Brazil. They are partners and owners of Colonial Café and Ice Cream. Over the years, the couple have been actively involved in various local organizations and were the recipients of the 1991 Charlemagne Award.

One of the missions of the River Corridor Foundation is connecting people to the riverfront through art and culture. Tom has been a member of the downtown and river committees since their formation and was president of the St. Charles RiverFest for 25 years. They continue to tirelessly work to enhance the riverfront experience for all.

With support from Cris and Tom, the sculpture "Wind Emotions" was donated to the city and installed on the west side of the river next to Carroll Towers.

This is the same location where in the 1920s, the Anderson family harvested ice to keep their Colonial milk and ice cream cold. The sculpture features three tall poles with wind-driven kinetic pieces at the top of each pole.

At night, it is illuminated from lighting underneath. Wind Emotions has been an impressive addition to the sculptures in St.Charles.

In addition, Cris belongs to the Pottawatomie Garden Club that maintains the beautiful native plant garden at the southwest end of the Illinois Street bridge and flowers on both bridges.

Since 2001, Tom and other Kiwanians led the clean up of the Fox River bank along Route 31 from Boy Scout Island to the railroad bike bridge. Their hard work now provides beautiful views of the Fox River and Pottawatomie Park. Cris and Tom Anderson are inspirations for what individuals can do to advocate for our community's most valuable asset, the Fox River.