Walk raises funds for St. Charles riverfront

About 200 people gathered at Pottawatomie Park in St. Charles Saturday to honor the memory of Bob Leonard and to raise funds for enhancing the St. Charles riverfront, a project dear to his heart.

Leonard served as a leader for numerous riverfront projects through the Downtown St. Charles Partnership before his death in 2006 at age 73.

"This walk means that Dad's efforts and his vision are being recognized and that means everything," said Jennifer Leonard-Biddle of St. Charles, Leonard's daughter.

Proceeds from the second annual Bob Leonard walk-a-thon are earmarked for completion of the Bob Leonard Walkway along the Fox River in St. Charles, an area between Illinois and Walnut streets.

Walkers accepted pledges for completing a nearly three-mile route from Pottawatomie Park, across the bridge to Second Street, then south along the Fox River to Mount Saint Mary Park and back again. Leonard was remembered Saturday by Joe Cucci and Bill Cox, both of St. Charles and both past presidents of the Kiwanis Club, as a personable man with quiet dignity.

"He chaired the riverfront committee and he was the energy behind multiyear projects," said Cucci.

"Bob got me involved in Kiwanis," said Betsy Penny, a St. Charles alderman. Penny walked with her husband and their two grandchildren. "He asked me to go to a Kiwanis meeting with him. I felt that anyone he was involved with had to be OK, he was such a great guy."

It is hoped that this year's proceeds will exceed $12,000, the amount raised last year.

Contributions are welcome. For information, visit www.stcrivercorridor.org.