Kathy Daily honored as Chamber’s Volunteer of the Year
The Quad Cities Chamber honored Kathy Daily with the Volunteer of the Year award during its 2022 Annual Meeting presented by TBK Bank.
Daily served on the Board of Directors and Finance Committee of the Downtown Davenport Partnership (DDP), a Chamber affiliate placemaking and place management organization, for nine years and also spent four years as treasurer. She recently completed her third term on the board. However, she was part of the downtown community for much longer.
Daily is a Senior Director, Audit Services for RSM US, LLP. The CPA has spent most of her career, and even two years as a college intern, working downtown. She’s not only been an office-window witness to its transformation since the 90s but also played an essential role in its revitalization and continued progress.
Daily said the award came as a surprise and she is very appreciative. “I’ve never been involved with a board that gets so much done. There has been so much progress in downtown Davenport and so much potential for the future. There are opportunities and more improvements coming as we move forward,” she said.
“Kathy does an amazing job boiling down complex financials so the Board can understand and be good stewards of our money. These are tax dollars paid by downtown property owners and she put a high priority on how to manage and use those dollars,” said Kyle Carter, the Chamber’s Vice President, Place Management and DDP Executive Director.
“She is also the kind of person who says ‘yes’ anytime she’s asked to do anything. In the past 10 years, the Chamber has evolved and the consistency of Kathy on the finance team through all of those changes has given me a high level of comfort,” Carter added.
From 2012-2021, the assessed property value of the downtown has increased from $117 to $186 million. Empty buildings have been transformed into apartments, offices and retail. Streetscaping, pocket parks, cultural events and music festivals are drawing residents and visitors.
The DDP Board played an integral role in all of that progress. Daily said the Finance Committee has always included a powerful and passionate group of professionals who are just as invested as she was in the success of the downtown. “It is invaluable to have those extra sets of eyes and oversight to look at the financials and be able to see if what we are doing makes sense, and to be cautious and careful that we are making good decisions for the folks who have invested in this downtown with their money so the DDP can do what it does,” she said.
“There have been changes and challenges over the years, but the things we’ve been able to accomplish – like responding quickly to provide grants to property owners during the flood – showed we were making a difference,” Daily said. “It was a time-intensive responsibility, and I credit RSM for supporting DDP and my involvement. I am glad I got to work with such a strong Board, such a strong group of people who are truly in it to make a difference,” she said.