Larry Anderson honored with Regional Champion of Change award

The inaugural Regional Champion of Change award was presented to Larry Anderson during the 2023 Chamber Annual Meeting, presented by IMEG Corp.

Anderson is the President of East Moline Glass, a role he’s served in for 35 years. A life-long East Moline resident, he's the third generation of his family leading East Moline Glass. For over 60 years, East Moline Glass has provided glass products from windows and doors to shower enclosures and auto glass for business owners and homeowners. Today, the company has around 400 employees. Under Anderson’s guidance, East Moline Glass has reached new heights, as has the City of East Moline.

Through Anderson’s advocacy and investment, The Bend Campus in East Moline has grown to become one of the Quad Cities’ premier destination locations. Anderson played a crucial role in transforming the previously vacant industrial buildings along the riverfront into The Rust Belt. The live performance venue attracts thousands of fans of all forms of art, and helped spark the creation of numerous nearby businesses that Anderson is also involved with, including a hotel, an expo center and many more businesses to come. His efforts to develop The Bend has helped secure $24 million in federal funds that will go toward connecting The Bend to the rest of downtown East Moline.

Receiving the Regional Champion of Change award is special for Anderson, but he’s quick to give credit to his East Moline Glass employees and the team around him.

“I get the award, but I have a great team. I must have a lucky charm somewhere because I find good people. The biggest vehicle for this growth has been the great workers at East Moline Glass.”

Anderson said that he’s seen East Moline flourish throughout his life, and his desire to create positive change in his home community is what inspires him most. “I grew up here and I’ve watched the changes, and I don’t like some of them. East Moline was a great place to be growing up and it’s becoming a great place again today.”

Seeing his vision for The Rust Belt come to fruition has been immensely rewarding. Anderson said, “There’s a lot of pride in that. It's a good feeling to look out at 3,000 people and see them all having fun. It's kind of amazing how much it’s evolved.”

An entrepreneurial mindset has enabled Anderson to make his vision a reality, and he shared some advice for aspiring leaders looking to make an impact in their communities. “You need to have a dream. It goes along with that goofy saying, ‘There is only way to eat an elephant: a bite at a time.’ It doesn’t happen overnight.”

The Quad Cities is a better place thanks to Anderson’s community building efforts, and his achievements are the perfect example of what can be accomplished when we invest in our home communities. The Chamber is proud to award Anderson with the first-ever Regional Champion of Change award.