Above / Back in 2001, Cliff Preston, Rick Hitchcock, Tom Preston and Kevin Gallaher set a bench in its place along the Riverwalk extension. (PN File Photo)
For more than a decade, Cliff Preston served as Chairman of the Riverwalk Commission, a huge advocate for the upkeep, design and development of the winding brick path along the DuPage River through the heart of the central business district.
Preston remembers a time when storage areas lined the riverbank and Centennial Beach was not much more than an old quarry. Then in the late 1970s, he and hundreds of community volunteers banded together in a grass-roots effort to begin the creation of the linear park, now more than two miles of pathways that jettison from the signature serpentine brick path that extends 1.75 miles from Jefferson to Hillside.
The initiative to build the Riverwalk, one brick at a time, also marked in 1981 the sesquicentennial anniversary of the establishment of Naperville in 1831 as well as the beginning of a private/public partnership with local residents, the City and the Naperville Park District.
Folks who know Cliff Preston always will remember his generous gift of time and dedication to this community’s pride and joy from 1987 to 2003 as a member of the Riverwalk Commission.
After Preston retired as Chairman, Rick Hitchcock, Jeff Havel, Bill Epp and Geoff Roehll followed to lead the way to ongoing care of the natural treasure. Geoff Roehll assumed the role of Riverwalk Commission Chairman in early 2016.
