Dave Slater Environmental and Conservation Scholarship

A Life Legacy – The Story of Dave Slater  

Dave Slater was successful and passionate in all areas of his life – with his family, in his business and his love for the outdoors. He was a graduate of Davenport West High School and earned his business degree from Iowa State University in 1984. Tragically, in October 2012, Dave’s life was cut short in a boating accident at the age of 50. This is his legacy.

A resident of Davenport, Iowa, David P. Slater worked in the family business, Eastern Iowa Grain Inspection and Weighing Service starting in high school and continuing after college. He had a natural affinity for the business, so in 1994 when his father passed away, Dave took over management of the company. Under Dave’s leadership, the company expanded to all of Wisconsin and part of Illinois, growing from 20 employees to nearly 100. He was a modest leader who was very much loved by his employees and respected by his colleagues. He was a great friend to many; you weren’t a stranger for long once you shook his hand.

Dave’s love for the outdoors and dedication to wildlife and conservation ideals led him to be instrumental in waterfowl habitat and preservation in Iowa and Illinois. His commitment to wildlife and the environment did not go unnoticed. In 2002, Dave received the Scott County Soil and Water Conservation District’s Wildlife Enhancement Award for his work on land he owned near the Wapsipinicon River. Eventually, he came to own 1,000 acres of land in Canton, Illinois, with goals to encourage bird migration and conservation in the area.

Dave worked non-stop and his energy was boundless, as those who worked with him and for him would attest. As a father and family man he was even more committed. His wife and children will have more than a lifetime of memories to cherish. Dave and his wife Kandice had 2 sons and one daughter. Weston, 23, and Brennan, 20, have attended the University of Iowa, and daughter Kayleigh, 17, plans to attend Iowa State University as a freshman in the fall of 2015.

Family, business, and love for the outdoors and the environment were his life’s work and his life’s passion. That is why Kandice, Dave’s wife of 23 years, decided to establish two funds at the Quad CitiesCommunity Foundation that represented the life Dave Slater lived.

 Investing in the future

With the guidance of her Legal Advisor, Henry Neuman, Kandice Slater decided to make an investment in the future of young people who held the same ideals as her husband. The Dave Slater Business Scholarship for ISU and the Dave Slater Conservation and Environmental Science Scholarship were established at the Community Foundation in April 2014.

Fully supported by endowment, Kandice made these two scholarship funds available to area students. The Dave Slater Business Scholarship for ISU is an annual $1,000 renewable scholarship for an ISU business school sophomore or higher. The Dave Slater Conservation and Environmental Science Scholarship is also an annual $1,000 renewable scholarship available to a Scott County high school graduate attending any Iowa 2 year or 4 year college.

Giving back

The two scholarships are a memorial to what Dave Slater held dear. “It was important to our family to remember Dave in this way,” said his wife Kandice. “I know he would approve.” Although he is no longer with the people who loved him, Dave’s memory will live on through his children and through the students who reach their life goals because of the legacy he has left behind.