An idea that began over coffee between a few Quad Cities HR professionals has led to national recognition for the Great River Human Resources Association (GRHRA).
The GRHRA, a local chapter of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM),
was one of 10 winners nationwide to receive a 2025 SHRM Impact Award. The 2025 Impact Award winners were formally honored in November at the SHRM Volunteer Leaders’ Business Meeting (VLBM) in Cancun, Mexico. Accepting the Quad Cities area chapter’s award was GRHRA Chapter President Bobbi Jo Cox and Shelly Chapman, its vice president.
The national authority on work and the workforce, SHRM recognizes its chapters and state councils for their purpose-driven contributions to the HR profession and broader communities.
“The SHRM Impact Award celebrates the extraordinary leadership and innovation demonstrated by our Chapters and State Councils across the nation,” Gloria Sinclair Miller, SHRM’s vice president of membership & customer community experience, said in a news release. “These honorees are not only advancing the HR profession – they are transforming lives, strengthening communities, and setting new standards for purpose-driven action.”
The award specifically recognized GRHRA’s Hot Spot mentorship initiative, according to Ms. Cox, the HR director for McCarthy-Bush Corporation, Davenport. The new mentorship program was launched to address a growing need GRHRA was hearing from its members. It centered on opportunities for connection, support, and practical learning.
“As most HR professionals will tell you, it can sometimes feel like you’re the only one in the room trying to solve everyone else’s problems,” Ms. Cox told the QCBJ. “Hot Spots were our answer to making sure HR didn’t have to do HR alone.”
Designed to be informal, accessible and relationship-driven, the mentorship program has led to increased chapter engagement, strengthened professional networks and created a safe space for real-world problem solving.
HR tool for others
“Rather than traditional one-size-fits-all programming, our Hot Spot groups are small, peer-based micro-communities focused on specific HR topics, career stages, or challenges,” she added.
SHRM was founded in 1948. It is the world’s largest professional association devoted to HR management. It represents more than 225,000 individual members in 125 countries. That includes a network of more than 575 affiliated chapters in the U.S.
The Great River chapter boasts about 300 members from the HR profession across the Quad Cities region. That includes Muscatine and Clinton, Iowa.
“SHRM noted that the program could be easily replicated by chapters across the country — which is exactly what the Impact Award is meant to highlight,” Ms. Cox said. “All of this was built by volunteers — real HR professionals with full-time jobs — fueled largely by passion, collaboration, and probably a fair amount of coffee.”
