John Riches arrived in the Quad Cities some four decades ago as a cub reporter anxious to discover and tell the community’s stories to WQAD-TV’s viewers. Fast forward to 2025, as the Midwest native leaves behind a 33-year career at Arconic Davenport Works where he not only helped spread the aluminum maker’s story, he became […]
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John Riches arrived in the Quad Cities some four decades ago as a cub reporter anxious to discover and tell the community’s stories to WQAD-TV’s viewers. Fast forward to 2025, as the Midwest native leaves behind a 33-year career at Arconic Davenport Works where he not only helped spread the aluminum maker’s story, he became part of both it and the Quad Cities stories through his outreach.Mr. Riches, 68, retired Friday, Feb. 28, as communications and public affairs manager at Arconic’s Riverdale, Iowa, plant. That role afforded him the opportunity to help the QC community – and beyond – better understand the company’s impact locally. “I never thought when I started there that I would be there 33 years later, but it’s been a great place,” Mr. Riches told the QCBJ during his last week on the job. “I’ve gotten to do a lot of things I otherwise wouldn’t have gotten to do. I met the President (Obama), created this eagle sensation (Arconic Eagle Cam) that has gone on for almost 15 years now.”Along the way, he also has been one of the Quad Cities most prolific volunteers and nonprofit advocates – serving on dozens of area nonprofit boards. Through the Arconic Foundation, he directed funding that assisted in capital campaigns, launched new organizations and projects, and put educational and environmental causes in the forefront. “It was really part of the job. I got to enjoy doing it, but it was really part of the job to be that voice in the community,” he said.In recent years, he also has been promoting the Arconic management team to get more engaged in the community outside the plant. “I didn’t want to be all of our community connections, I wanted to help manage our community connections,” he said. Today several managers sit on the board of organizations including United Way, Red Cross and the YWCA of the Mississippi Valley.
Eagle Cam, Arconic soar
Besides the unexpected – even explosive – success of the Arconic Eagle Cam, he counts his role in Arconic’s $300 million plant expansion a decade ago among his proudest career moments. (At its height, Eagle Cam had more than 4 million web views in a season. Now it receives a half to 1 million views a season, he said.) “I like to think I’ve done some things that will still be around in the future,” he said. “Things like the automotive treatment line. That was a huge project. My little part of it was getting some funding for it, but I still feel invested in it.” That project received a $3 million forgivable loan and nearly $2.5 million in State of Iowa training funds, but more importantly solidified the plant’s future. Construction began in 2012 and the new technology came online in 2014.“That made a huge difference in the trajectory of this facility for the long run … It’s incredible how much (investment) the company’s put into this facility, which really ensures it for the long term,” he said. Born in Auburn, Nebraska, Mr. Riches said his family moved around for his father’s job with Safeway Food Stores. After graduating from high school in Humboldt, Iowa, which he considers his hometown, Mr. Riches enrolled at Iowa State University and graduated in 1979.He was one of very few ISU students to earn a Bachelor of Science in broadcast journalism thanks to minors in computer science and economics. From there, he was hired as a reporter at WQAD – Channel 8 in Moline, where he had interned the summer before. By the time he left in 1991, he had risen through the ranks to news director. “My computer science minor served me well because when I started at Channel 8 they were just starting to look at a computerized newsroom. So I was able to spend a fair amount of my time for a while helping to install and operate some of that stuff. So that was kind of fun,” he recalled. It was also at WQAD where he met his future wife Julie Kirkpatrick, then a weekend sports broadcaster. It also is where he hired a young Hoda Kotb – former longtime Today Show co-anchor – for her second TV news job. “I’ve always hired well,” Mr. Riches smiled as he referred to teammate, Marguerite Thomlin, Arconic’s senior communications specialist.
Wilkinson led the way
Mr. Riches credits Tim Wilkinson with hiring him as a communications supervisor at what was then called Alcoa. Among his duties was producing a weekly internal newsletter.“I kind of followed in Tim’s footsteps,” he said. “He was on a lot of different boards and did a lot of different things. That’s how I was raised in the business. I considered Tim a friend, a mentor, so I tried to emulate a lot of what I saw him do … “He estimates Arconic has invested more than $15 million in the community through grants and sponsorships during his tenure. “Part of being on the board was to be sure you understood how the money was being used, and to make sure it was being used the way we expected,” he said. His recent retirement party drew a Who’s Who of nonprofit leaders who wanted to show their gratitude for Mr. Riches and Arconic’s support. “John Riches, through Arconic, has brought joy to over 100,000 kids at the Arconic Jr. Bix with his dedication and generosity,” Michelle Burnett Juehring, race director for the Quad-City Times Bix 7 told the QCBJ. “His impact is truly unforgettable, and we are incredibly grateful to have worked alongside him.”Similarly, Diane Nelson, the CEO of the Girl Scouts of Eastern Iowa and Western Illinois, said “For years, he has helped us to grow our programs and build our Girl Scouts’ courage, confidence and character. John and his dedication makes our community stronger.” As Mr. Riches closes this chapter, he said he is proud to have shed light on the community impact Arconic has made on the Quad Cities. He pointed to a Quad Cities Chamber analysis several years ago that said “we were impacting the community to the tune of $3 million or $4 million a day. Think about things like a $50 million utility bill, 2,500 employees who are averaging about $60,000 a year, property taxes, and other taxes. It all adds up.” Those numbers help tell Arconic’s story and future. “My role always has been to get out the information about our facility, what we do, how we impact the community, so people understand why they should be supportive of facilities like ours,” Mr. Riches said.
