For Bettendorf City Administrator Decker Ploehn the key to success in government, economic development, community service and life is creating and cultivating relationships with people who get things done.
It is a testament to his ability to do that effectively that his name has been included on the QCBJ’s reader-driven Most Influential Leaders list since it was launched in 2022. The ever-growing contributions to the region made by this fundraiser, volunteer and city leader also may have helped Mr. Ploehn climb to the top of 2024’s Most Influential leader list.
“Decker is the PERFECT candidate to be recognized as the Most Influential Leader for 2024,” Andrew Lehman, John Deere Classic tournament director, said in an email to the QCBJ. “He has a heart of gold, is always willing to give freely of his time and talents, and we here at the John Deere Classic are blessed to call Decker a friend.”
Fittingly, Mr. Lehman also saluted this leading Quad Citizen by using Mr. Ploehn’s signature rallying cry which is often heard at pro-community events.
“Whether through a joke or story, Decker has a unique ability to bring a smile to anyone’s face and that is a treasure worth celebrating – YEAH BABY!” Mr. Lehman wrote.
Angie Sharp, City of Bettendorf’s community engagement manager and a former WQAD Good Morning Quad Cities co-anchor, calls Mr. Ploehn a mentor and a friend.
“For 10-plus years, I have had the honor to share a stage with Decker and watch him work the room to raise thousands of dollars for nonprofits in our area,” Ms. Sharp said.
“These days, I have the added honor to watch him work the rooms of (Bettendorf) City Hall and raise up not just our city, but the entire Quad Cities region,” she added. “In both of these settings, he’s always told me that building relationships is how you get things done, and he’s proved it time and time again. He is an inspiration to my generation of community leaders and undoubtedly will influence Quad Cities Most Influential Leaders for years to come.”
For Mr. Ploehn – whose cellphone boasts more than 5,000 contacts – mentoring is a way to pay back the lifetime of benefits he has received from his mentors and friends. That began when he was growing up as the oldest child in a large Catholic family of 10 children headed by two loving and competitive parents. “My mom and dad, they taught us how to work, they taught us how to be kind and they taught us how to take care of each other and do what you’re supposed to do,” Mr. Ploehn said.
A different career path
Though Mr. Ploehn began his public service career as a police officer, it wasn’t his first calling. “I had thoughts of being a priest and my mom loved that, of course,” Mr. Ploehn said.
That path led him to St. Jude Seminary in Momence, Illinois, 180 miles from Davenport. After taking part in the old seminary’s final high school graduation ceremony he spent two years at St. Louis University majoring in theology before giving up on the priesthood and coming home.
“It wasn’t tough. I think you don’t know your chosen path exactly at that time,” Mr. Ploehn said of his youthful aspirations. “You think it, you see it, but I think we all want to explore what else is there.” That exploration began when his uncle got him a machine operator’s job. He enjoyed the experience but soon discovered it wasn’t for him.
He turned to policing after his friend and housemate took a job with Bettendorf Police Department. “He said ‘This is a lot of fun. You ought to think about doing this,’” Mr. Ploehn said. So young Decker took the test, passed it and got the job.
Officer Ploehn also found his future wife when he took an off-hours job handling security at the apartment complex where Jayne Miller was assistant manager.
Today, the Ploehns have two grown, successful children – daughter Sarah and a son nicknamed “Decker,” after his father and grandfather. Thus creating, the middle Decker quipped, “a triple- Decker sandwich.”
The young patrolman rose quickly through the ranks, making detective in two and half years; then when barely into his 30s, chief. In between a hectic life and his police responsibilities, he completed his education, including earning a BA in criminal justice from St. Ambrose University, and graduating from the FBI National Academy, Quantico, Virginia; the National Crime Prevention Institute at the University of Louisville; and the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy.
About four years into his job as top cop, a financial crisis was sparked when the city administrator at the time overspent the budget by millions of dollars, and it sent Chief Ploehn’s career in an unexpected direction. The administrator resigned and voters rejected longtime Mayor Bill Glynn and five council members. A new administrator was hired, butted heads with the council and resigned.
That’s when the newly elected Mayor Ann Hutchinson turned to her young chief.
“Ann came to me and said ‘I need you to take over for six, seven months until we get a new administrator.’ I was like, ‘Are you out of your mind?’” Mr. Ploehn recalled. “She said, ‘Look, you can’t screw it up any worse and I’ll be there and you have all the relationships … just get us through this.”
The city’s financial crisis also came at a critical time for Bettendorf because it was working with Bernie Goldstein to secure a riverboat gaming license and operation. Under interim administrator Ploehn the city sealed that deal with Mr. Goldstein and resolved four union contracts.
“And because I could do that, and I got a budget done and issued some sewer bonds, Ann said, ‘Well you did all that in six months, why don’t you hang on? Why don’t you keep going?’”
Besides, he said, “I liked it. I was able to get the political work done and get stuff through the council that they wanted to get done.”
Always a ‘50% guy’
He added “I think it suited my personality. I’ve always believed I’m a 50% guy. You put in 50%, we’ll put in 50% and we’ve got a deal. So let’s do a deal, let’s collaborate and if you can make that happen everybody has got to get something in a deal. If you get what you want and they get what they want, you don’t always win everything you want, but you can make it work.”
That approach has helped Bettendorf create explosive growth that includes christening the hard-fought new Interstate 74 bridge, transforming a rundown and nondescript downtown that now boasts Hutchison Plaza – named for former Mayor Hutchinson – and the new Ascentra Credit Union building, the Quad Cities Waterfront Convention Center and Isle of Capri’s hotel. Under his watch, the city and top-notch investors including visionary and talented developers such as Doug Kratz also have sparked massive and ongoing growth in the northeast Bettendorf home of the TBK Bank Sports Complex.
Mr. Ploehn also credits those successes to the vision of a series of quality leaders in Bettendorf including former Mayors Hutchinson and Mike Freemire and current Mayor Robert Gallagher.
The city’s growth is the result of “great people who are willing to serve on the city council and as mayors,” Mr. Ploehn said. “I’ve only served under three mayors in 35 years and now they’ve only had one city administrator and the whole continuity I think is important. But the team that we have assembled here and the employees are incredible. The art of that is we picked the right people and then turned them loose. We’ve had great people and they make it happen.”
It’s important, however, not to underestimate Mr. Ploehn’s contributions.
“If you know Decker, you know his larger-than-life personality,” Mr. Gallagher told the QCBJ. “What most don’t know about Decker is that he works tirelessly behind the scenes to accomplish big things for the entire community.”
That includes at Medic EMS, the Scott Emergency Communications Center, Bi-State Regional Commission, the Waste Commission of Scott County and Scott County Emergency Management Agency, all of which have “been positively affected by Decker’s unseen work,” Mr. Gallagher added.
“Decker is also the most trusted resource for public leaders in the community and is regularly mentoring the next generation,” he said. “It is an honor to serve with Decker Ploehn and I’m pleased he is getting much deserved recognition.”
Relationships ‘everything’
Mr. Ploehn believes success comes through teamwork, so it’s perhaps not surprising that when asked what advice he would give to young leaders he said this: “I think it’s true in life, relationships are everything. You don’t get to the next level, you don’t get to the next person without relationships. You need to establish those relationships. You never know when those relationships are going to come back.”
Importantly, too, he said the connections Quad Citians make through community work are intertwined with those fostered in the workplace. Take Mr. Ploehn’s prolific nonprofit contributions, which recently included emceeing the Nov. 27 Festival of Trees celebratory luncheon for the 34th time. The event is also the first one he ever emceed after he was urged by Tom Getz and Quad-City Times columnist Bill Wundram to take over auctioneering duties from Mr. Wundram. (Both men have since died.)
“I liked it and I’ve always liked it,” Mr. Ploehn said. “I enjoy being out in the community and I like to make things happen. … Then we started making money for people.”
Clearly, he’s good at fundraising and has the hardware to show it. Recent honors he’s received include Outstanding Volunteer Fundraiser of 2024 by the Association of Fundraising Professionals Quad Cities Chapter and the Quad Cities Community Foundation. He also was inducted in the Iowa League of Cities Hall of Fame in September 2021 and he was and remains a dedicated Bettendorf Rotarian.
Making those community efforts easier is the generous people of the Quad Cities community, Mr. Ploehn said, citing a fundraiser he emceed last month for New Kingdom Trailriders.
QC a generous place
“I’m always amazed but never surprised at the generosity of the Quad Cities and Quad Citizens,” he said. “Who would have thought equine horse therapy would be something that is a great thing in our community? I call it the little Clydesdale that could; they raised $150,000 in one night for their cause; I love doing that.”
There also are other causes to which he’s always eager to lend a hand.
“I’ve been a United Way guy for a long, long time because I think they do the most,” Mr. Ploehn said. “I’ve been on the CASI board for 25 years and we took my mom to Jane’s Place at CASI so it’s got a special place in my heart. But they all do,” he added.
For Center for Active Seniors Inc. and its President & CEO Laura Kopp, Mr. Ploehn’s support is invaluable. “His connections and reputation within the Quad Cities community have helped CASI remain top of mind with both donors and funders for close to 20 years,” she said.
“Decker is the first to sign up to donate and the last to go home during a fundraiser. He has shared his personal story of his mother’s dementia journey and the impact Jane’s Place had on their family.”
He also has had a profound impact on Ms. Kopp’s growth since she was hired 11 years ago at CASI. “Decker is among the first people I call when I am faced with a leadership challenge. I might not always like the answer I get, but I know for certain it is the right answer and always in the best interest of CASI and our members.”
United Way of the Quad Cities President & CEO Rene Gellerman called Mr. Ploehn “a visionary leader who has redefined what’s possible for the Quad Cities region. From championing the iconic I-74 bridge and driving the I-80 and Middle Road sports and commercial development to spearheading collaborative projects that improve efficiency and save taxpayer dollars, Decker’s leadership has transformed our community.”
She added “Beyond his role in government, he serves as a volunteer and trusted advisor to numerous nonprofits, further setting a benchmark for regional collaboration and civic engagement.”
To Mr. Ploehn, Quad Citizens are the real fundraising heroes and heroines.
“Everybody gives appropriately and enough so that every one of those (nonprofits) hits their goals every year, and not because of me,” he said. “That’s what I love about the Quad Cities, there’s hundreds of mom and pop programs, philanthropies and not-for-profits that are doing great work and I do think that it makes us a special place.”
Bullish on the QC
So do all-star Quad Cities events such as the JDC, which Mr. Ploehn has been involved with since he was a uniformed Bettendorf patrolman following the golf pros on the course. There, too, Mr. Ploehn rose through the ranks to head of player services after a Tennessee banker he had met – while Mr. Ploehn took a short break from the city government to work at THE Rock Island Bank – reached out to him for help.
The banker asked Mr. Ploehn to look after a University of Texas golfer named David Gossett, who was selected to play the JDC. The Ploehn house wasn’t big enough to host him, so Mr. Ploehn negotiated a good room rate with Nancy Ballenger to put him up at the Isle Casino Hotel in Bettendorf. Mr. Gossett went on to win the 2001 JDC. While on the 18th green, the young man thanked the Ploehns for hosting him that week.
Mr. Ploehn was immediately asked to join the JDC board, which was then about to hire new tournament director Clair Peterson. Mr. Peterson quickly slotted Mr. Ploehn in player services, a position he’s held ever since. In 2008, he also was the JDC volunteer chairman.
For Mr. Ploehn events like JDC are essential to the Quad Cities and they’re made possible by the support of Quad Citizens. They’re also why he loves living here.
“I see the vibrancy – the John Deere Classic, the Bix, the marathon – of all these things that are in big communities and we have them. Paul McCartney was here. Elton John was here. I was at those concerts,” he told the QCBJ. “There isn’t anything we don’t have here and if we don’t have it, it’s not that far away. I‘m just bullish on us.”
“Decker’s commitment to our community is second to none. It is not uncommon to see Decker in a tuxedo heading out to support one of his many causes to help raise money by emceeing. No one in our community does it better, and no one in our community is more worthy of this award than Decker.”
– Jeff Reiter, assistant city administrator and economic development director, City of Bettendorf
“What truly sets Decker apart is his belief in the potential of others, including myself. His encouragement and guidance have profoundly shaped my leadership journey, inspiring me to think bigger and lead with greater purpose. Decker doesn’t just lead — he empowers, creating a ripple effect that elevates those around him and drives progress across the region.”
– Rene Gellerman, president and CEO, United Way Quad Cities
