“It is an honor to represent the good people of Eden Prairie on any occasion,” said Mayor Ron Case. “But when the Eden Prairie Community Foundation asked me to say a few kind words about the recipients of this year’s Icon Awards, I couldn’t help but feel a stronger tingle of pride than usual.
“Since the Foundation’s establishment in 1981, our city has grown from a sleepy hamlet into the shining light of Midwestern industry and quality of life. As our community’s needs continuously evolved, so too have the Foundation’s efforts to support them. Early on, those endeavors included raising money to buy marching band uniforms, and outfitting our police and fire departments with better equipment. Now that our population has more than quadrupled in number, the Foundation is increasingly dedicated to initiatives against food and housing insecurities. They’ve been in the right place at the right time for decades running, and they have my total admiration and gratitude for it.
“I could say the same thing of the two highest honorees at EP Gives 2026. Their contributions to Eden Prairie have been nothing less than foundational. It is impossible to appreciate our fine city without also recognizing the parts they played in its creation.
“Here’s an exclusive mayoral tip to anyone who wants to start a great city: Get someone as similar to Roy Terwilliger as you can. As the founder of Eden Prairie’s first bank, Roy has been instrumental in lifting countless local businesses up off the ground. His inexhaustible commitment to our city compelled him to help launch the Eden Prairie Community Foundation itself, as well as the Eden Prairie Crime Prevention Fund, Eden Prairie Local News, and the Eden Prairie Rotary Club. And as a Minnesota state senator from 1992 until 2002, Roy always wielded his considerable influence for the good of the very same community he had been chosen to serve.
“May Roy please forgive me for omitting so many of his other accomplishments. They are simply too many to list without glossing over the other paragon of civic spirit we celebrated at EP Gives.
“Dave Lindahl has lived in Eden Prairie since he was four years old. He took an internship with the city in 1985 to complete his college degree, little suspecting that he had found his only employer over the course of his four-decades-long career.
“We are surrounded by Dave’s achievements as a city planner. He helped ensure the placement of Highway 212 would have minimal impact on Eden Prairie’s natural beauty, and his role in redrawing the Metropolitan Urban Service Area line was paramount to supplying utilities throughout the entire southwest corner of town. Upon his promotion to Housing and Redevelopment Authority manager in 1994, Dave set eagerly to work making affordable housing available to anyone hoping to call our city home. Moreover, I cannot imagine an Eden Prairie without the partnerships Dave has helped forge over the years. If I were asked to name our community’s most crucial nexus, I would decline to choose between Roy and Dave.
“Both men are glowing examples of what it means to be the right person in the right place at the right time. They are irreplaceable. That’s why I’m relieved that they don’t need to be replaced. Now that Roy, Dave, and many others have transmuted Eden Prairie into a community with world-class commerce and infrastructure, we can look forward to the next generation of leaders who will step forward to preserve the great treasure they have inherited.
“Whether they’re working at local businesses, schools, or nonprofits, those leaders will share a few things in common with Roy and Dave. They will care deeply for their neighbors. They will prioritize the common good over their own success. They will selflessly involve themselves wherever they sense they might be of help. They will make us all proud – and rightly so – of our hometown.”
"They’ve been in the right place at the right time for decades running, and they have my total admiration and gratitude for it."