River Bell Awards Luncheon
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Join SCI in Paducah on Thursday, December 11, 2025.
On December 5, 2024, the Seamen’s Church Institute hosted the 24th Annual River Bell Awards Luncheon in Paducah, KY, bringing together nearly 600 members of the maritime community. The event raised nearly $500,000 to support SCI’s core mission areas: training, advocacy, chaplaincy, and crisis support. We extend our sincere gratitude to our guests, sponsors, and donors, and offer our congratulations to this year’s distinguished honorees.
Congratulations to our 2024 River Bell Awards Luncheon Honorees:
From left to right: Mike Ellis, SCI Board of Trustees; Robert M. (Bob) Blocker, SVP, Dry Cargo Division, American Commercial Barge Line; The Rev. Mark Nestlehutt, President and Executive Director, The Seamen’s Church Institute.
From left to right: Alison Phillips, Director of Communications, Parker Towing Company; Charles A. Haun Jr., Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors, Parker Towing Company; The Rev. Mark Nestlehutt, President and Executive Director, The Seamen’s Church Institute.
From left to right: John Roberts, President and CEO, Ingram Barge Company; Matt Woodruff, Vice President of Public & Government Affairs, Kirby Corporation; The Rev. Mark Nestlehutt, President and Executive Director, The Seamen’s Church Institute.
Mary McCarthy (left), Director of Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility at Moran Towing Corporation, and The Rev. Mark Nestlehutt, President and Executive Director of The Seamen’s Church Institute (right), with the crew of Blessey Marine’s M/V Capt. Rodney Adams (center), recipients of the 2024 River Bell Lifesaving Award.
Watch the Lifesaving Award submission video from Blessey Marine.
The Rev. Mark Nestlehutt, President and Executive Director of The Seamen’s Church Institute (right), with the crew of Canal Barge Company’s M/V Hallie M. Merrick, recipients of the 2024 River Bell Lifesaving Award.
Watch the Lifesaving Award submission video from Canal Barge Company.