When the newly expanded Lincoln-Irving Elementary School in Moline opens in 2027, consolidated with Willard School, it will be called Robert Ontiveros Elementary School -- honoring the life and legacy of the influential founder of Group O, nationally respected business leader, and lifelong advocate for the Floreciente neighborhood where he grew up.
The Moline-Coal Valley School District announced the renaming on Tuesday, December 9th, for the school at 1015 16th Ave., to be renovated and expanded at a cost of $33.8 million.
The district also chose the Owls as the school’s mascot for the future consolidated Lincoln-Irving and Willard Elementary campus scheduled to open in fall 2027.
This milestone follows more than a year of planning, engagement, and community input through the district’s collaborative naming initiative, N.E.S.T. (Naming the Elementary School Together), according to a Tuesday release from the district, noting the N.E.S.T. Committee included parents, teachers, support staff, school administrators, district leaders, and Board of Education representatives.
The process included student focus groups, community forums, staff feedback, and districtwide surveys that generated thousands of responses reflecting the community’s voice. The committee conducted a thorough review of all input collected.
“We are proud of how our community came together to shape this important decision,” said Superintendent Dr. Rachel Savage. “Naming the school after Robert Ontiveros is both a celebration of his legacy and a commitment to our students. His life reminds us that brilliance exists in every neighborhood, in every family, and in every child and that opportunity can change everything.
“From his beginnings in the Floreciente neighborhood to his national impact, Mr. Ontiveros modeled perseverance, leadership, and service,” she said Tuesday. “As Robert Ontiveros Elementary School takes shape, we honor his belief that every child deserves access, support, and the chance to rise — and we will work every day to make that belief a reality.”
“On behalf of the Ontiveros family, we want to express our sincere gratitude for this special recognition,” Chris Ontiveros, Bob’s oldest son, said. “My father’s life was rooted in giving back, supporting others, and believing in the potential of every young person. He was proud to call Moline home and having his name live on through a school that will shape future leaders is an honor beyond measure. We are grateful to Moline-Coal Valley School District for ensuring his legacy continues in a way that inspires generations to come.”
Bob Ontiveros – who died Feb. 8, 2022, at 83 -- “was a pioneering entrepreneur, philanthropist, and community leader whose work expanded opportunity and strengthened the cultural and economic vitality of the Quad Cities,” the school district said. “Born and raised in Moline’s Floreciente neighborhood, Ontiveros founded Group O, now one of the largest Hispanic-owned businesses in the United States.”
He also played an instrumental role in establishing the Greater Quad Cities Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the Mercado on Fifth, and numerous youth, workforce, and community investment initiatives. Naming the school in his honor recognizes his lifelong commitment to expanding opportunity, uplifting families, and ensuring that education and enterprise serve as pathways to a better future, the district said.
A life of tireless service and giving
For the Ontiveros family and Group O, the school tribute carries deep meaning. “This is more than a school renaming. It’s a celebration of the values Bob lived every day: hard work, generosity, and belief in the potential of every child,” the family shared Tuesday in a Group O release. “We are honored that his name will continue to inspire future generations in the community that shaped him.”
“We are incredibly honored and humbled by this acknowledgment of my father's lifelong commitment to excellence, education and community, specifically the city of Moline,” Chris Ontiveros said Tuesday at Mercado on Fifth, 423 12th St., Moline.
Chris hopes that the school’s students learn from the new name “that integrity matters. Hard work matters. It doesn't matter who you are,” he said of Bob. “It just really matters what you feel you want to be. And to strive hard every day to be that person. It's not easy to be the person you want to be.
“Sometimes it's somebody you have to do something better. And my dad always strived to be better and really communicated to my brother and I that we could always be doing better,” Chris added.
“Willard School being included in the new “Robert Ontiveros Elementary, I just said it for the first time. It's still very humbling, and I think it's going to be a fantastic thing,” he said.
Chris noted his father wouldn’t seek out this recognition, thinking, “I don't deserve this. But he does. He's a very humble man,” his son said. “He would not have to take Abraham Lincoln's name off and to have your name put on. Says a lot, right? Says a lot.”
Bob grew up in a family of 11 children in the west end of Moline, now known as the Floreciente neighborhood. From these humble beginnings, Bob grew to become one the nation’s most successful Latino entrepreneurs and philanthropists.Bob’s maternal grandparents, Cirilo and Dolores Rocha, immigrated to the U.S. from San Luis Potosi, Mexico, in 1918 with Bob’s mother, Josephine, and her sister Jesse. They lived in a boxcar home in the Silvis railyards, then later Cook’s Point, a shantytown in Davenport. The family eventually settled in Bettendorf, where Cirilo worked as an onion farmer and foundry worker for the Bettendorf Company.
Inspired by his grandfather, Bob demonstrated a strong work ethic at a very young age. To earn money as a child, he collected and returned glass bottles to the neighborhood grocer, mowed lawns and cleaned garages. In his early teenage years, he worked as a busboy at the 15th-floor restaurant atop the LeClaire Hotel in downtown Moline. At Moline High School, Bob excelled at wrestling and track & field. After suffering a serious elbow injury that ended his wrestling career, he joined the school’s basketball team to stay active and social with his peers.
Following his graduation, Bob worked his way through one year at the University of Cincinnati, followed by one year at Moline Community College, now Black Hawk College. While at Moline Community College, he met Blenda Crummer of Freeport, Ill. She was a nursing student at Moline Lutheran Hospital, now UnityPoint Health – Trinity. They got married in 1960, settled in Rock Island and had two boys, Christopher and Gregg.
In 1974, Bob and Blenda founded Bi-State Packaging from the back of their family station wagon — the small venture that eventually grew into Group O, now one of the nation’s largest Hispanic-owned companies with more than 1,000 employees across 40 locations.
Group O offers packaging solutions, supply chain services as well as incentive marketing programs. Today, Group O is one of the largest Hispanic-owned businesses in the U.S. The U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce ranks the company as one of the top five Latino-owned businesses in the country with revenues over $500 million and more than 1,000 employees.
With major global clients, including AT&T, Samsung, Michelin, Caterpillar, PepsiCo and Best Buy, Group O, now run by Gregg Ontiveros, is one of the largest employers in the QC and has operations in Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Texas and Mexico.
Philanthropy and recognition
After he retired as CEO of Group O and became chairman of the company in 1999, Bob developed the neighborhood’s Community Health Care, Familia Dental and the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Mississippi Valley, whose Teen Center in Moline was renamed in 2019 to the Robert & Blenda Ontiveros Teen Center.
In 2008, Bob founded the Greater Quad Cities Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. A professional relationship builder, Bob believed in the power of networking and wanted to help grow business opportunities for fellow Hispanic entrepreneurs.
With his son Chris and granddaughter Maria, Bob founded Mercado on Fifth in 2016 with the vision of providing a vibrant gathering place for Floreciente residents and a platform for minority businesses. The growing nonprofit organization known for its popular night market in the summer has become a destination in the QC for residents and visitors of all ages, ethnicities and socioeconomic backgrounds.
Bob was also a major supporter of Fourth Wall Films’ efforts to produce documentaries about Hero Street U.S.A. in Silvis.
He and Blenda created many endowed scholarship funds for Hispanic students. In 2012, they made a $100,000 gift to Augustana College for that purpose, and in 2020, they donated $1 million to their alma mater, Black Hawk College, the institution’s largest gift of all time.
They have also supported many other organizations throughout the Quad Cities, including the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) chapters in Davenport and Moline, Moline Schools, Niabi Zoo, Scott Community College, WQPT PBS and WVIK Quad Cities NPR.
Among his many accomplishments, Bob was extremely proud of being named Chairman of the Board of the Quad Cities Civic Center Authority that governs the 12,000-seat arena in downtown Moline, originally known as The MARK of the Quad Cities, now Vibrant Arena at The MARK. Bob served as Chairman from 1996 to 2003.
Another major accomplishment was being named one of six 2013 State of Illinois Lincoln Award honorees, the State’s highest honor, recognizing his professional and community achievements.
Other notable recognitions include an Outstanding Community Leadership award from the State of Illinois Comptroller, a Legacy Award from the U.S. Department of Commerce and Lifetime Achievement Awards from the National Minority Supplier Development Council, the Chicago Minority Business Development Council and Negocios Now.
New mascot and school timeframe
The expanded school’s newly adopted Owls mascot emerged as the top community preference, receiving the highest number of responses among all proposed mascot options. Owls symbolize wisdom, curiosity, critical thinking, and the courage to explore new ideas—traits that align with the district’s Portrait of a Graduate and with the inspiring legacy and forward-looking spirit of the new school community, the district said.
Construction will begin this March, and Lincoln-Irving students will be moved to the Western Illinois University-QC campus in Moline until the project is finished.
This lease allows the district to use buildings A and B of the WIU-QC campus for the relocation of the Lincoln-Irving students and staff while the school undergoes major renovations and a new addition.
The lease is for the 2026-2027 school year with early entry this spring to ensure a smooth transition. Staging and construction for the expansion project are slated to begin in late spring, and the new elementary school is scheduled to open in August of 2027.
“We are also grateful for the strong partnership we have with Metro IL Quad Cities, their support of this relocation plan, and their willingness to help with the transportation needs of our students to the WIU campus,” the school district posted Sept. 10 on Facebook.
“This partnership is a wonderful example of three local organizations joining together to serve children and families in our community,” it said.
As a reminder, once the renovations at Lincoln-Irving Elementary are complete, Willard Elementary students (the school currently has 183) will also transition into the newly transformed school. This milestone will mark the retirement of the historic Willard Elementary (1616 16th St.), which has proudly served the community for over 127 years.
At the new school will stand a vibrant tree — a symbol of growth, learning, and connection. The owl is intentionally paired with this tree, symbolizing wisdom perched on a foundation of strength and belonging, the district release said.
“Just as an owl observes, learns, and takes flight from a safe nesting place, our students will begin their learning journey rooted in community, supported by teachers, families, and each other, before soaring confidently into their future.”
With the name and mascot officially adopted, the district will begin the next phase of design, branding, and transition work, including the development of the school logo, signage and spirit wear, as they prepare to welcome the future Ontiveros Owls in fall 2027.
Updates and project information will continue to be shared with families and community members throughout construction and transition planning. Visit www.molineschools.org and view “Latest News” for more information on the Lincoln-Irving Expansion Project.
This story was produced by WVIK, Quad Cities NPR. We rely on financial support from our listeners and readers to provide coverage of the issues that matter to the Quad Cities region and beyond. As someone who values the content created by WVIK's news department, please consider making a financial contribution to support our work.
