PEORIA -- The Peoria Riverfront Museum announced a one million dollar donation today, the largest single donation in its operational history.
Museum President and CEO John Morris called the donation from “Bon” French and his wife “an amazing gift.”
"Our board and staff are just thrilled by this expression of confidence Bon and Holly French made here in his hometown," Morris said.
Morris said the money will be placed into two separate funds. Some of the money will go towards building up the museum’s collection of duck hunting decoy folk art, which was a favorite of Bon French’s father.
“Bon remembers growing up in Peoria, and his exposure to our predecessor, Lakeview Museum of Arts and Sciences. And he remembers his mother founding the docent program and his late father as chairman of the board of the museum," said Morris.
The museum's welcome center will be renamed for French's mother, Joan.