The groundbreaking of the Andy Glendenning Memorial Park at the Bolivar Municipal Airport is coming up at noon on Friday, June 2.
Honoring a life well-lived, the event will mark the 40th birthday of Andy Glendenning, who was the first flight instructor for the SOAR program at the Bolivar airport. SOAR, or Service Oriented Aviation Readiness, is a program that focuses on mission aviation by equipping candidates with piloting instruction and experience, as well as maintenance skills, to prepare them for their journey to the mission field.
The park will serve as a place to remember Andy’s impact at the airport and in the community. The efforts to establish a park at the airport was spearheaded by many community members, including Andy’s wife, Abby Glendenning.
With her husband’s interests close at heart, Abby contacted the current leaders of the SOAR program, Kerrick and Connie Tweedy, to discuss ways to leave a lasting tribute to her husband’s years of service and dedication to the local flight program.
Working together to think of ideas, Abby and Connie took their initiative to local marketing consultant Linda Bunch, who tossed out an idea about establishing a park in Andy’s memory.
“Andy was a classmate of my daughter Annie, and I've known him all his life,” Bunch says. “To have this park honor him and provide enjoyment for others, just puts a smile on your face. I think Andy would like that.”
After much consideration, they decidedly landed on the park idea and began establishing connections with others in the community who were able to provide them with direction and resources to push their plans forward.
Todd Schrader, superintendent of the Bolivar Recreation and Aquatics Center, was one such individual who was instrumental in the project, providing helpful contacts and information to Abby and Connie in order to help them get started on the park.
“The City of Bolivar is proud to partner with Friends of Bolivar Parks and SOAR on the construction of the Andy Glendenning Memorial Park. It’s a privilege to work on such an important project,” said Schrader.
In December 2022, Abby and Connie presented their memorial park plans to the Friends of Bolivar Parks.
“I have loved working with Connie on the Andy Glendenning Memorial Park project,” said Ben Salmon, Friends of Bolivar Parks member. “Andy was the kind of man we should all strive to be like, and his contribution to this community, especially the airport, cannot be overstated. If you are a fan of Andy, parks, or just this Bolivar community, please join us on Friday, June 2nd for a groundbreaking of the park. This will be a fun event where you can find out how you can be a part of making this park a reality!”
Laying out the plan, an architect in Springfield coordinated with Abby Glendenning and the SOAR leaders to draw up the design for the park.
In its initial phase, the park will feature an entryway sign, a gravel entry leading to a pavilion, a walking track along perimeter, picnic tables (two inside the pavilion and two in an open area outside the pavilion), and an area for playground equipment, including a teeter totter, play set, and airplane-themed spring riders.
Several other organizations have also been involved in the process to establish the park. Hoods Welding was hired to complete a sign that will display the name of the new attraction, and the City of Bolivar has budgeted the labor for setting up the sign and for building the pavilion.
“We want to thank our Board of Aldermen for allowing the memorial park to find a home at the Bolivar Municipal Airport and for approving City public works crews to help with the construction,” Todd Schrader said. “We are confident the new park will create many happy memories for visitors as we remember and honor Andy.”
Abby and Connie, along with the Friends of Bolivar Parks, are working on raising the funds to pay for the materials for the pavilion and recruiting volunteers to set up the playground and landscape elements.
“I just think it will be such a unique twist and addition to a traditional park setting,” said Abby Glendenning. “The reason behind all of this is that I wanted my girls to go to the airport and know this was a place that meant a lot to their dad. I wanted them to see his name and know that that was important to him and they were important to him.”
According to his wife, Andy started taking flying lessons around the age of 14. He started a lawn mowing business to pay for the lessons and would ride his bike all the way to the airport.
Andy completed solo flights in three airplanes on his 16th birthday, which was the minimum age allowed for taking solo flight trips.
He had many experiences piloting professionally and flying commercially, and as SOAR’s first instructor, he trained many pilots for the mission field.
The airport was not only important to Andy as an aviation enthusiast, but also as a husband and a father. His family has shared many memories at the airport, from routine walks together to special life moments. The airport also holds a special place to Abby as it was the place where she and her late husband had their first date and got engaged, and as she says, Andy “always found a way to incorporate the airport in their daily lives even when not flying.”
Dedicated to his community, Andy participated in many local events and would do flyovers on the Fourth of July. In addition to teaching his students, he would regularly give rides to anyone who wanted to fly in a plane.
“Andy never missed an opportunity to share his gift and love of flying with the community,” Abby said. “He knew it was a gift and was not accessible to everyone, but he would give a ride to anyone who wanted to go.”
The park will be a place not only to remember Andy’s legacy, but also to honor the people who will come after him. Moving forward, people in the community will be able to honor their loved ones by donating memorial benches and contributions to the park.
Abby says that she is excited for other families to make memories at the airport as well, and through the development of the new park, she hopes to expose other people to aviation and make the airport more accessible to the community.
The new attraction will be an inviting space for many arriving families and individuals who are visiting Bolivar, as well as children who will be able to enjoy the playground equipment, visit the park for school trips, and simply watch the airplanes fly.
In order to make the park possible, Abby and the SOAR community are partnering with the Friends of Bolivar Parks to reach a fundraising goal of around $50,000. People who are interested in helping make the park a reality can donate funds by using their mobile devices to scan the QR code on the event flyer.
