Sherry (Faulconer) Bowmar – Softball

In the 30th year of the Park University softball program, coinciding with Park’s 150th anniversary as an institution, Sherry (Faulconer) Bowmar drops anchor in the 2025 Park Athletics Wall of Honor. The pitcher from Grain Valley, Mo. faced adversity during her Grain Valley High School playing career and dealt with an ACL tear her freshman season. A remarkable comeback story would unfold for Faulconer at Park University spanning from 2000 through graduation in 2004.

One might point to her older sister Michelle (Faulconer) Eastwood as a motivating factor for Sherry to commit to the Pirates. Michelle first came on the Park softball scene as a catcher in 1998. “I was able to pitch to my sister and that was the best thing ever”, Sherry said.  Their family were big supporters and they were able to watch all of Sherry’s home games and even some on the road as well.

That freshman season in 2001, Sherry had her second lowest ERA of her career at 2.54, all while pitching to Michelle. She had eight wins in the circle and struck out 76 batters. 

With that first year of college ball under her belt, Faulconer kicked it into high gear and began to run the table in the NAIA. The 2002 NAIA Region V 2nd Team award winner was ranked 19th in the NAIA with a little over 7 strikeouts per 7 innings and she achieved legend status at Park with the softball program’s first perfect game. On April 9, 2002, she was named the NAIA National Pitcher of the Week for that perfect game against Ottawa University, retiring all 18 batters faced on 13 strikeouts in 6 innings pitched. That year she tallied 18 wins for the Pirates in the circle out of the 22 wins that season for the team. Her school records for 152 strikeouts and 179 assists in a season still stand at the time of her induction to the Wall of Honor. 

The righty not only got it done in the circle, but could swing the bat too and had a .593 slugging percentage in 2003 on 11 doubles and four home runs, both were second on the team only behind LaJeana Fagan. She kept it consistent her sophomore and junior seasons with .342 and .343 batting averages, respectively in 2002 and 2003.

Her senior season in 2004 was a spectacular finish, as she closed in on her lowest ERA of her career at 1.47, No. 3 all-time at Park, and her career ERA moved to a 2.34. She also became Park’s career leader in complete games at 62. Her numbers have been hard to match, as the Pirates’ career leader in strikeouts at 458 and no other member of Park softball has amassed over 500 innings pitched in a career. In 88 games pitched, she had 43 wins and averaged 6.25 strikeouts per game and only 1.4 walks per game.

Altogether she holds five Park school records and is within the top 10 of several more categories.

Park Softball All-Time Records

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Bob Kendrick – Meritorious Service

An iconic figure in the world of baseball, the Kansas City community, and of course at Park University, is none other than Bob Kendrick. A 1985 Park graduate has been the President of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum (NLBM) since March 2011. Founded in 1990, the NLBM is the world’s only museum dedicated to preserving and celebrating the rich history of African-American baseball and its profound impact on the social advancement of America. After much storytelling for others in his career, we now have the privilege of displaying Kendrick’s story on the Park Wall of Honor. 

Before Kendrick arrived at the NLBM, the native of Crawfordville, Ga. came to Parkville, Mo. on a men’s basketball scholarship in 1980 and earned a B.A. degree in Communications Arts. Looking back on Kendrick’s freshman year, the men’s basketball program had a major upset victory over University of Missouri-Kansas, 63-60. The two-year letter winner with Park men’s basketball was heavily involved on campus as Co-Executive Director on Park’s College Activities Board. 

As he established his career after Park, he worked for The Kansas City Star and as a senior copywriter for the Promotions Department he and his team won numerous local and regional advertising and marketing awards. At that time, he already began volunteering for the NLBM, but went on to develop an advertising campaign that helped attract more than 10,000 people (in less than 30 days) to see the debut of the museum’s first traveling exhibit in the summer of 1993. That success launched him to a role within the museum’s Board of Director’s that fall. 

His influence continued to increase as the museum’s first director of marketing in 1998 and then was named vice president of marketing in 2009. After a brief stint as the executive director of the National Sports Center for the Disabled  - Kansas City in 2010, he then made his return to the NLBM as the museum’s president just 13 months later.

He’s advanced the NLBM forward as one of the leading authorities on the topic of Negro Leagues Baseball history and its connection to issues relating to sports, race, and diversity. Baseball fans worldwide had much to celebrate when Buck O’Neil was inducted into the 2022 Major League Baseball Hall of Fame, of which Kendrick and the NLBM were major supports for. The organization shone a constant light on Buck O’Neil’s legacy and the work the NLBM has done has helped ensure that Buck’s legacy remains prominent in Cooperstown, NY. 

Kendrick has also played a creative part in increasing the exposure and storytelling of the NLBM and the Kansas City Monarchs, a legendary Negro League franchise from 1920 to 1965. Under Kendrick’s watch in 2021, Kansas City’s American Association baseball team rebranded from the T-Bones to the Monarchs to preserve the memory of the original Negro League baseball team. The NLBM also is featured in a special videogame mode within MLB The Show, which was narrated by Bob Kendrick. The partnership with the Show generated $1 per game sold of the Negro Leagues Edition for the first year of sales to the NLBM. 

Kendrick has earned some major accolades over the course of his career as well, including a Park University Alumni Association’s Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2013, a Missouri Sports Hall of Fame induction in 2014, he was named “Person of the Year” in 2020 by The Kansas City Call newspaper, and much more recognition for his life’s work as well.

Kendrick has remained a pillar of support to Park Athletics over the years. In 2015 he threw out the ceremonial first pitch at Comfort Field in Park’s doubleheader with Wiley College. Each fall you will also find the avid golfer at the National Golf Course of Kansas City playing in Park University’s Golf Scramble, a major annual fundraiser for Park Athletics.

Erik Bergrud – Meritorious Service

For the average Park fan, they may not recognize the name Erik Bergrud, but without a doubt if they have tuned in to Park Athletics broadcasts for any length of time, they would recognize his voice. Bergrud, often referred to as the Voice of Park Soccer, served as Park’s soccer play-by-play announcer for 10 years from 2014-2023. With his induction into the 2025 Wall of Honor Class this fall, his name will forever be recognized at Park. And for many, his iconic calls for Park goals will be unforgettable. 

Bergrud earned a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from the University of Kansas and then attained a Master of Public Affairs with an emphasis in Government-Business Relations at Park in 1994. It’s from this point on where Bergrud embraced a lifelong commitment to public service. 

He would go on to administer the Master of Public Affairs degree program until 1998. In this role, he advised and recruited students, performed community outreach, and public relations functions. 

His career path would then take him to a senior director of program and service development role with the American Society for Public Administration, a post he remained in until 2005. In 2005, his journey would resume at Park where he would be a key administrator and advocate for the next 19 years. Over that span he served the university in various roles, including an Associate Vice President from 2012-2021 and then was named Chief Strategic Communications Officer in 2021-2024. 

As chief strategic communications officer, he would be an instrumental part of the stewardship of the public face of the institution and oversaw the strategic communications to support the university’s goals. Within this umbrella, Bergrud and the strategic communications staff would spearhead digital storytelling/social media, government relations, media relations, and university communications. 2022 brought well deserved recognition for Bergrud and staff as In-House PR Team of the Year, presented by the Greater Kansas City chapter of the Public Relations Society of America. 

Over the years, Bergrud developed into a nationally respected leader in the public administration field, as a fellow of the Congressionally-chartered National Academy of Public Administration and a past president of the American Society for Public Administration from 2011-2012. 

He’s had a tremendous impact on the community through his tireless time chairing the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce’s Missouri State Affairs Committee, serving as president of the International Relations Council, and as a lead of the Parkville, Mo., Economic Development Council. 

Since 2024, Bergrud joined the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce as Senior Vice President, Public Policy. He and his wife, Kimberlee, are active philanthropists who have co-chaired major fundraising events for numerous Kansas City nonprofits as well. 

On top of all that, the die-hard soccer enthusiast somehow is able to bring his voice and energy to the Kansas City Comets (MASL), the KC Courage (WPSL), and has filled in with the Kansas City Current (NWSL) as a play-by-play and public address announcer. Alongside Nick Vasos, of Fox4 Kansas City, he won the MASL’s 2022-23 Best Broadcast Production Award as the color analyst for the Comets.

From Parkville Days Parade, Park Homecoming, Founder’s Day, or even previous Wall of Honor and Alumni Awards ceremonies, Bergrud has used his talents to emcee these events and be a true embodiment of Park University.

Celebrating Wall of Honor Class of 2025

Park University will host a Wall of Honor Celebration during Homecoming weekend at 3pm on Friday, September 26 at the Graham Tyler Memorial Chapel. That same evening after a women's volleyball match in Breckon Sports Center against Graceland University. The unveiling of the Wall of Honor plaques will follow the award ceremony at the 6th street entrance to the Park University underground academic plaza with an awardee reception to follow. The next day, on Saturday, September 27, the Wall of Honor inductees will be recognized in between the women's and men's soccer games at approximately 2:15pm on Julian Field against Missouri Baptist University.
Beginning in 2015, this is the 10th year that Park has made inductions into the Wall of Honor. The Wall of Honor is comprised of 47 individuals/teams that embody everything that Park University stands for and is proud of in its athletics history. This year the Park University Athletic Department welcomes the addition of Sherry (Faulconer) Bowmar, Bob Kendrick, and Erik Bergrud; whose worthiness for this recognition has been confirmed by the success they have brought to our institution and the excellent conduct of character they live by. 

2025 Park Wall of Honor and Alumni Awards Live-Stream

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