Tower Grove Park honors Kidwell with President's Award

After living near Tower Grove Park for more than three decades, Steve Kidwell has a long history with the Park. Kidwell’s dedication and service to the Park have now made him part of the Park’s history.

Tower Grove Park recently honored Steve Kidwell for his commitment to Tower Grove Park with the 2021 President’s Award.

The President’s Award was established by the Board of Commissioners in 2005 to recognize and honor selected volunteers who have gone above and beyond with their commitment to the Park.

Kidwell’s relationship with Tower Grove Park started more than 30 years ago when he and his wife, Nancy, moved to the Shaw neighborhood. The Kidwells have two children who are now 29 and 27 years old.

“They learned to ride their bikes over here. They learned to drive their cars over here,” Kidwell recalls. “We always really enjoyed the Park and valued it as kind of the center of our neighborhoods.”

Almost a decade ago, former Executive Director John Karel approached Kidwell about joining the Board of Commissioners. Becoming a commissioner changed Kidwell’s perspective as a Park Person.

“The main thing that changed is my sense of stewardship,” he explained. “I think I enjoy people enjoying the Park differently for having been a commissioner.”

He considers his service to the Park as a commissioner a way to give back to the community and his neighborhood.

When he became President of the Board of Commissioners in 2018, he felt a connection with the Park’s past. “Being part of the legacy that goes back to Henry Shaw, the Gurneys … it became much more something that I was aware of, and I wanted to contribute positively to that great legacy going back 150 years.”

During his two terms as president, Kidwell guided the Board during a time when the organization began to implement its Master Plan, and developed a five-year strategic plan. As part of the Master Plan, several capital projects were completed or started under Kidwell’s leadership.

“It’s been very much a team effort, collaborative between the Board and Bill (Reininger) and his leadership team,” he said. He credited incoming president Bob Herleth with helping the board grow, not only in numbers, but expertise. “I feel like the board is stronger than it’s ever been in the eight-plus years I’ve been on it at this point.”

For the past two years, Kidwell and the board supported the Park as it navigated the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I think people’s awareness of parks and their importance has never been higher, at least in my lifetime, than it is right now,” Kidwell said. Kidwell and his wife have spent more time than before walking in the Park. “The Park was critical to me during the pandemic.”

The Kidwells were critical to the recent award-winning restoration of the Old Playground Pavilion. Kidwell remembers the day he decided the Old Playground Pavilion was the project he wanted to support financially. “I remember being down there at the bottom of the hill and saying, ‘OK, this is what I think we want to do.’”

The pavilion will be even more prominent in years to come due to its proximity to the East Stream daylighting project that will be finished in 2022.

“I remember coming and seeing what the mock up looked like and thinking it looked incredible,” Kidwell said of the pavilion restoration. “And so I started thinking about how I could get my company involved.”

Kidwell connected the Park with Ameren to improve the electric supply to the Park that allows for ornamental lighting at the pavilion for the first time. Kidwell retired as Vice President of Corporate Planning at Ameren in May 2021 after 34 years with the corporation.

“That’s just been a great public-private partnership,” he said. “The distribution system serving the neighborhoods around the Park is more reliable than it was before.”

As Kidwell transitions from the President post, he will remain active on the Board for one more year. He’s looking forward to supporting the Park’s efforts to celebrate its sesquicentennial in 2022. He would like to develop a volunteer project for Ameren employees in the spring.

Kidwell will also continue to be an advocate for Tower Grove Park. He points out to colleagues and friends that the Park is a National Historic Landmark Park, a Level II Arboretum, and has a world-class collection of pavilions. “There’s only one park in the world that has those three things. It’s a unique gem.”

When the Old Playground Pavilion reopened this summer after being closed for renovation, the first time Kidwell saw it being used was for a child’s birthday party. “It just made me feel great,” he said. It harkened back to what he loves about parks.

“Parks were originally designed to give everyone access to green space and to recreational opportunities, regardless of what their income level was, or what their background was.”