After about a week’s worth of assembly work by professionals and volunteers, the pavilion that honors the memory of the Rev. Al Henderson was substantially completed Friday afternoon.

Kristine Henderson, the pastor’s widow, got into a lift to tighten down the final bolt.

“It’s amazing,” she said of the pavilion.

Some stonework and the installation of plaques bearing the emblems of the public safety agencies for which Henderson was the chaplain will be installed next spring

-Submitted photo
Kristine Henderson, center, poses with construction workers and law enforcement officers after the Pastor Al Pavilion at John F. Kennedy Memorial Park was substantially completed Friday afternoon.

Henderson was the pastor of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Fort Dodge. He was also the chaplain of the Fort Dodge Police Department, Webster County Sheriff’s Office, District 7 of the Iowa State Patrol and the Fort Dodge Fire Department.

He established Serving Our Servants as a volunteer group to support local first responders.

Henderson was murdered Oct. 2, 2019, on the St. Paul Lutheran Church grounds.

Ground for the 16-by-24-foot pavilion was broken last month.

MC Concrete, of Fort Dodge, built the foundation, while a related company, Mechanico, did the structural assembly.

-Submitted photo
Kristine Henderson, right, tightens down the final bolt in the Pastor Al Pavilion at John F. Kennedy Memorial Park Friday afternoon. A worker from Mechanico in Fort Dodge assists. The pavilion is a tribute to her late husband, the Rev. Al Henderson, who was pastor of St. Paul Lutheran Church and chaplain to local law enforcement officers, firefighters and paramedics.

TJ Pingel, the president of Serving Our Servants, said the crews from MC Concrete and Mechanico were “unbelievable.”

He said that law enforcement officers, firefighters and members of St. Paul Lutheran Church volunteered to help with the final assembly of the pavilion.

“It’s been really cool to see everyone come together,” Pingel said.

Pay It Forward Friday, a day devoted to random acts of kindness in Henderson’s memory, was established after his death. But Serving Our Servants and the Henderson family also wanted a physical memorial to him.

Pingel said the initial concept was a bench with a couple of trees nearby.

He and Kristine Henderson met Matt Cosgrove, the director of Webster County Conservation, at the park to check out some possible sites.

At first, their search was unsuccessful.

“No spot felt right,” Pingel said.

Then Cosgrove led them to a flat patch of ground near the playscape. The site overlooks Badger Lake. Terry Moehnke Veterans Memorial Park can be clearly seen across the lake.

“Hands down, this was a perfect spot,” Kristine Henderson said.

As they looked over the site, the potential for much more than a bench and trees became apparent. The proposed tribute almost instantly evolved into a picnic shelter to be called the Pastor Al Pavilion.