Tom Bradley Memorial Aviation Scholarship

I met Tom in February 2000, but his love for flying had started long before that. Back in the early
1970s, he was hang gliding off McCloud Mountain and soon after earned his pilot’s license. By
the time I came into his life, he was flying experimental planes—one of them was a Challenger
he built himself from pipes and aircraft fabric. We flew in it several times a week, and it was
easy to see that flying wasn’t just something Tom did, it was who he was. He loved it with all his
heart, and he loved Pellissippi just as much. When Tom passed away in August 2018, I wanted to
keep his spirit alive. This scholarship is my way of honoring him, his passion for the skies, and
his love for Pellissippi.