glen dandridge: collegiate's transportation king
It was one of those nasty days in the winter of 2000 when Lynne Berkness drove from the development office to the Lower School to run a quick errand. Her task completed, she sloshed through the chilling rain to her car, but when she tried to crank up the engine, the battery was stone cold dead.
Utterly frustrated and on the verge of tears, she returned to the building and called Alex Smith, vice-president for development, and asked for a suggestion about what to do next. That’s easy, he told her. Call Glen.
Lynne did call, and in almost a blink of an eye, Glen Dandridge, at 6-6 a towering figure in more ways than one, was on the scene with a Collegiate pickup truck and jumper cables. Undaunted by the weather, he not only got the vehicle running again but also gave her advice on where to have her battery replaced.
"Glen was so nice," said Lynne, the assistant tothe vice-president for development. "He never looks like anything bugs him. He always does what he can to help."
Bailing out folks with car trouble isn't part of his job description, but it's all in a day's work for the affable Dandridge. He has plenty of responsibilities that keep him moving from the time he arrives at 7 a.m. until 4 p.m. when he usually knocks off, but rarely is he too busy to help someone in need.
Keys locked in your car? Call Glen.
Flat tire? Call Glen.
Engine overheating? Call Glen.
Funny sound under the hood? You guessed it. Call Glen.
Chances are, if you polled the Collegiate community, there’d be plenty of “Glen stories” to fill a book. And his service always comes with a smile.
A lifelong resident of Goochland County, Dandridge came to Collegiate February 4, 1980, as a mechanic for the school’s entire fleet of vehicles: two vans, a pickup truck, and a pair of old station wagons. In the ensuing years, he’s moved through the ranks, taken numerous classes to upgrade his various professional certifications, and now serves as manager of maintenance and transportation. He and his staff of seven are responsible for general plant operation (including the high-tech telephone, heating, and air-conditioning systems) as well as the day-to-day upkeep of 15 vehicles.
He’s also responsible for scheduling charter buses for the zillion or so field trips, athletic contests, and junkets to the Goochland fields and for coordinating use of the school’s six minibuses.
Although his days are full and he’s never far from his cell phone or pager, Dandridge’s life is hardly all work and no play. Which brings us to basketball. Glen Dandridge is passionate about basketball. He’s a student of the game. He knows it inside and out. As a teenager, he played for Goochland High School, and he’s competed in recreation leagues ever since. He once played seven days a week. Now, because of professional and family responsibilities, he’s on the court just two or three times at most.
His 19-year-old daughter Michelle starred for her dad’s alma mater and now plays both basketball and volleyball at Barber-Scotia College in Concord, NC. His son Glen Jr., 16, burst onto the scene for the Bulldogs as a sophomore a year ago and now plays for Mt. Zion Academy in Durham. He and Hope, his high school sweetheart and wife of 21 years, catch as many of their games as they can. “Whether it’s playing myself or following the kids,” he says, “she’s backed me 100 percent.”
With all the demands on his time and skills, you’d think his responsibilities and spontaneous “Call Glen” requests would run him ragged. Not so, he says. Dandridge comes from a family that included 7 siblings, so helping and being helped have always been part of the landscape.
“It’s very fulfilling knowing you’ve done something to help somebody else,” he says. “I look forward to doing what I do. I look forward to something new and challenging each day. “And I couldn’t do what I do without the support of the people I work with.”
