WALK WITH DESTINY
Bill Gilpin Memorial
The Walk With Destiny Project
Our Walk With Destiny
On 8th September 2010 Brigadier General Charlie Duke, 10th man to walk on the moon, touched down in Glasgow Airport.
Walk with Destiny‘s first guest had landed.
Just a year earlier, the thought of having an Apollo astronaut in Airdrie was nothing more than a space fan's dream.
After attending many space events with guest astronauts in various parts of England, Aileen Malone was inspired to create her own events bringing Apollo astronauts a bit closer to home. A Space fan's dream started to look like a plan. Scotland was calling for a spaceman.
Feeling motivated to pursue this wild idea, Aileen created Walk with Destiny to bring Apollo astronauts to Scotland to inspire children, students and adults from all walks of life.
"It is in your moments of decision that your destiny is shaped."
- Tony Robbins
Contacting Apollo 16 Lunar Module Pilot, Charlie Duke, 10th man to walk on the moon, Walk with Destiny set to work.
With no track record it wasn't easy to get the project off the ground, but local biscuit company Tunnocks liked the idea of having an astronaut speak to local school children to inspire them to make their own ‘walk with destiny’ and they agreed to help.
“The Teacake has landed” was the headline in the Sunday Mail, Scotland’s biggest selling Sunday newspaper, when it printed a colour picture of the Apollo landing parachutes, so similar to Tunnock’s Teacake wrappers. National publicity together with the support of Tunnocks meant that ticket sales took off.
At Glasgow Airport a dream came true for Aileen when she watched the arrivals board and text from the airport, “The Duke has landed”.
NASA's Project Apollo continues to inspire the world and show that there are no limits on where our dreams can take us.
All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.
- Walt Disney