To no one’s surprise, Rick Bevard wants to spread the word — about the glories of mountaineering.
Bevard is the son and brother of local evangelists, Tom and Randy, respectively, of Freedom Ministries, who spread the Good Word among the incarcerated.
And while Rick formerly participated with Freedom Ministries, today he and his young family live in the Kansas City area where he works for the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
It was on the precipice of turning 40 in 2019 that Bevard said he got the urge to “do something.”
“I wanted to turn the corner in my personal life,” he said. “I had goals but was afraid of going after them.”
On the bucket list was getting healthy enough to climb mountains.
“I was looking at Kilimanjaro, but obviously, I can’t go to Africa.”
“My wife supported me, as long as it was within the United States.”
Bevard assures that his wanderlust did not come as a surprise to his wife, Amy.
“From the moment we met she knew what she was getting into,” he said. “I had done skydiving, ziplines, yoga retreats and other things. She knew I was not stopping anytime soon.”
The two met in 2015 and were married in 2016.
Bevard graduated from Iola High School in 1988 after which he received a degree in communications and public relations at Pittsburg State University. From there, he received a master’s degree in business at the University of Central Missouri.
“That opened the door for my job with immigration services,” he said, beginning in 2017. “It’s very rewarding,” Bevard said of being an immigration services officer, which mostly entails helping people through the process of becoming U.S. citizens.
Bevard and Amy, have two children, Caspian, age 4, and Elowyn, seven months. Amy, a stay-at-home mom, also works from home for BluePearl Pet Hospital. 
IN FEBRUARY of 2019, Bevard set his sights on Mount St. Helens in Washington state, elevation 8,363 feet.
