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A few links of interest from recent articles provided by our media friends:
Google News Alert for: Toledo Express Airport
[COLUMN] Honor Flight lives up to its name for WWII veterans
• Port Clinton News Herald • Toledo Free Press • Van Wert Paper
• Erie Street Market Elvis Event

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Rossford Proclamation
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Stinger Article
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Toledo Proclamation
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Hi Everyone!

I’d like to give you a run down of our first season.  We have had five flights and flown 142 veterans to Washington, D.C. and back home safely!  We tentatively planned a November flight but have cancelled it due to the unseasonably cold weather in D.C. right now.  We feel fortunate that we have had wonderful weather for four of our flights and the last one, although cold, was still sunny and nice.  Our vets were thrilled with their experiences and enjoyed being with their comrades once again as well as meeting wonderful guardians and volunteers along the way.  However, I believe the ones who gained the most from these adventures were the guardians and volunteers who had the privilege of meeting incredible heroes, hearing amazing stories and making life long friends that will be etched in our memories for as long as we live.  Our lives have truly been blessed beyond belief by those we have had the honor of serving.  None of this would have been possible without a multitude of individuals willing to give of their time, energy, talents and resources to make our veterans’ trips possible.  We owe a great deal of gratitude to many and I’d like to attempt to recognize everyone.

First of all, Grand Aire for allowing us to begin and end each flight at their hanger.  Every one of the employees we worked with were incredible and made our flights as easy as possible for our veterans and for that, we are truly gratefully.

Each mission we flew was with ExpressJet and words cannot express how wonderful they were to work with.  From the moment I made the initial contact to set up our first flight the employees have all gone the extra mile to help me and accommodate our veterans.  A travel agent I’m not, but they walked me through the process and never seemed to tire of my questions so that we could get everything “just right” for those who would be flying with us.  I’d like to thank all of the flight crews who provided safe, enjoyable trips and especially Jeff Carpenter, our flight attendant for four of the five missions, who went way above and beyond the call of duty to keep our veterans comfortable and safe.  Most of the flight crews accompanied us throughout the day and we truly appreciated the additional help.  This was not something they were paid for nor was it anything that was required of them.  Their willingness to help came from the heart and that certainly showed.  We want to express our gratitude to ExpressJet for providing dinner for all of our flights!  That, in itself, was a huge donation to Honor Flight.

We’d like to express our thanks to West Park Place and Kingston Residence of Perrysburg for donating breakfast for the flights.  They provided a delicious and nutritious start for our veterans and guardians on each of the trips and we appreciate their generosity immensely as well as the “service with a smile” that they all had so early in the mornings!

A big thanks to VFW Post #3013 for allowing us to borrow tables and chairs for every flight and to all the volunteers who helped transport them to and from the hanger. Additionally we'd like to thank Torrence Sound for donating the sound system for everyone of our flights this year.  Their generosity is greatly appreciated and made life a whole lot easier in coordinating the boarding process and the evening celebration.

Our amazing “hanger crew” deserves a round of applause for always having everything decorated, ready and waiting when our vets began arriving for check in.  You helped make the process very smooth!  Thanks as well to those who were there to tear down at night as those on the flights were way too tired to do so.

I must thank our “Lone Arranger” for coordinating rides for all of the veterans who had no means of transportation to and from the airport.  Travis, you did a great job and I know it wasn’t always an easy task.  We appreciate each and every volunteer who helped with this aspect as the trip to Washington would not have been possible without the first few and the last few miles of your kindness. 

A huge thanks to O.E. Meyer and SeQual for donating wheelchairs and oxygen concentrators for every flight this season.  We need to be self sufficient with equipment now as D.C. doesn’t have enough wheelchairs and oxygen to cover all of the Honor Flights coming in on any given day.  Thanks to both companies they helped us accomplish that mission and keep our vets safe which is our number one goal.

I’d like to thank the Airport Fire Department for always showing up to honor our heroes with a water canon salute before take off….with the exception of our last flight due to the jet needing deicing!

I want to say thanks to Capt. Gary Bentley and all the members of the 180th Fighter Wing of the Ohio Air National Guard who were on hand in the mornings to talk with our veterans, help with boarding and provide an Honor Guard.  Many members who have been there for our most senior heroes this season are now deployed to Iraq so I ask that you please pray for their safety as they continue in the footsteps of our Greatest Generation and all those who have served before them in keeping this country free and each of us safe.  We hope to see all of you back home and greeting our vets again next season!

I want to express my gratitude to our D.C. Ground Crew Members who were so helpful in setting up tents and chairs for us so we had a place to eat and for helping our vets with their lunches.  Many were also there to welcome our heroes upon landing at Dulles Airport with signs, cheers, hugs and thanks for each of our special travelers.

A big thanks to Russell Wagner and all the active duty volunteers from Ft. Meade who met us at the WW II Memorial to help show our vets around, get them drinks, swap stories, help with lunches and tear down tents.  Many continued on to help us at the Vietnam and Korean Memorials as well.  Our vets felt honored to have the “young guys and gals” be such an important part of their day in Washington.

Thanks to Ace and Dale from Arby’s who never failed to provide us with the correct order even after I may have called them the day before and increased the number of lunches and drinks we needed!  Great job, guys and I look forward to working with you again next season!

I’d like to acknowledge Stephen Brown, the Whitehouse Press Corps photographer whose smiling face always greeted us as we arrived at the WWII Memorial.  Steve, your talents are beyond what words can express and we appreciate your willingness to share that talent with not only Honor Flight Northwest Ohio but all of the other hubs as well.  Steve’s photos are available on his website, at no charge, to all of us.  http://srbphoto.zenfolio.com/  He is also the photographer responsible for compiling the beautiful book WW II Memorial “Jewel of the Mall” that each of our veterans receive as a memento of their day in D.C.  Thanks, Steve, for helping make it possible for our hub to afford to give our heroes such a wonderful souvenir!

Thanks to Brad Ziegler, Janet Gawle and my nephew, Ryan Burdick, who flew as our photographers and videographers.  You did an amazing job of capturing the real spirit of Honor Flight so that everyone can look back on their experiences and enjoy a stroll down memory lane!

Thanks to Senator Bob Dole who met many of our flights and spent countless hours at the WW II Memorial greeting his comrades, posing for photos and welcoming our heroes to a place of honor that they all waited so very long to see.  Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur was also on hand for our inaugural flight and met our veterans for lunch.  I’m not certain who was more honored, our vets or Congresswoman Kaptur but we truly appreciate her time as we realize how valuable it is.

Thanks goes out to those of you who served as guardians on our flights.  YOU were the ones so instrumental in keeping our veterans safe.  It is because of your willingness to share your time and resources that our vets had such enjoyable days in D.C.  Keeping our heroes safe was our number one goal…..having a good time on top of that was a bonus and our guardians managed to do both!  A very special thanks to all of you who flew as part of our medical teams throughout the season.  You did an amazing job!  Many of our guardians flew more than one mission with us because they felt so privileged to be with those who have served us so well.

I have a special place in my heart for the Board of Directors who signed on to help not knowing where the adventure would lead but willing to take that leap.  All of you did an amazing job of helping me get this season off the ground.  A huge thanks to Jim Gilmore, our webmaster, who has done a terrific job with our website.  Although not computer savvy myself, I do realize how many hours Jim spends uploading pictures and updating the site.  Thanks to Jim Tichy for his countless hours of help with presentations throughout Northwest Ohio and for all the time he spent drafting press releases for flights and special events that we have held thru the year.  Both of them were always on hand to help with hanger duty as well as preparing and packing items for the flights.  I want to thank Kathy Heldt for all of her time organizing events and coordinating volunteers to staff them and Crissy Scharf for endless hours handling our finances.  Three of these four individuals had never met me before I approached them about helping with Honor Flight and now I consider them some of the most special people in my life.  I would never have made it thru the season without you and I’m proud to have had each of you as anchors in this venture.  You have all been very instrumental in the success of our first season and for that, I thank you from the bottom of my heart!

Thanks to all of the Northwest Ohio Honor Flight team members.  Many of you helped with fundraisers throughout the year, wrote thank you notes, showed up at 4AM to begin decorating the hanger and did a lot of leg work in picking up and delivering items for the flights, auctions and the veterans especially Marti Franco and Sue Thomasson.  Thanks, as well, to our Art Director, John White, for designing logos, stationary and shirts and to Helen Clark for donating banners and posters and always doing them in a hurry!  (Sorry for all the “rush jobs”, Helen, but you always came thru for us!)

We appreciate the Patriot Guard for making a presence at each of our flights and sending off our vets and welcoming them home with such honor.  A 95 year old veteran who flew with us last week mentioned he had formed many of those lines but until last Wednesday, never had the honor of walking through one so your efforts are greatly appreciated.

We want to express our gratitude to the Swanton High School Band as well as the Genoa American Legion Band who were on hand to greet our veterans upon their arrival home and make it such a joyous occasion for them.  We appreciate your time and your willingness to share your talents with not only the vets but their families and everyone who was on hand to top off our heroes special day.

We certainly want to thank our financial donors.  Many individuals, businesses, schools and organizations collaborated to make it possible to fund the flights.  It is impossible to list everyone here; however, our website is being updated to include all of our donors.  Please remember that Honor Flight Northwest Ohio is run completely on donations and run completely by volunteers.  Most of our volunteers have full time jobs so although we attempt to be timely with our acknowledgements and thank you notes, there is only so much time in a day so we ask for your patience and understanding.  We are doing our best to keep up with the increasing demand of the organization.

My gratitude goes out to the veteran organizations, churches, service organizations, schools and businesses who welcomed us and allowed us to do Honor Flight presentations to help “spread the word” about what we do and the urgency of the program.

Several individuals and organizations have worked hard putting on fundraisers for us throughout the year and I’d like to recognize them as well.  Elvis Presley’s Sweet Sweet Spirit Fan Club, The Manhattan Dance Company, Holland Hulkulberry (Terri and Charlie Hoag) St. James Lutheran Church, Monroe Road Elementary, Monclova Primary School, St. Joan of Arc, Oakdale School, Central Middle School, Lake Elementary, Middle and High Schools, Napoleon Harley Davidson, American Legion #553 and the Bistro auction committee.

Thanks to all those who came out and supported the auctions at the American Legion and the Bistro and certainly to all of you who donated auction items to help make both of them such a huge success!  We appreciate everyone’s generosity.

Thank you to all the students throughout Northwest Ohio and Southeast Michigan who wrote letters, made cards or painted pictures for our heroes “goodie bags” and to the teachers who encouraged them to do so.  They truly were some of the most special memories the vets will have of their Honor Flight trip and it proves that patriotism is still alive and well even in the young minds of our children.

A very special thanks to Owens-Illinois and the Maumee Eagle’s for sponsoring flights for our heroes.  Although these organizations sponsored complete flights, please remember that every penny counts and it is everyone working together that has made this season so successful.

The media, although too numerous to mention here individually, has been incredibly supportive of our efforts and a large part of our success.  I’d like to thank all of the cameramen, reporters, DJ’s and newspapers who kept us in the limelight all season, encouraged donations and made our veterans aware of our existence and mission. 

I can’t forget my “partners in crime”, Ricky and Bud, from Honor Flight Michigan, who encouraged me to “take a leap of faith” and begin this adventure and answered so many questions along the way and Earl Morse and the others in our national office who fielded questions to help us get started on the right track.  I appreciate all you have done for Northwest Ohio! 

Last, but certainly not least, I can’t leave out my own family who has been very supportive and especially one very important individual who believed in me before anyone in this area ever heard of Honor Flight, knew who I was or was willing to give me any money and that is my husband, Dave.  He has always been incredibly supportive of this effort, was very instrumental in its set up and has kept the home fires burning (and the pets alive!) for the past eight months while my focus was centered on our veterans and their safety.  Thanks, Dave, for believing in me.  You’ve always been my rock but approaching 21 years together you still never cease to amaze me!

The 2008 flying season has been a good run for the Northwest Ohio hub and I believe I speak for all of us involved when I say we are thrilled to have had the privilege of escorting 142 of our heroes to their memorials, showing them a good time and bringing them back home safely.  I thank each and every one of them for sharing their stories, the laughs they provided and their inspiration.  Our lives are much richer for having met each of them through this process.  We look forward to seeing all of them again, as well as all of our guardians, at a reunion which will be announced at a later date.

God bless all of you for whatever role you played in the success of Honor Flight Northwest Ohio’s inaugural season and we hope you will continue with us as we aim to make this opportunity available to each and every veteran in our area.

With a grateful heart,

Dee Pakulski, Director

Copyright © 2008 Honor Flight Northwest Ohio
Web site Updated November 10, 2008 - James L. Gilmore Webmaster.
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