By Andrew Welliver
Honor Flight Syracuse received a $2,600 donation from the Town of Salina on June 12.
The presentation was made at the Salina Town Hall duirng the town board meeting.
Town representatives presented the check to members of Honor Flight.
Among the members of Honor Flight Syracuse who came to accept the check, was Jeffery Bastable, director of development for Honor Flight Syracuse.
Bastable and other representatives of Honor Flight were on hand to show their gratitude for the finicial support.
The donation was made possible by a first-time event, a Memorial weekend car show that took place on May 27.
Michael Hart, veteran outreach coordinator for the town of Salina set up the car show and had assistance from numerous organizations and individuals.
“Without assistance from these groups, the car show wouldn’t have seen the light of day,” Hart said.
The event was somewhat last-minute but many stepped up to make the car show possible and raise money in support of Honor Flight.
Patti Callahan, external fundraising liaison for Honor Flight Syracuse, gave her praise to Salina community.
“I am so impressed with the community of Salina who raised this money at the last minute,” she said.
Hart took over as the veteran outreach coordinator on May 1, 2023, and with his work and the help of many others they were able to put the car show together and had 71 cars on display.
With Honor Flight being a non-profit organization, donations like this are an important aprt of making their mission possibe.
“Having an event where people help raise awareness for our mission is critical,” Bastable said.
The mission of Honor Flights Syracuse involves celebrating America’s veterans by transporting them to Washington D.C. at no cost to them, to visit the memorials dedicated to their service and sacrifice.
Honor Flight was established in Syracuse in 2012, and during that time they have flown around 1,300 veterans to D.C. with around 60 veterans per mission. Honor Flight Syracuse does two missions a year.
For more information visit honorflightsyracuse.org.
