Chairman’s Corner

Happy New(er) Year, everyone!

We hope you and yours are doing well after the deep freeze of 2018. Today the snow has melted and you can go outdoors without too many layers and for that we are grateful! We have a lot going on in 2018, so let’s talk about some of our plans. We hope you will plan to make Indy Honor Flight a part of your volunteer work this year, we certainly can use your help.

2018 Flights: We are in the process of selecting our flight staff for the April 28 and May 26 flights and let me tell you, everyone is ready to go! We will begin making calls to Veterans the first week of February, so if you know of a Veteran who has not submitted an application, please get one in the mail to us ASAP. If you have a Veteran who is not sure they want to go with us, please let us know and we will be happy to meet with him or her in person and explain the experience to them. We have good luck in convincing the stubborn (and not just because some of us are more stubborn)!

Speaking of flights, please remember there are three other Honor flight Hubs in the state; Ft. Wayne, Lafayette and Evansville all work hard to locate and fly veterans. Chicago IL, Louisville KY, Cincinnati and Dayton OH are very active hubs. For a variety of reasons, we always recommend Veterans fly with the hub closest to where they live. The most important thing is to find the oldest Veterans and get them on a flight before it is too late.

Along those lines, it seems every winter we are notified of too many of our IHF Veterans passing. All of these great men and women are so very special to us and it is always hard to deal with their loss. Recently, Harold Harrington, a 92 year old WWII US Army D-Day veteran passed away. Harold was well known to many of our IHF volunteers as he was quite healthy and helped IHF with several presentations to schools and other events. Since his flight I got to know Harold and spent some time listening to his story. During his service he experienced some God-awful things and was wounded in combat. Despite his history, this gentleman was extremely positive all of the time, outgoing, never met a stranger and always greeted everyone with a smile. It is the attitude of Harold and so many Veterans just like him that makes what we do so very rewarding. These men and women are able to overcome severe hardships and remain terrific examples for our younger generations to come. Indy Honor Flight salutes Harold and all of his fallen brothers and sisters; thank you for teaching all of so much!

Mark your calendars! On March 29th, Senator Joe Donnelly will host a “Welcome Home” celebration for all Vietnam Veterans (serving November 01, 1955-May 15, 1975) at Plainfield High School, beginning at 6PM. Last year the 29th of March was nationally designated as Vietnam Veteran’s Day. IHF has been asked to assist with this wonderful event; there will be a Veteran Resource Fair at 6PM with the ceremony beginning at 7PM. Indy Honor Flight will need volunteers to help staff the event and we will have a table in the Resource Fair to help us find more veterans who have not flown with us. Look for more details and a sign-up in your email later in February.

Due to the significant increase in aircraft charter cost for 2018, the IHF Board of Directors has authorized our first-ever increase in our Guardian Donation Fee. Effective with the April flight the cost of escorting a Veteran on the flight will increase to $500. We are working hard to evaluate all expenses, but some costs increases cannot be avoided. Remember 100% of all donations go directly to our operating expenses, not a single volunteer is paid a dime!

We are working with great groups to organize some fundraisers, the Avon Cruise-In Car Show will be going on later this spring and we are working on hosting a motorcycle ride. It sounds great to think of warm spring evenings right now, doesn’t it? If you or your group would like to work with us to create a fundraiser we would be happy to talk with you. We also love to go out and share what the IHF is about; if you have a group who would like to hear about us please let us know. This is one of the best ways to find more Veterans!

Stay warm, many thanks to all of you for your support of Indy Honor Flight.
In service,
Dale True
Chairman, Indy Honor Flight

DID YOU KNOW?

We need a few more signatures please share with your friends and family! Indy Honor Flight has begun the process of applying for a license plate from the Indiana BMV to benefit our organization. The process requires us to obtain 500 signatures from motorists who would purchase the plates when they become available. We submit the necessary paperwork in April 2018. The plates would then be available beginning in 2019. Indy Honor Flight would receive $25 from EVERY plate that is purchased! Since you have to buy plates anyway, why not support Indy Honor Flight while you’re at it?
If you, your family, your co-workers, etc. would like to sign the petition, it’s attached below, along with a rough draft of what the plate may look like when it’s issued. The petition can be returned to us at:

Indy Honor Flight
PO Box 10
Plainfield IN 46168

Click here to download the petition:
Petition for IHF Plate

Let’s Eat!

We offer a free meal to our Veterans that have flown with us. We have breakfast, lunch or meal on all sides of town once a month. Check out our calendar for dates, times and locations. Spouses and Guardians are welcome too!

This is a recent photo from our newest meal, the North Side Meal. Photo credits: Morrie Turner

Checkout out our website for more info on all of our meals!
click here: Indy Honor Flight Website

SAVE THE DATES!

• Thursday March 29th – Vietnam Veterans Ceremony
  • Veterans fair starts at 6pm; Ceremony at 7pm
  • Plainfield High School
  • Ground Crew look for the sign up to come out late February
  • Friday April 27th – Meet/Greet Plainfield High School
• Saturday April 28th – Flight #26 Plainfield High School
• Saturday May 5th – Avon Cruise In!
  • Lowes Parking lot in Avon
  • Every Saturday night starting May thru September
  • Classic cars, free to public
  • Half the proceeds from 50/50 go to Indy Honor Flight
• Friday May 25th – Meet/Greet TBD
• Saturday May 26th – Flight/Homecoming TBD