The year 2017 will be an active and attractive year for the military veterans. The numbers of 2017 can bring back memories, as the veterans recall their youth when they were drafted or enlisted. They were primarily at the eager age between 20 and 17.
Patriot Flight Inc. and TGIV Veterans have a busy 2017 for veterans age 17 to 97.
Patriot Flight was an idea of Bill Peak, an 83-year old veteran, in 2007. He wanted to pay honor to the World War II veterans who went overseas. Peak is a remarkable person who deserves recognition and thanks in 2017. His plan is now 10 years old, and it is still going strong. We will honor him with a Founders Day lunch and bring back some of the original people who made Patriot Flight in 2007.
Two flights in 2017 are the goal of Patriot Flight. The exact date of the spring flight will be announced later this month. Veterans who served in active duty up through the Vietnam War, including those who served during the Cold War, are eligible for the free, daylong trip to the Washington, D.C. war memorials. We will have a second flight in the fall. Don’t wait — send in your veteran or guardian applications now. See our website information below.
Our first Student Essay Contest provides two high school students the chance to win a flight on our spring and fall flights. The essay is entitled “Freedom – What it means to me.” Winners will be selected in February.
Patriot Flight wants to give a supersized thank you to some very generous donors. The Alfred Z. Solomon Charitable Trust, the W.J. Barney Foundation Inc., TD Bank and our own Don Winnie put their efforts and donations to a total of $29,500. Thanks also to Bob Shenise, a veteran from our Oct. 1 flight and also a professional videographer, for his inspiring DVD he produced as a Patriot Flight promotion. For a donation of $20, the DVD will be sent to you. In addition, Patriot Flight had events in 2016 to raise money
We have scheduled a Veterans Talent Show for March 19 at the Colonie Elks lodge on Watervliet Shaker Road from 1 to 4 p.m. All musical groups or singers must have one veteran in the group. If you are interested, please contact us.
Patriot Flight will have our first golf tournament in the spring 2017. To prevent veteran cabin fever, we will have special lunches on Saturdays or Sundays afternoons during the winter. There are other things in the hopper like a visit to West Point, the D-Day Re-enactment on Lake Erie, another trip to the Purple Heart Museum in Newburgh and high school lunches with the veterans. Please email us and get on our contact list.
The TGIV (Thank God Its Veterans) Club shares breakfast every Friday at the Gateway Diner in Albany, and on Thursdays at the Schodack Diner at the Route 9 & 20 intersection from 8 to 10 a.m. We are also seeking other diners in our seven-county area that would enjoy having veterans and patriots stop in for breakfast.
Our website is patriotflight.org, and we are on Facebook. Donations can be sent through PayPal on our website, or send checks payable to Patriot Flight Inc., Box 190, Delmar 12054. To contact Frank DeSorbo, president of Patriot Flight, email [email protected], or call (518) 439-9265. You may also contact Bruce Mendini by emailing [email protected].
We would enjoy coming to your organizations to bring material and show videos, too.
