GRATEFUL: N. Idaho responds

I want to thank the Coeur d’Alene Press and the North Idaho community for supporting Inland Northwest Honor Flight. The Press has given INW Honor Flight excellent coverage in recent weeks, with a great ad design and two articles, including one about INW Honor Flight and one about my service for veterans.

North Idaho residents answered the call to support the Honor Flight program, which sends our veterans who served during war times, to Washington, D.C., to be thanked and honored for their service. Their trip includes non-stop charter flights, police-escorted luxury buses to visit all of the memorials erected in their honor, a banquet, and emotional camaraderie with other veterans and their guardians, who accompany them on their trips. As of now, 1,250 veterans from our local hub, Inland Northwest Honor Flight, comprised of North Idaho and eastern Washington, have taken their trips since May 2009. The next trip, Oct. 3-4, will take 90 more. ETA on Oct. 4 at the Spokane Airport is 6:50 p.m., so I’m hopeful there will be a big crowd for the homecoming.

In the last two weeks, I have received almost $12,000 in donations, which translates to 12 veterans taking their trips, as veterans take their trips free of charge. I have also taken numerous reservations to participate in the 5th annual “big” fundraiser on Oct. 8, 2016. I am so pleased and grateful for the support from the generous citizens of North Idaho. I sincerely thank you.

For more information or to obtain an application for your tip, visit: inwhonorflight.org.

BARB NELSON

Inland Northwest Honor Flight

Volunteer