 Starting on the Fourth of July, veterans can stop by the golf pro
shop at the Elks from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. any day of the week to get
the free passes. There are only 200 ride and admission passes
available, so they will be available at the pro shop only as long as
they last.
For about a year the chamber of commerce and the Elks committee
have been working on forging a partnership to benefit local
veterans. George Lacefield, chairman of the veterans committee for
the Elks, initiated conversations last year about offering something
special for local veterans at the balloon festival, but time was
limited to get something together, so the two organizations decided
to continue to work together to offer something special for the 2012
event.
The Elks committee committed to buying balloon rides for the
first 200 veterans interested. The chamber board of directors was so
excited about the generosity of the Elks that they voted to also
donate the admission passes to the festival, so veterans can have an
August weekend of great fun virtually free.
"It's just a small way to show our local veterans how much we
appreciate their service and sacrifice," said Lacefield about why
they want to offer the free rides.
"We couldn't pass up this great opportunity to show our
appreciation to our local veterans, along with building a new
partnership with the Lincoln Elks," said Eric Graue, chairman of the
chamber board of directors, on why the board decided to give the
additional admission passes for the festival this year.
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The passes are available to any veteran in Logan County who has
served in any branch of the armed services. Each veteran who comes
to the Elks will receive one free weekend admission pass to the
Lincoln Art & Balloon Festival, Aug. 24-26. Each admission pass will
get one veteran a wristband that will allow him or her access to the
activities at the Logan County Airport. Veterans will also receive
one free tethered balloon ride pass good for one veteran to ride in
one of the weekend's main attractions -- a hot air balloon.
"We are hoping that this new partnership with the Lincoln Elks
veterans committee will lead to us being able to honor our veterans
in some way every year during Logan County's premier event," said
Andi Hake, executive director of the chamber of commerce.
Details on times of rides and a schedule of activities during the
weekend can be found at
www.lincolnillinois.com, or contact Andi Hake or Jennifer Lovett
at the chamber of commerce at 217-735-2385.
[Text from file received from
the Lincoln/Logan County
Chamber of Commerce]
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