Land of Lincoln Honor Flight
Annual meeting postponed due to weather, taking applications for spring flights, LLHF fundraiser February 3rd and 4th

[January 31, 2017]  Land of Lincoln Honor Flight (LLHF) of Springfield Illinois, due to the ice storm that came through southern Illinois, had to cancel their Annual Meeting that was to be held on January 14th. A future meeting will be announced at a later date but LLHF has moved forward to begin the 2017 flight season by announcing their first three Honor Flights of the year for April 11th, May 23rd and June 20th. Fall flights are also planned but dates have not been set. All WWII and Korean War era Veterans that were on the Waiting List have been contacted for the April flight, along with some of the Vietnam era next on the list.

Veteran applications continue to be accepted, with priority given in the following order: World War II (person enlisted by 12/31/1946), then Korean War Era (01/01/1947 to 12/31/1957), followed by the Vietnam War Era (01/01/1958 to 05/07/1975). Any certified terminally ill Veteran should contact LLHF directly. Also, because every Veteran flies with a guardian escort - a volunteer who pays their own way - applications for future guardians are also currently being accepted. This may be any able-bodied person, 18-70 years old, except for Veterans who have already been honored with a flight or a spouse/significant other of a Veteran on a flight. For the guardian fee, included is LLHF training, cap & t-shirt, round-trip flight, bus tour during the day, meals & snacks, refreshments and the rare privilege of spending the day honoring our true heroes – the Veterans.

Veteran or Guardian Applications may be obtained at www.LandofLincolnHonorFlight.org or by contacting John Dust at [e-mail] or phone [phone]. LLHF is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that receives no government funding or grants. It is only able to honor the Veterans on these flights to DC due to the generous donations, sponsorships, fundraising events, merchandise sales and supporting efforts of the many local businesses, individuals and organizations within their service area. Please visit the web site to make a donation, to hold a fundraiser, to book a board member speaker or to obtain more information on the Honor Flight mission.

Kicking off the fund raising events will be the Midwest Tribute to the King shows, with up to 16 Elvis tribute artist scheduled to perform on Friday Feb. 3rd and Saturday Feb 4th. The shows are at the Route 66 Hotel & Conference Center, 625 E St Joseph Street in Springfield at 7 PM each night, doors opening at 6:00. Tickets are still available by contacting Andrea, phone [phone]. LLHF will benefit from a portion of the proceeds, it is a fun time for all and Honor Flight personnel will be there so hope to see you.

[John Dust]