Ephrata Legion post hosts Honor Flight fundraiser
Cheryl Chongaway/courtesy photo The late Charles Millspaugh, Moses Lake, was among the veterans who visited Washington, D.C. and the Korean War Memorial, among others, on an Inland Northwest Honor Flight in 2016. American Legion Post No. 28, Ephrata, will hold a fundraiser May 20, with proceeds going to the Honor Flight program.
EPHRATA — American Legion Post No. 28, Ephrata, will sponsor events to raise money for the Inland Northwest Honor Flight organization and talk about the American Legion May 20, Armed Forces Day.
The post and its auxiliary will sponsor a taco-nacho feed and dessert auction at 5 to 7 p.m. at the Legion post, 276 Eighth Ave. in Ephrata. Proceeds will go to the Honor Flight program, and organizers are inviting veterans who participated in an Honor Flight to attend the feed and talk about their experiences, said Jane Montaney, project chair for the Post No. 28 auxiliary.
“Every penny that we give helps a veteran to go back (to Washington D.C.).”
They’re also sponsoring an “Awareness Walk” all day, with the help of participating businesses in Ephrata. Registration for the Awareness Walk starts at 9 a.m. at the Legion hall.
Admission to the taco-nacho feed is by donation. Money raised through the dinner and dessert auction will be donated to Inland Northwest Honor Flight, through 17-year-old Wenatchee resident Justin Peterson.
The Honor Flight program was founded in 2005, starting as a volunteer effort to make sure World War II veterans got a chance to see the memorial to the war before they died. Since then it has been expanded to veterans of Korea and Vietnam, and become a national volunteer effort.
Money raised by Post No. 28 goes to support Inland Northwest Honor Flight, based in Spokane and founded in 2009. It’s part of the Honor Flight network, and serves veterans in eastern Washington and northern Idaho.
The Honor Flight network depends on volunteers and donations, and that’s what attracted Justin Peterson. He was 9 years old at the time and started raising money for the organization. He set goals and reached them, Montaney said. Peterson is still raising money for Honor Flight, and the Ephrata post donates its proceeds through Peterson “to help his total grow,” Montaney wrote. “His first fundraiser was a nacho feed and dessert auction, so we keep that tradition.”
The evening will include a video detailing the Honor Flight program. Applications for the Honor Flight will be available.
The “Awareness Walk” is in its second year, started to highlight the Legion and its programs and services. Businesses in Ephrata will display posters detailing the Legion’s activities; all participating businesses will be listed on a flyer. Awareness Walk participants visit each business, get a stamp and take the completed flyer back to the Legion hall, where they will be entered in a drawing.
Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at education@columbiabasinherald.com.