Employees Make Plans to Sponsor Veteran's Flight
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As many may know, Paulding Putnam Electric is a non-profit entity and two of their core principles are volunteerism and concern for community. It is because of these principles and a desire to serve a greater purpose that the PPEC staff has decided to take on an ambitious project that impacts all the communities we serve.
Their next goal is to raise enough money to sponsor an entire Honor Flight for the men and women who fought so bravely for our great nation, but this will not be a small feat. If you’re not familiar with Honor Flight, it is a nonprofit organization created solely to honor America’s veterans for all their sacrifices by flying them to Washington, DC to reflect at their memorials. The cost to sponsor an entire flight averages anywhere from $65,000 to $70,000. Recently, PPEC discovered there is long waiting list for veterans in northwest Ohio and northeast Indiana. One of the main reasons for the waiting list, is because Toledo’s Honor Flight Organization is no long in operation. All northwest Ohio participants now have to go through the Northeast Indiana branch. This, obviously, creates more demand for the Northeast Indiana Honor Flight Chamber. This is why PPEC has decided to raise funds for an entire flight. The staff leading the charge in this ambitious endeavor are Steve Kahle, Tara Schlatter, Annette Schreiner and Erika Willitzer.
At the press conference on Friday, January 15th, Max Robison & Ben Clay from the Northeast Indiana chapter of Honor Flight were present to answer any questions about Honor Flight. The press conference also announced the major fundraising efforts for their Honor Flight sponsorship: a 2016 Chevy Silverado 4×4 truck sponsored by Bob Estle of Estle Cadillac Chevrolet in Defiance. Mr. Estle is also a PPEC member & his grandfather is a WWII veteran. The PPEC staff plan to make this event known to as many potential donors as possible by way of luncheons, meetings, etc.
CEO of Paulding-Putnam, George Carter emphasized at the press conference the urgency of honoring the veterans in the area with this flight opportunity. He continued by stating that this may be the last venture for some of these veterans and PPEC wants to be a part of that.
PPEC marketing director, Erika Willitzer, commented of Mr. Carter’s involvement in Honor Flight, “He really has been the guiding figure for this project as he is with everything as Paulding Putnam’s CEO.”
If you have any questions regarding this conference or Honor Flight, please contact Marketing Manager, Erika Willitzer at 419-399-1868 or email at ewillitzer@ppec.coop
About Honor Flight:
Honor Flight Network is a nonprofit organization created solely to honor America’s veterans for all their sacrifices by flying them to Washington, DC to reflect at their memorials. Top priority is given to WWII survivors along with other veterans who are terminally ill. All flights are free of charge to the veterans being honored.
Honor Flight Northeast Indiana is a recognized independent hub of the Honor Flight network and was created to raise funds and provide volunteers to take WWII veterans directly from Fort Wayne to Washington DC, where motor coaches will be standing by to transport them to their WWII Memorial, as well as other memorial stops throughout the day, before flying them back home the same evening. All of these flights are 100% funded by individual and corporate contributions. They receive no funding from any level of the government – federal, state, or local. They are a recognized 501(c)(3) organization.
