Honor Flight Celebrates 10 Years, 2,000 Veterans

CHESTER – Hudson Valley Honor Flight (HVHF) celebrated 10 years and 2,000 veterans honored with a gala event on Saturday, June 18, 2022 at the beautiful Tetz Family Clydesdales Farm in Chester, N.Y. The gala is one of three key noteworthy events.

The gala featured food, drinks and entertainment under a newly constructed permanent open-air barn roof. This unique countryside estate provided a memorable setting for this one-of-a-kind event. All proceeds will help fund future honor flights for local veterans. If you would like to donate, visit hvhonorflight.com.

Mission 2000 took place on May 21, 2022, bringing 64 veterans to Washington, D.C. This milestone event included HVHF honoring its 2,000th veteran with the flight of a lifetime. “What an incredible day for our veterans. A big thanks to Million Air in White Plains for hosting us. 2,000 veterans is an incredible achievement, but we’re not done. We have two more flights coming up on October 8th and November 5th,” said HVHF Chairman Frank Kimler.

Heather Bell-Meyer, a native of the Hudson Valley and President & CEO of the Orange County Chamber of Commerce, has joined the HVHF Board of Directors. With her knowledge of the county’s business landscape, Bell-Meyer brings a unique perspective and an abundance of special-events and community experience to the Board. In addition, her family has a history of military service, so she is familiar with the needs of our local veteran community. HVHF is thrilled to welcome her to the Board.

HVHF provides a once-in-a-lifetime flight to Washington, D.C., where veterans are transported around the district by bus to visit war memorials, attend a dinner in their honor and then return home. Each veteran is escorted by a personal guardian and the HVHF flight team for the day-long trip. Honored veterans fly free! Guardians pay a sliding-scale fee.