The total for funds raised in Galatia this past Friday night for Central Prairie Honor Flights is $8,036.50        
Last week I witnessed a miracle in Galatia, Kansas… Local farmer, Morris Yarmer has a restaurant, “Backroads Bar & Grill” in Galatia, (population 59), held a fundraiser outside in Mid-August.  In only THREE WEEKS, (idea to completion ~ total time), Mr. Yarmer, a few friends, and Deanna Curtis, (juggling six kydz/a tonsillectomy/and children at home in the Summer), ran around a couple little communities between Great Bend and Hays and made a huge splash for Honor Flights.  This Friday night, started with 105 degree temps, and featured a raffle, silent auction, live auction, a flyover from the Experimental Aircraft Association, some great music from Deanna, WWII veteran Art Cravens, Charlie Moyers , and Dan Scott.  Mike’s Meats in Great Bend gave us great Pork as the primary support on the meal and collectively the event brought in $8036.50.  THIS IS HUGE, in three weeks a handful of Patriots were able to talk to their neighbors that knew their neighbors and the next thing you know we have a family event in small town America pull off a miracle in the Kansas heart and raise enough money for 13 WWII Veterans to go and see their Memorials!   The Honor Flight Committee is one big family, and we are taking care of our Elders as they have taken care of us for Decades.  They stood up in the Planet’s Biggest conflict between good and evil and saved this world as we now know it.  We only have one chance to do this, so we need to do it right for their memories.

Please acknowledge these businesses and individuals for stepping up and making this a smashing success for 13 more Heroes to travel!

Howdy, It is Friday the 13^th.  Please read it might bring you some blessings!   Central Prairie RC&D, is currently in its 29^th month with its Honor Flight Project.  Three primary tasks evolved in this Project,  Raising & managing donations, researching meaningful trips for WWII Veterans to visit their hard earned and defended memorials and places of honor in the Washington DC area, and #3 manage the clock on these heroes, the youngest ones are 83 years old.   I have attached the CPHF Committee’s Situation Report and a flyer from a little fundraiser we’re doing tonight next to a small town bar and grill in Galatia Kansas.   CPRC&D Honor Flight Committee is trying to focus our efforts into dedicated flights out of airports in various regions of Kansas.   Knowing that we have identified Veterans in Every County in Kansas and that they are waiting for us to fly them off of your donations…   Your County’s Veterans and fundraising efforts are loosely placed in the areas below.  If your interested dial into our organizational teleconferences set up for these regions.   Below we divide up where your County and your Veterans are…  We propose that you, your friends, and your neighbors pitch in and help us to raise money for the WWII Veterans that we haven’t flown yet.   PLEASE FORWARD THIS TO OTHER PATRIOTS IN YOUR COMMUNITY THAT WE CAN COUNT ON….  TIME IS RUNNING OUT!

So there is the CHALLENGE for CPHF is to sign up Veterans, focus and manage donations, and beat the clock.   Flight #11, out of Wichita will be 28-29September.   It costs about $650.00 per person for a trip.   Collectively we have Veterans in every County in Kansas waiting.  We do not have fundraising in those communities.  We can charter and fly them out of four airports.   Our current focus are the ones driving distance to the key regional airports in Salina, Wichita, and Garden City.    $325,000 would fly over  500 more before Veterans day 2010.   Flight #12, #13, & #14 are planned sometime between 25Oct-9Nov, hopefully reducing charter costs to fly three back to back Kansas Honor flights, with three dedicated departure times and homecoming events.   With hundreds of volunteers contributing thousands of hours we still way behind the curve to make these charters occur.   We need to hit our goals by mid-September.   If we don’t make it, they don’t fly and we wait through another winter.   We lose 17 Kansas WWII Veterans daily.  The task and the time are difficult, but think about the challenges that were faced on December the 8^th 1941 and maybe it will not be impossible afterall!

Our Solution is to establish Central Prairie Honor Flight Sub-committees to work in three distinct regions:   We can and will use Teleconferences to help out on the necessary meetings!

CPHF Salina~(33)~ All Counties interior to Phillips County South through Rooks, Ellis, Rush, to Pawnee then East through Barton, Rice, McPherson, Marion, Chase, Lyon, to Osage then North through Shawnee, Wabaunsee, Pottawatomie to Marshal.   Begin Planning your own action items in your Counties.   Teleconference Tuesday, August 24^th @7:00pm.  ;   Call our office 620-792-6224 during business hours for your access numbers *Face to Face meeting at the Salina American Legion, August 31^st at 7:00pm

CPHF Wichita~(26)~All Counties interior to Comanche County North through Kiowa, to Edwards then East through Stafford, Reno, Harvey, Butler, Greenwood, Woodson, Allen, to Bourbon and then South through  Crawford and Cherokee.  Teleconference Tuesday August 17^th @7:00pm.    Call our office 620-792-6224 during business hours for your access numbers.

CPHF West~(31)~All Counties West of a line from Norton, Graham, Trego, Ness, Hodgeman, Ford & Clark. Garden City will be their flight out objective!  Face to Face meeting Wednesday, August 18th at 5:00pm at the American Legion in Garden City.   We will try to have Teleconferences to help after this face-to-face. 

All fundraising in these Counties should go to a restricted fund into our Central Prairie RC&D Non-Profit/ 501c3 treasury and dedicated to the Veterans of those areas.  Suggestion #1:  Establish a plate dinner/program/at the biggest best evening possible in your community, with lowest food prices, (greatest potential profit).  Pre sale every banquet seat, honor your  Veterans, hold live & silent auctions, raffles, sell popcorn, beads, whatever…  Suggestion #2:  Seek direct donations!  Suggestion #2:  Join Me…. If every Kansan would donate $1.00 we would have enough to fly EVERY WWII Veteran on the wait list now and the next 500 that sign up to boot!   Think about a $1.00 donation before September 15th~~~ Every WWII Vet in Kansas travels before VETERANS DAY!   www.centralprairiercdc.org     www.centralprairiehonorflights.org