The new Bow Bar, an extension of Strongbow Inn, was filled to the brim on Friday evening. There was a special celebration taking place there that celebrated the Honor Flight.
There was a special guest at the party. Many will recognize the name as there are lots of Blackhawks fans in the area: Jim Cornelison.
Cornelison is a classically trained opera singer and he has been singing the National Anthem for the Blackhawks since 2008. Cornelison is very passionate about military efforts and with the opportunities that have come his way he was able to get involved in various organizations that help active duty military service men and women, veterans, and their families. One of these initiatives is Honor Flight.
An Honor Flight gives veterans a chance to visit the memorials for the wars in which they served that are located in Washington D.C. Non-profit organizations make this possible for them by covering the cost of their trip and providing them with volunteer guardians who escort them on their flight and around the city. This is just one small way that we can give back to the men and women who have done so much for us.
Len Sherwinski, a representative for Honor Flight Chicago, was at the party.
"This event will gain donations that are going to go to Honor Flight Chicago, so we are here to help get the dollars to support our next flight that is going out," Sherwinski said.
Honor Flight was the idea of Earl Morse, a physician assistant and Retired Air Force Captain. The first inaugural Honor Flight took place in May of 2005.
"Jim Cornelison is a friend of mine as well as a customer," Fred Cicco, owner of John Cicco's Menswear in Valparaiso said. "He is very involved with veterans causes. John Cicco's Menswear and VisionPoint are sponsoring Jim, and we are having him come out to sing the National Anthem at Valparaiso University. We wanted to do more with him while he was here so we are having this party to give people a chance to meet him and make donations to the Honor Flight Network."
Many people came out to meet Cornelison. He signed autographs, took photos with the many Blackhawks fans in attendance, and just relaxed. After the party, Cornelison headed over to Valparaiso University where he sang the National Anthem at the beginning of that night's men's basketball game.
"I decided to come and sing at the VU college basketball game because this is fun for me and I wanted to support Honor Flight," Cornelison said. "I've been involved with veterans organizations for the last few years. Honor Flight is one of those. I've been out to numerous events in the Chicagoland Area. My mom is a WWII vet -both of my parents were. It's a nice thing to do for these people. They generally never expect it. And so that's cool. They grew up in a way and in a time when they were just doing what they understood needed to be done as opposed to doing anything for any kind of special treatment. It's always important to be able to get out and help our veterans."
Donations from the Honor Flight Party will be given to Prompt Ambulance Service's Lake County Taste of Care Fund, which is a non-profit organization connected to the Legacy Foundation. From there a donation will be made to Honor Flight Chicago.
{valpo}Click here to see more photos from the event!{/valpo}{portage}Click here to see more photos from the event!{/portage}
Sponsors: John Cicco's Menswear, Vision Point, Strongbow Inn, Indiana Beverage.