Ghidorzi Companies was humbled and honored to welcome the Never Forgotten Honor Flight to the Hilton Garden Inn Wausau for its 30th Mission on Sunday, which also served as an exciting homecoming. The Never Forgotten Honor Flight’s original home base since its inaugural flight on April 27, 2010 was the Howard Johnson Inn & Conference that once stood on the site of the newly opened Hilton Garden Inn.
Mission #30 totaled 103 veterans – two from World War II, three from the Korean War and 98 from the Vietnam War. Chuck Ghidorzi, CEO of Ghidorzi Companies, gave the banquet keynote, which he insisted was merely a welcome to those who served our nation. The Never Forgotten Honor Flight named Chuck and the Ghidorzi organization as the first-ever Medal of Honor sponsorship level of $250,000.
“Thanks to the commitment of the Ghidorzi organization, ours is the only Honor Flight in the nation that can offer veterans, guardians and their guests a home base and dedicated hospitality team. This unique dynamic enhances the Never Forgotten Honor Flight experience, and we truly appreciate it,” said Mike Thompson and Jim Campbell, Co-Founders of the Never Forgotten Honor Flight.
Thompson and Campbell were especially pleased to discover that the bar and restaurant area of the Hilton Garden Inn provides the ideal atmosphere for veterans to share both their stories and their Honor Flight experience. Ghidorzi structured the Hilton Garden Inn conference center to accommodate the Never Forgotten Honor Flight, which kicks off with a military style banquet and entertainment the evening before veterans fly to Washington, D.C. for the trip of a lifetime to tour the memorials that honor their service to our country. Veterans enjoy a two-night stay at the hotel for their travel convenience. Ghidorzi hosts the Never Forgotten Honor Flight free of charge as a small token of appreciation for the service of our great American heroes.
The Never Forgotten Honor Flight has flown 2,747 veterans to date on the trip of a lifetime. Flights take place every April, May, September and October. Dave Junion has captured thousands of images from all 30 missions with his masterful photography and shares them at no cost via www.facebook.com/dave.junion. Photos for Mission #30 can be found at http://junion.com/17/HF30/.
About The Never Forgotten Honor Flight
Never Forgotten Honor Flight is a Wausau-based organization formed in November of 2009. Our goal is simple: to fly veterans in our region who served during World War II, the Korean War or the Vietnam eras to Washington, D.C. to visit the memorials built in their honor. We are an affiliate of the national Honor Flight Network, which began flying in 2006. The Never Forgotten Honor Flight serves 12 counties in Northern Wisconsin, including Wood, Portage, Marathon, Langlade, Lincoln, Taylor, Rusk, Barron, Oneida, Price, Vilas and Iron.
