AVIATION INDUSTRY RALLIES FROM
9/11 TO SUPPORT CORPORATE ANGEL NETWORK VIA GREATER WASHINGTON AVIATION
OPEN
Country's premier aviation charity event
and major fundraiser
SILVER SPRING, MD – The aviation industry will converge on Washington,
D.C. May 6, 2002 for the 14th Annual Greater Washington Aviation Open
(GWAO) charity golf and tennis tournament at the Indian Springs Country
Club in Silver Spring, MD. This year the event will honor the memory
of the airline professionals and passengers who perished on September
11. The event benefits Corporate Angel Network, the national organization
that arranges free air transportation aboard corporate aircraft for
cancer patients traveling for treatment.
Honorary Chair for the GWAO is Congressman Don Young, Chairman of
the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. "I am
pleased to serve as Honorary Chairman of this year's Greater Washington
Aviation Open," he said. "Corporate Angel Network eases
the worry of cancer patients by arranging travel to treatment centers,
and I can't think of a better way to fill seats that would otherwise
go empty on an aircraft. It's going to be a great day of golf and
sunshine; the funds raised are going to an extremely worthwhile cause."
Representing the aviation industry as Honorary Industry Chair is Beth
Haskins, CEO and President of Signature Flight Support, the world's
largest flight support operation, whose workers at Ronald Reagan Washington
National Airport were hard hit by the events of September 11.
"With so much difficulty felt by the aviation industry over the
past year, it is truly uplifting to know that we have the continued
and generous support of its members this year," said Corporate
Angel Network Executive Director, Thomas J. Robertazzi. "The
GWAO plays a vital role in Corporate Angel Network's success. In addition
to being the single largest fundraising event of the year, the GWAO
also helps to heighten awareness of our organization’s mission.”
Together with the golf and tennis tournament, the GWAO will hold a
live auction of flights of fancy, business-class travel packages to
Europe and Asia, and first-class tickets and packages to US destinations
and resorts. For more information or to register, email info@gwao.org
or go to its Web site at
www.gwao.org.
###
Greater Washington Aviation Open
Hosted yearly by the entire aviation industry, the GWAO (www.gwao.org)
has raised more than half a million dollars over the last 13 years
under the direction of Paul Bollinger, HNTB Corporation vice president,
who of heads the tournament committee. More than 2,300 aviation professionals,
congressmen and senators, government officials, and people from across
the country and globe have participated in past tournaments. This
broad mix of people has made the GWAO the largest gathering of aviation
professionals for a sporting charity event in Washington, D.C. and
perhaps America. The event is planned and managed by an all-volunteer
tournament committee.
Corporate Angel Network
Corporate Angel Network (www.CorpAngelNetwork.org) is a national public
charity with only one mission, to provide cancer patients with access
to specialized treatment by arranging free flights using the empty
seats on corporate aircraft traveling on routine business. Since its
inception in 1981, Corporate Angel Network has coordinated more than
14,000 flights for cancer patients aboard member company aircraft
and won numerous awards for volunteerism, including two presidential
citations. Corporate Angel Network has attracted more than 500 of
America's best corporations into its network, including 56 of the
Fortune 100. These companies recognize that flying with vacant seats
is an enormous opportunity to help cancer patients win their battle.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Jeanne Shanin
Phone: (914) 328-1313
jshanin@corpangelnetwork.org
Paul Bollinger
GWAO
703-684-2700
pbollinger@hntb.com
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