It takesabout $80,000 to fully support just one Honor Flight. $30,000 of that is paid for by the Guardians that accompany the veterans and that leaves just $50,000 to sponsor a flight.

The Edward W. Knapper VFW Post 6174 is hoping that through the residents, various organizations, and businesses in the Eldridge and North Scott area that we can raise that amount to be able to say that we, as a community have fully funded one Honor Flight.

The post has opened an account at DuTrac Credit Union in Eldridge that will receive deposits from the community. If one is depositing a check, it needs to be made out to either VFW Post 6174 (with notation to HONOR FLIGHT) or it can be made out to Honor Flight of the Quad Cities, as they have established a local account as well.

Honor Flight of the Quad Cities is a non-profit 501(C)3 organization. Your donation is tax deductible.  For background information: http://www.honorflightqc.com/

We are looking for donations both large and small. From pocket change to memorials, all donations are welcome.

We are looking for any fundraising source that may be out there; classroom projects, neighborhood donations, sewing circles, book clubs, Sunday School collections, service organizations, and collectors clubs are all possibilities.

We will have containers placed at various businesses around town. We urge anyone that wishes to have a container placed in their place of business to call Duane Miller at 285-8613 and he will get one there for you. This would be a great way to honor any veteran; whether it be your brother, sister, spouse, parent, grandparent, or classmate.

Our ultimate goal is to get all WWII veterans out to Washington DC to see their memorial. The number of WWII vets is diminishing every day. Korean Vets are now eligible and hopefully Honor Flights will continue long enough to be able to include Vietnam Vets as well.

The local VFW is passing along 100% of all donations. We have no administration fees to deduct from your generosity. What we take from this project is the satisfaction of getting more veterans recognized for their service to our country.

Please contact Duane Miller for any additional information you may need.

On Friday, August 6 and Saturday, August 7, The Big 6 River Bend Chapter of the Studebaker Drivers Club will host the 2010 Upper Mississippi Valley Zone Meet in the Quad Cities.

Starting on Friday morning Studebakers from the upper Midwest will start converging on the Stoney Creek Inn in Moline.
Saturday the cars will be on view most of the day in the Moline owned parking lot between Stoney Creek Inn and the I-74 bridge.  Studebaker manufactured automobiles from 1903 until 1965 and there will be many examples of these fine cars on display.

Those that want to can view the cars both days completely FREE OF CHARGE to the public.

The Studebaker Drivers Club (www.studebakerdriversclub.com) holds an international meet every year. The individual Zones also hold an annual meet somewhere in their area.  The local Big 6 River Bend Chapter is hosting the Upper Mississippi Valley Zone (www.big6sdc.com/umvz) this year. For more information about the meet, you can feel free to contact either of the co-chairs. Contact information is at (www.big6sdc.com/zonemeet).