Business Aviation Essential to Local Economies and National Interest
Cessna Citations To Fly 800 Athletes to Special Olympics This Month
July 15, 2010
Note: An episode of ‘NBAA Flight Plan’ podcast featuring a conversation about the 2010 Citation Special Olympics Airlift with Cessna Chairman, President and CEO Jack Pelton, is now available online. Listen now.
Business aircraft have long provided flights in support of worthwhile initiatives, and that tradition will again be in evidence over the next two Saturdays.
On July 17th and 24th, hundreds of athletes will be transported by business airplanes to this year’s Special Olympics USA National Games in Lincoln, NE, courtesy of Cessna Citation owners who are donating their company’s airplanes, pilots and fuel to fly the athletes to and from the games at no charge.
The event takes shape as the “Cessna Citation Special Olympics Airlift,” sponsored by the Cessna Aircraft Company. The first airlift was conducted in 1987; some 160 companies using Cessna business jets from coast to coast are participating in the initiative for this year’s games.
The slogan for this year’s airlift is, “Everybody Needs A Lift Every Now and Then.” Planning for the event has required more than a year, and involves representatives from Cessna, the Federal Aviation Administration, and officials with Lincoln’s airport and business community.
“When Cessna first proposed this Special Olympics Airlift several years ago, a lot of companies stood up and said, ‘yes, this is something I want to be involved in,’” said Rhonda Fullerton, Cessna’s Citation Special Olympics Airlift Director. “The airlift has allowed more young athletes to compete, because travel expense is the biggest part of their budget. For some 800 competitors and their coaches, we’ve been able to eliminate that expense.”
Cessna Chairman, President and CEO Jack Pelton agreed, noting: “Our customers who own Citations are successful business people who have a real passion for giving back and use their business aircraft for that.”
National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) President and CEO Ed Bolen, who will participate as a volunteer in this year’s event said: “NBAA applauds the companies of all sizes, all across the U.S., who are providing their airplanes in the service of the Cessna Citation Special Olympics Airlift. This event shows yet again the value of business aviation in providing transport for worthy initiatives.”
Cessna’s Fullerton concluded: “The athletes make it all worthwhile. When you open the door of that Citation, they come out and they’ve got these smiles from ear to ear.”
To learn more about the 2010 Cessna Citation Special Olympics Airlift, visit: http://www.airlift.cessna.com
An episode of ‘NBAA Flight Plan’ podcast featuring a conversation about the 2010 Citation Special Olympics Airlift with Cessna Chairman, President and CEO Jack Pelton, is now available online. Listen now.
