Help Us Give Haiti Hope!

University of Tennessee Katie Riley holds a Haitian baby during her most recent visit to the country

Since 1999 the Haiti Outreach Program based in Knoxville has been working with groups like Partners in Health and Sacred Heart Parish to improve the healthcare, education and economy in the community of Boucan Carre, Haiti.  The organization helped construct a new primary school in 2004 and is now working to build a new secondary school and clinic.

Here at Prestige Cleaners we are happy support such a worthy cause by being a sponsor of Fierce and Fancy Formals Fashion Show and Dress Sale, an annual fundraiser sponsored by the Haiti Outreach Program at Sacred Heart Parish and the Give Haiti Hope Club at the University of Tennessee.

For the third year the organization will sell used prom dresses and formals to raise money for the school.  Dresses that are in good condition can be donated at any Prestige store.  We clean the dresses at no charge to the organization and deliver them to the event location.  Last year we cleaned over 200 formals for the event.  According to organizers it’s a great way for families looking for prom dresses to get “a good deal”.  The event raised $10,000 in 2011.

Prestige employees Tammy Parmentier (l) and Denna Baker get ready to wrap a donated and cleaned prom dress.

All proceeds from the event will support the construction of the St. Michel Secondary School in Boucan Carre scheduled to be completed this year.  The school was made possible through a grant from Charles Kite and Xinery Corporation.

Preschool students at the St. Michel's Preschool in Boucan Carre, Haiti

The Fashion and Dress Sale is March 3, 2012 at the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame.  The cost of a ticket is $8 for students and $10 for adults in advance and $12 at the door.

Any dresses not sold during the event will be for sale on March 4^th and March 10^th and 11^th at the former Linda’s Hallmark space on Executive Park Drive.  No ticket is required to participate in the sale of these dresses.

University of Tennessee student Katie Erpenbach and Father David Boettner of Knoxville dance with local people at a street party upon their arrival in Boucan Carre.

For questions about the event or how to purchase contact Co-Chairs Katie Riley at Katie.Riley@givehaitihope.org or Jennifer Neil at jenniferneil@givehaitihope.org.

Coats for those in need

Bruce Meck takes in a coat donation from Prestige customer Janet Beavus.

Coats for the Cold is a program established by WIVK over 25 years ago.  The Knoxville tradition began when a homeless man was found frozen to death on the streets of Knoxville one cold winter night.  Today Knox Area Rescue Ministries (KARM) spearheads the coat drive in partnership with WIVK, WVLT and Prestige Cleaners.

Prestige has been a major sponsor of the program for twelve years, cleaning over 125,000 coats.  Coats are dropped off at any of our ten stores and employees sort and clean the coats and deliver them to KARM.

The volunteer spirit is strong amongst Prestige employees and this project enables them to make a difference in the life of someone less fortunate.  Prestige employee Jenia shared “This means a lot because our house burned down in 1993 and we lost everything we had.  We had a blizzard that year and people brought us things in black garbage bags.  We did not care if they matched or not.  We appreciated everything and everyone who helped us.  Coats for the Cold gives me a way of helping others when they are in need.  It touches my heart.”

Debbie said, “This opportunity means a lot to me.  I know what it is like to have no money, no place to live and no clothes.  Coats for the Cold is a wonderful thing.  I try to always help people who live around me that are struggling now.”

Perhaps Billy summed it up best.  “I feel like giving any way I can.  Being a part of humanity is giving back any way possible.”

This year coats will be distributed to needy people on December 3 from 8 a.m. to Noon at the KARM Thrift Store at 733 Hall of Fame Drive.  For information about volunteering for the event go to www.karm.org.

This is a lot of coats! So far we've cleaned over 2,000 for this year!

Jennifer McKamey and David Campbell sort the coats before they are cleaned.

Dina Baker puts a load of coats in the washer for cleaning.

Volunteer spirits keep HonorAir flying

The team reviews the flight itinerary.

HonorAir Knoxville recently completed its 11^th flight of World War II and Korean War veterans to Washington D.C. to see the memorials built to honor their sacrifices.  Over 1200 East Tennessee veterans have participated in the flights since they began in 2007.

The organization of the trip is often compared to the precision of a military operation.  It is true that planning a full day of activities in another city for 130 veterans and 40 volunteer escorts is a major undertaking.  And it could not be done without a very valuable team of volunteers.  We have been fortunate to have the same core team managing the trips since the flights began.  Today we’re highlighting three of those volunteers all of whom are retired military men.

When we decided we wanted to initiate the program we talked to retired Air Force Colonel Joe Sutter to identify military organizations we should contact and help get us started.  He has served as our flight commander since the first flight.  Volunteering is a family affair for Joe and his wife Geri, who have worked as a team securing the location for orientation before every flight, working with the Interact Club at Catholic High School to recruit students to help at orientation, organizing an Honor Guard for the sendoff, recruiting a photographer to take team pictures, organizing the welcome home party and recruiting our major financial donor.  And we couldn’t forget the tradition of singing service songs on the flight home led by Joe!

Commander Joe leads the singing on the flight home along with Pam King and his daughter Jennifer, both of whom served as Guardians. Not sure we're all singing on key but everyone is having a great time!

Joe recruited retired Air Force Colonel Charlie Harr to serve as a Team Leader for the first flight.  Charlie has been a team leader on each of our eleven flights.  The Team Leader position is a critical one on HonorAir flights.  All Veterans and Guardians are organized into four teams: Red, White, Blue, Green.  The Team Leader works with the Guardians to see that they all make contact with each of their Veterans, that the Veterans have all needed information, and to see that everyone has transportation to and from the airport.  While we are in D.C. we travel on four buses each of which is headed by one of our four team leaders.  One of their major responsibilities is to ensure that each time the team disembarks the bus throughout the day they return with the same number of people.

Team Leader Charlie checking in Veterans on the morning of the flight.

Joe and Charlie together recruited retired Jim Cundall, who served in the Air National Guard, and was Vice President of MEDIC before he retired.  Jim is really the heart of our operation, responsible for processing Veteran and Guardian applications and answering their questions.  He organizes the flight manifest and recruits veterans at the last minute should one of the registered veterans be unable to go.  He travels to Chattanooga and Tri-Cities to orient Guardians and Veterans who cannot get to the Knoxville orientation.  There is probably not one HonorAir volunteer who spends more time on the project than Jim and he probably talks to every veteran who flies with us at some point.  Jim’s wife Nancy has also joined our volunteer team helping with team pictures on the day of the flight and organizing the welcome home party.

Jim shares a story with Veterans at the airport.

HonorAir is extremely fortunate that these three men decided to give back to their community and make a difference by working with our organization to honor our area veterans.  It’s another great example of the volunteer spirit in East Tennessee!

Joe converses with Alex Matthews, one of our regular bus tourguides.

Jim has his own system for handing out letters during Mail Call.

HonorAir rides the airwaves

WIVK Hosts Radiothon to Benefit HonorAir

The phones started ringing at 6:00 a.m. at WIVK a couple of weeks ago and didn’t stop until 10:00 a.m. when the HonorAir Knoxville radiothon, hosted by the station on the popular Andy and Alison and the Morning Crew program, came to a close.  WVLT Volunteer TV, a co-sponsor of the radiothon, aired the first hour of the event.

7am...one hour in and time for more coffee.

The goal was to raise $60,000 which is the approximate cost of a flight to take East Tennessee World War II and Korean War veterans to Washington D.C.  As a result of the radiothon we have raised $45,000 which will fund the flight planned for October 5.   HonorAir has taken ten flights and over 1100 veterans on this special trip.

Sixteen loyal HonorAir volunteers agreed to work the telephones and Charlie Harr, who has been a team captain on all ten flights, served as the Telephone Captain.  Veterans and volunteers who have participated in the program agreed to give interviews on air about their experience and why they feel it is important to raise funds to send as many veterans as possible on HonorAir flights.

Jim and Nancy Cundall get their wires crossed.

The radiothon got off to a good start when Covenant Health represented by Jim VanderSteeg, Executive Vice President presented a check for $10,000.  Covenant has been a $10,000 donor to HonorAir for each of the ten flights.  In addition David Hayes, owner of David’s Carpets, donated $1,000 and challenged other businesses to match it and Tommy Spencer, owner of Senior Home Assistance, donated $1,000 and challenged other businesses providing services for seniors to match it.

David Hayes challenges local businesses to match his $1,000 donation. Thanks David!

The entire HonorAir team is grateful for the generosity of those members of the community who made donations and to the volunteers and interviewees who gave up their time to help ensure the success of the program.  And we couldn’t have done it without the willingness of WIVK and WVLT to support the program.

Anyone wishing to make a donation can do so via PayPal on the HonorAir website at honorairknoxville.com.  HonorAir is a 501 (c) (3) organization so all donations are tax deductible.

Andy, Alison and Gunner broadcasting from WIVK. Who knew the break room could double as a radiothon room?

Of course Sam Hardman was there. He shared his opinions on war, HonorAir, and Jane Fonda.

Art In Public Places

Bart Watkins, Co-Chairman of Art in Public Places and President of Liz-Beth & Co and Lisa Duncan, Executive Director of the Dogwood Arts Festival admire a sculpture entitled Garden by Marc Moulton located in Krutch Park.

I have been involved in the Dogwood Arts Festival for many years and one of my long term goals has been that Knoxville would eventually be seen as an art destination city. This year we will take another step forward toward reaching that goal.

You may have noticed large sculptures along Gay Street, in Krutch Park and even at the airport. They are all part of Art in Public Places, a program of Dogwood Arts introduced in 2007 as a high profile, large-scale outdoor sculpture exhibition. I am proud to have served as co-chair of the project since its inception along with Bart Watkins, President of Liz-Beth & Co. It began as a month long exhibit during the Festival. Now, after five successful exhibitions we are excited that this year it has been expanded to a year-round exhibit.

This year twenty-two sculptures enliven downtown Knoxville and McGhee Tyson Airport. They were juried and selected by John Henry, a sculptor from Chattanooga. John is an internationally recognized sculptor now working on the largest sculpture project in the world in Baltimore, Maryland.

All the pieces can be purchased. In 2010 four pieces from the exhibit were purchased and became permanent art in our community. One piece entitled Flow MoJo by Mike Roig is now located in front of the new transit center. We have also formed a partnership with the University of Tennessee School of Art Sculpture Department and four sculptures created by students can be seen at the UT Gardens.

Although the exhibition enhances the quality of life in the community by increasing public access to art and beautifying the landscape, it makes as large a contribution to economic development. Today innovative companies seek to locate in cities with a vibrant cultural environment. For example, cultural opportunities were a factor in the decision making process that led Volkswagon to locate in Chattanooga.

The sculptures will change annually. A call to artists will be issued in September and the deadline for submitting images of work will be in November. For more information about the sculptures visit the Dogwood Arts Festival website at dogwoodarts.com/art-in-public-places/. More importantly, walk around town and enjoy this very special exhibit that enlivens our landscape!

"A Four Phrase Movement" by John Merigian stands tall in Krutch Park.

Steven Swenor's "Dragonfly Scone" hangs on the Holston Building in Krutch Park.

"Portal" by Mike Roig. Located in Krutch Park.

Celebrating Sam: “The Mayor of Halls” turns 93

Residents of North Knoxville call him the “Mayor of Halls”.  Sam Hardman has earned the title due to his tireless efforts to help make our community a better place.  His participation in and support of a variety of non-profit organizations would put the rest of us younger folks to shame.

Sam takes a break from dinner to pose with me and Lindsey.

Sam returned to Georgia after serving his country in Italy during World War II and applied to the John Housley Cigar Company where he had previously worked.  However, he was told the only job opening was as the manager of the Knoxville branch.  He agreed to move to Knoxville and worked for the company for 42 years.  He met the woman who would become his wife the first day on the new job. They were married for 49 ½ years before her passing.  Since his own retirement he has devoted his time to his community.

Sam has been a member of Woodmen of the World since 1935.  He is the past president of Lodge 875 of the Tennessee Fraternal Congress of Woodmen of the World which distributes the American Patriotic handbook and American flags to various elementary schools.  Through his Woodmen lodge he has helped to build houses for Habitat for Humanity in Maryville, TN, Murray, Kentucky and Abbeville, Louisiana.  He serves on the board of the Halls Welfare Ministry Food Pantry and was one of the people responsible for establishing the pantry.  He still works each week at the food pantry distributing food to the needy.  He was also instrumental in organizing a food drive for the Ronald McDonald House in Knoxville.  Sam is a member of the American Legion Post #2 and serves on the executive committee involved in making arrangements for the annual American Legion Veteran’s Day Parade.  In addition, he is treasurer of his Sunday School class at the Halls Primitive Baptist Church, has been a bell ringer for the Salvation Army, and is a regular attendee of bingo at the Halls Senior Center.  In short, it’s hard to get on Sam’s calendar!

I had the privilege of getting to know Sam when he was one of the veterans selected to go on the second HonorAir Knoxville flight to Washington D.C.  Since that time he has become a champion of HonorAir.  He has personally raised thousands of dollars to ensure the program continues to fly East Tennessee veterans to Washington D.C. to see the memorials built to honor their sacrifices.  He does not miss a flight day, coming in the morning to see the veterans off and in the evening to welcome them home from their journey.  In addition, he has graciously given his time to give media interviews and serve as the spokesperson on the HonorAir PSA.

This month the HonorAir team gathered to help celebrate Sam’s 93rd birthday.  It was the least we could do for a man we are all honored to call friend and who exemplifies the meaning of the term “Greatest Generation”.  Sam’s motto is “do something for someone each and every day.”  He lives this motto and is an example to each of us.

Sam blows out his birthday candles

Sam loved his gift!