PLATTSBURGH — A couple months ago, The Grass Hole Cannabis in Plattsburgh challenged other local organizations to collaborate with them and raise money for the North Country Honor Flight this year.
The challenge was more than successful.
Together, The Grass Hole Cannabis, American Legion Post 1619, Sons of the American Legion, American Legion Riders and the American Legion Auxiliary raised $20,400 and presented the North Country Honor Flight with the money Friday.
“We wanted to raise enough money to send 16 people on these fights, and they took the challenge. and then the Auxiliary kicked in more money, and the Legion Riders kicked in more money and then the Legion, through their sale of T-shirts and their collections, they kicked in another $4,000,” Brent Rogers, owner of The Grass Hole Cannabis, said at the American Legion Post 1619 in Morrisonville on Friday.
“So actually, we’re sending a dozen veterans and a dozen guardians this year on the Honor Flight.”
North Country Honor Flight Executive Director Barrie Finnegan did not realize the amount raised had reached $20,000.
“Just a great surprise,” Finnegan said. “They talked about doing a fundraiser, and we never expected anything like this.
“And then they told us what the amount was yesterday: $16,000. By the time we got here today, it’s over $20,000. It’s just the gift that keeps on giving.”
Finnegan said the funds come at a crucial time when the cost to run the Honor Flight, which brings eight groups of war veterans down to Washington, D.C., to see their war memorials annually, keeps rising.
“At a time when everything’s getting so expensive, this is really a big deal for us,” he said. “Every bit just adds up, and it seems to go so quick.”
For perspective, Finnegan said the Honor Flight spends $70,000 in one day on a trip to D.C.
“It’s very expensive. By the time you add in the plane, the lunch, the dinner, the jackets and the hats and the shirts and all of that, it adds up very quickly,” he said.
“We’ve done our work to make sure there’s nowhere else we can save money on, so … we skimp every penny we can, and we make sure that these veterans get the day that they deserve.”
The next Honor Flight is scheduled for Saturday, June 20. The public can attend the send-off ceremony prior to the flight on the U.S. Oval in Plattsburgh at 7 a.m.
Rogers said it’s amazing they were able to raise this money for area veterans.
“They really appreciate it,” he said.
“You talk to them after they come home, and it’s like they’re all smiles, and they can’t believe the parade and everything that goes on for them, and they really enjoy that.”