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The donation of three charters by American Airlines, with pilots and flight attendants giving their vacation time to bring Snowball Express families to Orange County California, is an example of charity literally reaching new heights. One of the pilots was so touched, he said he felt like he was flying Air Force One. His charter picked up families in four cities and each time he left the gate, the control towers directed him to be first to take off. One of the flight attendants said it was the most rewarding flight she'd been on in over 30 years. |
My Snowball Express Memories Last October I found myself on a conference call with Mr. Roy White, Chairman of the Board of the Snowball Express Organization volunteering to be a flight attendant for a Snowball Express flight to the west coast. Before I knew it, I was the Coordinator of Snowball Express #1. In the process of communicating with all my Snowball Express families, I truly came to know them as people, not just statistics. When I wasn’t flying for American Airlines, I was working on my Snowball flight. When November 29th finally arrived, I was so excited. I was going to be able to put faces to all the names of people that up until that point were just names on pieces of paper and voices on the phone. As I came up the jet bridge from the aircraft to enter the terminal at JFK, I saw Barbara A. I knew it was her because she had four little boys, ages 4, 6, 7, and 8. Finally there right in front of me was Trevor, Colin, Sean and little Jeremy. My eyes started to well up. I had to turn around to dry my tears and compose myself. As I met each family at Kennedy Airport, Dulles, Norfolk and Nashville I had to keep my emotions in check. All the hard work was worth every minute I spent doing it. The Mayor of Norfolk came up to me to thank me and shook my hand. I thanked him but told him he needed to thank these families that were all around us. They are the true spirit of which kept our fight aloft all the way to California. These families have paid the ultimate price for our freedoms. Their Dad or Mom will not be at their graduations or wedding, yet they are so incredibly proud to be Americans. When the National Anthem was played at Oakley on Saturday, every child there had their hand on their heart. You could overhear conversations between kids talking about their lost parent. Other kids felt the same way they did. They were not different or alone in their feelings. I saw one little boy let go of his balloon and he said, “This is for you Dad” as he looked towards the heavens. Spending the entire five days with my Snowball Express #1 Gang was the most memorable experience of my life. Helping where I was needed and pushing strollers through Disneyland with children with the biggest smiles you’ve ever seen. Does it get much better than that? Roy told us at our initial conference call, “This will change your life”. No truer words were ever spoken. While this was the hardest, most time consuming, labor intense thing I’ve ever done, by far it’s been the most rewarding thing I’ve ever accomplished. I’d gladly pay Snowball Express to allow me to do it again next year. My husband Christopher said to me just as I was starting this adventure, “Honey, I hope it’s everything you want it to be”. Yes! It was everything and more! I’ve made many friends for life and look forward to seeing them again next year on the Snowball Express.
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2006 & 2007 Sponsor