Plane-pull raises more than $45,000 for charity
Teams pulled a Boeing 757 jet in a fundraiser for the United Way at New York Stewart International Airport.
The region’s first-ever plane-pull, a fundraiser for the United Way of DutchessOrange Region, took place Saturday at New York Stewart International Airport.
Nine teams of 20 people each competed for the fastest time in this first-of-itskind event in the Hudson Valley. The competition, which involved the teams pulling a FedEx Boeing 757 jet with a rope, raised more than $45,000 for various charities supported by United Way.
“This is a brand new event for us, and it will be the only one in our geographic area,” said Jeannie Montano, president of United Way of the Dutchess-Orange Region. “We really wanted to do something different that would engage our community and offer a competition that was both fun and challenging.”
Montano, who hopes to make this an annual event, thanked FedEx for providing the aircraft that was pulled by the teams, as well as Stewart for providing the location.
Said Airport Manager Ed Harrison, “You don’t see people pulling a FedEx 757 around too often. It’s a great competition. It’s a fun thing. It’s great for FedEx and United Way and New York Stewart International.
“It brings the community together for the great work that United Way does.”
Registrants could sign up as teams or as individuals. Regardless of registration format, each individual registrant was required to pay a $20 registration fee and agree to raise $200 via a crowd-funded fundraiser. This was accomplished by way of personal fundraising pages provided by United Way to each registrant. The page was shareable via social media. Participants also got a toolkit with information about the event and how to fundraise successfully.
Among those attending the event was state Sen. Sue Serino, R-Hyde Park. She spoke briefly before the event.
“Everything you guys do is a credit to our community,” Serino said of United Way. “Thank you to Stewart Airport for hosting this; it was the first time I’ve ever seen something like this being done, so I was really excited. Thank you, everybody, from the bottom of my heart.”
Among the teams in attendance were representatives of Central Hudson, Hannaford, Hudson Valley Federal Credit Union, FedEx, McKesson, Geodis and Poughmentum, a coalition of business owners and volunteers from Poughkeepsie, which won the event.