The Plattsburgh State men’s basketball team will welcome SUNY Cortland to Memorial Hall tonight at 7:30 p.m., but before the game begins, the Cardinals will welcome another guest with a tremendous mission.
The Cards are presenting a $650 check before tip-off to North Country Honor Flight, an organization that aims to locate and fly local World War II and Korean War veterans to Washington D.C. to see their war memorials.
PSUC head coach Tom Curle and senior forward Kyle Richardson have the honor of physically handing the donation to North Country Honor Flight director Barrie Finnegan.
The Cards’ donation stems from the men’s basketball team’s victory in the Sixth Annual Bed Races, sponsored by the Rotary Club of Plattsburgh, during the 2015 Battle of Plattsburgh commemorative weekend.
To view more videos, visit our Multimedia page.After the team won $650 through the Bed Race, Richardson brought Honor Flight to the attention of his teammates and explained to them what the organization was about and what its mission was.Richardson is part of PSUC’s public relations campaign class, which has teamed with Honor Flight to help further the organization’s mission. Richardson enjoys being part of the class and is excited for tonight’s game and ceremony.
“When you put on an event like that, you want to be able to show off to the people who have come to support you,” Richardson said. “We want to go out there and put on a show, make it a good ceremony for these veterans and give the fans something they want to see.”
In addition to the pregame presentation, raffle tickets will be sold outside the gym with all proceeds going toward Honor Flight’s mission. The winner, who will be announced at halftime, will receive a $25 gift card to Sweet Frog in Plattsburgh.
Finnegan said the night is going to be a fantastic help to Honor Flight and hopes the event introduces the organization to the college campus and helps locate as many local veterans as possible. He also urged people to talk with World War II veterans if given the opportunity.
“If you get a chance to talk with a World War II veteran, you better do it soon because some day you are going to look back and say, ‘Boy, I had a chance, and I didn’t do it,’ and regret is one of the worst things you can experience in life,” Finnegan said.
PSUC Associate Professor of Public Relations and Journalism Colleen Lemza, who teaches the campaign class that works with Honor Flight, said the basketball game tonight will be a great opportunity to showcase the organization’s cause.
“This basketball event can help bring the campus and community together to see what North Country Honor Flight is about,” Lemza said.
Lemza also said the night will create an exciting atmosphere for all attendees and will assist North Country Honor Flight’s ultimate mission: Locate local World War II and Korean War veterans and give them the honor they all deserve.
Email Joey LaFranca at sports@cardinalpointsonline.com
