Veterans' Favorites - A Taste Of Home Cookbooks Are SOLD OUT!

June 12, 2015 ~ {insert drum roll here} Y'all I am so excited to be able to say that together WE raised $24.014.42 for Central Missouri Honor Flight in 64 incredibly amazing days!!!! I can't even begin to tell you how awesome this is to know that this money was raised for a very deserving organization!

I want to take a moment to say thank you to our awesome sponsors who jumped on board somewhat blindly trusting that what we were about to embark on would be a wonderful thing. Those sponsors paid for the production of 1,562 "Veterans' Favorites - A Taste of Home" cookbook allowing 100% of the $15.00 for each cookbook to go directly to Central Missouri Honor Flight! Another huge thank you to a wonderful community (and beyond) that promoted, supported and purchased cookbooks but most importantly a huge thank you to our men and women who have served and/or currently serving our country. 

Our Sponsors:

Columbia, MO and Jefferson City, MO

Columbia, MO - Branch

Columbia, MO

Columbia, MO 

Columbia, MO 

Huntsville, MO

Jennifer Gerling, Agent

Jefferson City, MO

Matt Pieter Office

Boonville, MO 

There are far too many people to list but thank you to everyone for your hard work, dedication, care and compassion towards the Central Missouri Honor Flight organization and our veterans.... together WE are helping to pay for airfare for 78 very deserving veterans and that's pretty darn exciting!!!

 

Cooking Up a Major Fundraiser for Central Missouri Honor Flight

It took only 64 days for a local cookbook, filled page-to-page with nearly 400 veterans’ favorite recipes, to sell out completely. Because of the success of the “Veterans’ Favorites – A Taste of Home,” Central Missouri Honor Flight (CMHF) has received more than $24,000 (100% of the cookbook sale proceeds), which will enable 78 very deserving veterans of World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War to travel free of charge to Washington, DC, to see their respective war memorials.   

Last year a small group of women in Columbia began brainstorming fundraising ideas for CMHF, and the idea for a cookbook took hold. These dedicated volunteers had no idea that by using only social media to ask their friends and family to help spread the word and to submit their veteran’s favorite recipe, they would sell out of the cookbooks in 2 months and make such a tremendous contribution to this local non-profit organization.

Once the recipes started flooding in, the same small group of women began typing, proofreading and editing the recipes. On April 9, the cookbook was released for sale. One of the many business sponsors, Michele Spry with Midway Electric, Inc./Midway CSI, says the campaign’s success can be attributed to several factors. “The beauty of the cookbook lies in the recipes,” she says. “They come from veterans who had served, families of those who were lost and those who are currently serving. This cookbook is a wonderful reminder to all of us of the sacrifices made by these heroes from various conflicts.”

Eight mid-Missouri businesses -- Hawthorn Bank (Columbia/Jefferson City); Bobcat of St. Louis (Columbia); Midway Electric, Inc. (Columbia); Midway CSI (Columbia); Mutrux Automotive (Columbia); Don’s Family Style Buffet (Huntsville); Wallstreet Insurance – Jennifer Gerling, Agent (Jefferson City); and Edward Jones – Matt Peiter Office (Boonville) – served as sponsors and paid for the production and printing of 1,562 cookbooks ensuring that 100% of the sales would go directly to CMHF. Dave Timpone, Marketing Manager for Bobcat of St. Louis, designed the beautiful front and back cover of the cookbook. Timpone said, “It was an honor and a privilege to work on this design for such an amazing organization.”  

The cookbooks were sold at the sponsor locations and through volunteer organizers. On June 12, 2015, just 64 days after the public release of these cookbooks, each of the sponsoring businesses sold out.  Cindy Mutrux, with Mutrux Automotive says she is impressed to see wide-ranging support, “Our generous community, as well as those in the states of Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Michigan and Texas, made this fundraiser successful because of their willingness to support Central Missouri Honor Flight.” She and Michele both note that special thanks should go to Cathy Rupard with Midwest Mailing who jumped on board to pay for the mailing fees to mail cookbooks free of charge to anyone who was not near a sponsor location or could not pick up their cookbooks.

Michele says, “The key is to this successful fundraiser is that our community came together for the same purpose, to benefit our veterans. From some extraordinary businesses coming on as our sponsors, and a caring, compassionate and generous community, we were able to sell out of 1,562 cookbooks with all of the money going to Central Missouri Honor Flight in just 64 days! Truly incredible!”

A large check will be presented to CMHF on Sunday, Aug. 9, at 2 p.m. at the Welcome Home Party for Honor Flight #34. The media are welcome to attend for photos and interviews with CMHF board members and fundraiser organizers.  

Central Missouri Honor Flight, an all-volunteer organization, started in 2009, flies veterans to Washington, D.C. for a one-day trip to see the war memorials dedicated to their service to our country. More than 2,000 local veterans have safely traveled to the nation’s capital from central Missouri. Guardians on each flight must pay their own airfare. Flight preference is given to World War II and terminally ill veterans, followed by veterans of the Korean War and Vietnam War. For more information, and to find veteran applications, go to www.centralmissourihonorflight.com.

(The following was a press release typed by Shelley Becker, a board member of Central Missouri Honor Flight and sent to media throughout the Mid-Missouri area)