Rio Rancho Regional Chamber of Commerce group raises $5,000 for Honor Flight of Northern New Mexico

The Rio Rancho Regional Chamber of Commerce Visionaries hosted its second annual Brewathlon at Brew Lab 101 on June 8 and raised $5,000 for Honor Flight of Northern New Mexico.

Wednesday morning, dozens of Chamber Visionaries gathered at Fairwinds Rio Rancho to present the local nonprofit with a check.

“It took an entire group to put this together, and today is the day that we get to provide Honor Flight with an awesome check and a donation to the great things that they do,” RRRCC President and CEO Jerry Schalow said. “Honor Flight is one of the greatest organizations that nobody knows. We are so excited to be able to provide you guys with $5,000 towards the awesome mission that you have. It's a great organization and more folks need to know about it.”

Dozens came out in June to take part in Pong and Cornhole tournaments that doubled as a fundraiser for Honor Flight of Northern New Mexico, a 501 c-3 nonprofit organization dedicated to providing veterans with honor and closure by taking them free of charge to reflect on their memorials in Washington, D.C.

This summer, Honor Flight of Northern New Mexico flew 31 veterans to the nation’s capitol to visit their respective memorials.

Honor Flight’s next trip is scheduled for June 2025. The $5,000 raised by the Chamber Visionaries will cover the cost of three veterans to take “the flight of their lives” to D.C. next summer.

Honor Flight of Northern New Mexico President Adeline Herrera said one veteran from the Korean War has already signed up for the June trip.

“We love what we do. I keep telling everybody, as I get goosebumps, doing what we do, I'm going to keep doing it because the veterans that go on our trip are truly, truly appreciative of the flight,” Herrera said. “We had one gentleman this year that said that he got to be a soldier again after 50-something years, and he felt what it was like to be with his comrades, which was really cool, so thank you for all of us; $1,500 is the current rate to take each veteran, so this is going to help us a lot. We still fundraise for the rest of this stuff. We are small but we are a little mighty crew and we try to do a lot, but we love our veterans.”

Visionaries is a group of professionals within the chamber of commerce that focuses on connecting businesses in Rio Rancho. The Visionaries develop informational programs, as well as networking events, for local professionals. Through Visionaries, members get connected to volunteer opportunities within the chamber and the broader community.

Nearly three dozen people participated in the fundraiser tournament with volunteers also selling art and shirts to raise more money for Honor Flight.

Visionaries Chair Mike Teske thanked all the sponsors who made Brewathlon a success, which in turn helped Honor Flight.

“Our goal was $5,000, and we nailed that goal,” Teske said. “It's a fantastic event; we had a great turnout. It's going to keep growing and getting better.”