Thursday, January 24th, 2013
Wings Club President Bruce Whitman, an Air Force Veteran and President and CEO of FlightSafety International, presents award to Veterans Advantage founder Scott Higgins on behalf of Veterans Advantage in a special ceremony at the Yale Club in New York City.
(click image to enlarge)
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I am delighted to announce that the Wings Club, a premier organization of aviation industry leaders and executives, recently honored Veterans Advantage. The award, presented to me by Bruce Whitman, President of the Wings Club and President & CEO of FlightSafety International, a Buffet company, cited Veterans Advantage’s outstanding commitment to our nation’s military, veterans and their families through the establishment of our unique benefits program, including our exclusive partnership with United Airlines.
As noted in our joint press release with the Wings Club, Veterans Advantage is honored and proud to have received this recognition by such a distinguished group. The Wings Club is an organization that has been in existence for most of modern aviation history, and many high-ranking military leaders have been involved in the club since its founding during World War II. Generals Tooey Spaatz, Curtiss LeMay, Dwight Eisenhower (who gave the Annual Dinner address in 1947) and Jimmie Doolittle (who won the first Distinguished Achievement Award from The Wings Club) have been some of the notable military men affiliated with the Wings Club.
We were pleased to host our partner United Airlines and their key New York-based executives at the luncheon award event. United is also a corporate member of the Wings Club. Airline executives have always been active members in the club beginning with Pan American World Airways founder Juan Trippe, C.R. Smith of American Airlines and Piedmont Airlines’ Tom Davis to Frederick Smith of FedEx, Robert Crandall of American Airlines, Herb Kelleher of Southwest Airlines, and Continental’s Gordon Bethune. Veterans Advantage began its United discount program in 2004 with Continental Airlines under the leadership of Gordon Bethune, a Navy Veteran, then CEO. The Veterans Advantage program was subsequently assumed by United, the world’s largest airline, under the terms of the merger in 2010. We are very excited by the growth in our newly expanded partnership.
Representing Veterans Advantage (l. to r.): Veterans Advantage Advisory Board Member Gerry Byrne, VP of Marketing Roy Asfar, Founder Scott Higgins, Wings Club President Bruce Whitman, United NYC Representatives Elise Antonelli, Rob Corbo and Christine Cormier; Veterans Advantage Advisory Board Member Paul W. Bucha. (click image to enlarge)
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But above all, I am humbled to be recognized as the founder and CEO of Veterans Advantage, among all these industry greats. It is also a humbling reminder that our program is part of something much larger than ourselves. Veterans Advantage is part of a greater mission to deliver the respect, recognition, and rewards that military service and its sacrifices most rightfully deserves. It is about thanking those who serve our country everyday of the year with real benefits.
As our team at Veterans Advantage advances forward in our 13th year of delivering on our mission, we rely on the invaluable support of our benefit partners, like United, our members, and organizations like the Wings Club to keep us on the right flight path. To coin a favorite phrase from Wings Club President Whitman, we wish Veterans Advantage, our program partners and supporters, and our members “tailwinds” in 2013.
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