Military & Veterans Life
Veterans Day 2019: A Week of Celebration
For our 2019 Veterans Day celebration, Veterans Advantage participated in a full week of events to pay tribute to all who have served in the United States Armed Forces. We hosted several entertainment events for our members and launched a new partnership with American Airlines, with a new member benefit of up to 10% OFF global travel with the world's largest airline.
"This is our favorite time of year to recognize our active-duty military and veteran community for their dedication and service to our country, said H. Scott Higgins, Veterans Advantage co-Founder and co-CEO, “and we also want to show our gratitude for the support of our partner coalition, who have helped us create exclusive rewards for our members for the past 20 years, and now most recently with American Airlines.”
Veterans Advantage is a co-founder of Veterans Week NYC, an annual week of military and veteran events surrounding the New York City Veterans Day Parade, the largest in the nation, and supported by a New York City Mayoral Proclamation. The eighth annual Veterans Week NYC 2019 had our largest commitment of Veterans Advantage sponsorships since its beginnings: Northrop Grumman, IMAX, Avis, Budget, 7-Eleven, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, Dell, 1800Flowers.com, and Harry & David.
At the start of Veterans Week NYC, Veterans Advantage hosted our Heroes Meet Heroes event sponsored by Northrop Grumman Corporation for active-duty military, veterans, national guard, reservists, coast guard and their families who were invited to meet U.S. Olympians and world-class athletes at the historic New York Athletic Club in New York City.
"Northrop Grumman is thrilled to be part of the Veterans Week NYC team for a second time, on the grand stage of New York City," said Sandra Evers-Manly, Northrop Grumman Vice President of Global Corporate Responsibility and President of the Northrop Grumman Foundation. "We employ thousands of Veterans at Northrop Grumman and deeply appreciate their service to our country."
Military, veterans and their family members enjoyed a complimentary catered lunch buffet, took photos with U.S. Olympic Team members, met distinguished Medal of Honor recipients Paul W. Bucha, Master Sergeant Matthew Williams, Staff Sergeant Ronald J. Shurer II, and guests had the opportunity to catch the NFL game on a big screen.
On Veterans Day, Veterans Advantage had a float in New York City's Veterans Day Parade, the largest in the nation. This was our 10th straight year of Veterans Advantage participation in the parade, which also marked the nation's 100th year of observing Veterans Day, formerly called Armistice Day. Scott Higgins, a Vietnam War Veteran, who formerly co-chaired the New York City Vietnam Veteran Memorial Commission, was also interviewed parade-side by the parade broadcast network WABC-TV.
Later that day, Veterans Advantage hosted for its members a free, private screening that was a pre-theatrical release of 20th Century Fox's "Ford v Ferrari" sponsored by IMAX. The event included free popcorn, drinks and IMAX T-shirts for all the movie-goers.
"We are honored to have our longstanding partnership with Veterans Advantage in providing top quality IMAX movies on Veterans Week," said IMAX CEO Richard Gelfond. " With this screening, we are proud to recognize the service and sacrifice of our nation's military and Veterans, who protect the liberties we cherish.”
The film stars two Academy Award-winning actors: Matt Damon as the visionary American car designer Carroll Shelby, and Christian Bale as the fearless British-born driver Ken Miles. The movie profiles a thrilling 1966 run for victory in the 24 Hours of Le Mans auto race, the world's oldest active sports car race in endurance racing.
The movie held special interest for our members as both Shelby and Miles served in the military. Shelby enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps, serving in World War II as a flight instructor and test pilot. Miles was a tank commander for the British Army in World War II.
As a final highlight of Veterans Day 2019, Veterans Advantage and American Airlines announced a large global partnership with the creation of a VetRewards Exclusive delivering a new military discount of up to 10% on American Airlines flights.
“We are proud to continue our commitment to our nation’s military by recognizing their service through this offer,” said David Seymour, Senior Vice President of Operations at American and a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, in a joint statement. “We hope our service members and their families will take advantage of this opportunity to travel the beautiful country they’ve served and venture beyond its borders to our neighbors around the globe.”
