Chamber partners with Elks to offer vets free balloon rides

[July 24, 2013]  The Lincoln/Logan County Chamber of Commerce and the Lincoln Elks Veterans Committee are offering free tethered balloon rides with free admission passes to veterans for the 2013 Lincoln Art & Balloon Festival.

For the free passes, veterans can stop at the Elks Pro Shop between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. any day of the week, at the Lincoln American Legion between 1 and 9 p.m. any day, and at the chamber of commerce office between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday-Friday. Only 150 ride and admission passes are available, so they will be distributed only as long as they last.

The 2012 festival was the first year of the partnership between the chamber and the Elks to offer free balloon rides for veterans in Logan County. George Lacefield, chairman of the Elks Veterans Committee, along with Andi Hake, executive director of the chamber of commerce, both wanted to continue this partnership to honor our veterans.

"We are providing additional locations for veterans to pick up the passes in hopes that this year we have more people take advantage of this wonderful opportunity," said Hake. The Elks committee is donating all the tethered balloon rides, and the chamber board of directors is donating the admission passes to the festival, so veterans can have a great weekend of fun virtually free.

"As a veteran myself, I truly value what these men and women have done for our country and feel this is just a small way to show our local veterans how much we appreciate their service and sacrifice," said Lacefield about why he wants to offer the free rides.

The passes are available to any veteran in Logan County who has served in any branch of our armed services.

Each veteran who comes to one of the designated locations will receive one free weekend admission pass to the Lincoln Art & Balloon Festival on Aug. 23-25. The admission pass will get one veteran a wristband that will allow access to the activities at the Logan County Airport both Friday and Saturday. Veterans will also receive one free tethered balloon ride pass good for one veteran to ride in a main attraction of the weekend -- a hot air balloon. This year there will be two tethered balloons, one being sponsored by local State Farm agents and the other by the chamber of commerce.

Details on times of rides and a schedule of activities during the weekend are available with the Lincoln Art & Balloon Festival's new mobile app, so download it today, or go to www.lincolnillinois.com. Contact Andi Hake or Meghan Hough at the chamber of commerce at 217-735-2385 if technology is not your thing.