Friends of Coal is proud to announce our sponsorship of the Spring 2026 flight from Honor Flight Kentucky.

The mission of Honor Flight Kentucky is to take veterans who served in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam to Washington DC and back in the same day to visit the memorials that are dedicated to their service. This trip is of no cost to veterans. All expenses associated with the trip are being sponsored by Friends of Coal.

As a part of our sponsorship, we have been offered a limited number of seats aboard the plane for veterans that are associated with the coal industry. If you have any veterans in your organization that meet the qualifications listed above, or you have employees who’s parents, siblings, or spouses meet those qualifications, they are eligible to take this trip with us on Saturday, May 9, 2026.

The one day trip includes air transportation to Washington DC from Bluegrass Airport in Lexington, all meals, ground transportation, guided tours of our nation’s capital and a once in a lifetime opportunity to visit several service memorials as part of an Honor Flight.

Honor Flights have been taking place for 20 years and Honor Flight Kentucky has been in existence since 2015. During those 10 years, nearly 1700 Kentucky veterans have been taken to Washington for what is often described as a “life-changing” day. We are very excited to be able to offer this opportunity.

To find out more about Honor Flight Kentucky, please visit their website: www.honorflightky.org

If you or one of your of your family members are qualified and interested in going on the May 9, 2026 trip please email Kelli Parmley, Executive Director of Honor Flight Kentucky:

kelli.parmley@honorflightky.org After emailing Kelli, she will send you a link where you can complete the required application to participate in the flight. The deadline to contact Kelli with your interest will be February 15, 2026. After that time, seats will begin to fill up with the other veterans that are on the lengthy waiting list for this opportunity.

All veterans have the opportunity to have a “guardian” with them on the trip. That guardian can be someone of the veteran’s choosing other than a spouse or significant other (that is a national rule for all Honor Flights across the country). While veterans fly for free, there is a fee for guardians. Friends ofCoal has covered the fee for guardians of our veterans. If veterans do not have a specific guardian in mind, Honor Flight and Friends of Coal have numerous volunteers ready to fill that role for them.

Feel free to call or email the contact listed below with any questions:

Kelli Parmley
Executive Director, Honor Flight Kentucky
859.608.6328
kelli.parmley@honorflightky.org

We look forward to hearing from you and to providing this opportunity to our valued veterans.