Honor Flight to get $10,000 donation from Livingston 4th of July group

The Livingston 4th of July Committee planned to donate $10,000 to the Central Valley Honor Flight during Tuesday’s City Council meeting, a month after having one of its most successful events.

Julio Valadez, committee chairman, said this year’s 4th of July three-day event gathered almost 60,000 people, about 20,000 more than usual. This year’s success, he said, was due in big part to the venue change.

“We outgrew Memorial Park so we moved to Max Foster Sports Complex,” Valadez said Tuesday. With the location change, the committee was able to charge for parking. The committee also collected donations at the gates.

The Central Valley Honor Flight takes World War II veterans from around the Valley on a three-day trip to the nation’s capitol every year.

The veterans visit the National World War II Memorial, the Korean War Veterans Memorial, and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

“The (4th of July) festival is put on in honor of men and women of the military,” Valadez said. “And we know some of them have not been able to see the (national) memorial that was built in their honor.”

Central Valley Honor Flight raises about $1,500 per veteran to cover their transportation, lodging and meals through donations.

Valadez said the local chapter of the Knights of Columbus will also be donating about $2,000.

This story was originally published August 4, 2015 at 5:10 PM with the headline "Honor Flight to get $10,000 donation from Livingston 4th of July group."