STEWART AIRPORT – It was a fun time at New York Stewart International Airport on Sunday as 18 teams of local residents took turns pulling a 50- passenger plane to raise funds for the American Cancer Society as Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October was kicked off. The area’s cancer society senior development director, Kristi Greco, said it was a fun time for a serious cause.
‘“Make sure you are getting your screening because of COVID, we are down 30 percent across the board in cancer screens which equates to bigger issues in the long run. Early detection saves lives,” she said.
Debbie Whittemore and her daughter Lyndsey Wittemore, part of the 50 Shades of Pink team jokingly said they prepared for the event by doing 50 push-ups and eating 50 apple cider donuts per day to be prepared to pull the 97-foot-long plane provided by United Airlines and Commute-Air. As the teams pulled the plane which can weigh up to 50,000 pounds with passengers, crew, luggage and fuel, Chief Pilot John Secour of Commute-Air watched. For him it was “good to give back to the community” and agreed what everyone was doing was for a great cause. David Claisse, the line service manager of Atlantic Aviation at Stewart, teamed up with the cancer society to put on this event. For Claaisse this fundraiser is something he has wanted to do for a long time, because cancer has “touched all of us at one time in our lives.”
