
AROUND THE WORLD:
Flight to End Polio
EASTBOUND: April of 2023
In partnership with

Please consider a contribution to help end polio forever. We can't do it without you. Donation levels for our flight are:
-
Wingman:
$5,000 or greater
-
Commander: $750 - $4,999
-
Captain: $300 - $749
-
Co-Pilot: $25 - $299
Click here to visit our donation page and remember, for each dollar you contribute, the Gates Foundation will match your donation 2:1.
The primary focus of this flight is to bring awareness to the suffering caused by the highly infectious polio virus and to raise funds to help eradicate polio around the world. We are grateful for the efforts and leadership provided by the Rotary Foundation and the 2:1 match by The Bill Gates Foundation.
We ask you to donate NOW to the Rotary Foundation and help us end polio. Your donation, regardless of size, can make all the difference in the world. With the generous pledge by The Bill Gates Foundation your donation will be increased $2.00 for every $1.00 you donate.

When flying over water, we will take the safety precautions of wearing immersion suits and packing a four man raft with emergency supplies, satellite phones and personal tracking devices.
We are mindful that this trip is something experienced by very few in the history of flight. This will not be an easy mission. We are dependent on only one engine for the duration of the trip over some of the most rugged terrain in the world. Some of the longest flight legs are ten hours long! One of the longest legs is entirely over the North Atlantic - St. John, Newfoundland to Santa Maria Azores, Portugal.
We invite you to follow our flight live (with a five minute delay) on our website and watch our flight videos that we will post throughout the flight.
All of our flight plans are subject to the function of the plane, weather, and political unrest.
We will have handlers to help us throughout our flight - people to meet us at airports, help us procure fuel, and assist in translation. At each stop, we plan to meet with other Rotarians as well as locals to spread the word about ending polio forever.
We will do everything we can to spread the message about
eradicating polio. Please join us
in our flight by donating NOW to the Rotary Foundation. Show your support and join the Flight to End Polio.
Check back for updates on our flight before departure and during the flight!
THANK YOU TO OUR GENEROUS DONORS!
WINGMEN:
John Luckstead
Andy & Kathy Ockenfels
John & Deb Ockenfels
Herb & Janice Wilson
COMMANDERS:
Helen Arnold
Armando Barreira
John Buchanan
Willis Bywater
Steve Dakin
Fernando Duarte
Bruce Dunbar
Catherine Hivet
Meredith Karns
Meardon, Sueppel & Downer, PLC
Erna Morain
Dana Nichols
Kris Ockenfels
Charles Rohde
Rotary Club Almeirim, Portugal
Rotary Club Lisboa International, Portugal
Mark Ruggeberg and
Bob Brooks
Sunrise Rotary Club, Galesburg, Illinois
Martine Tournade de la Fontaine
Community Foundation for Pete Wallace
Gary Wicklund
LaDonna Wicklund
CAPTAINS:
Al Bonney
John Bryant
David Bullamore
Community Foundation of Greater Des Moines
Donald Flannery
Fundação Rotária
Cheryl Holt
Larry Iversen
Jet Air, Inc.
Kimberly and Larry Kudej
Naomi A. Law
Jorge Lucas Coelho
Russell V. Michaletz
Scott and Penny Olson
Norman Rahe
Barbara Randall
Ann Romanowski
Rotary Club Cascais-Estoril, Portugal
Rotary Club of East Bremerton, Washington
Rotary Club Lisboa Benfica, Portugal
Rotary Club Newton, Iowa
Rotary Club Ponta Delgada, Portugal
Sunrise Rotary Club St. Augustine, Florida
Sunrise Rotary Club West Bend, Wisconsin
Donald & Wilma Sanders
Audrey Savage
Hazel Seaba
Norm Van Klopenburg
Dean Wuebker
Joe Zachar, Jr.
Brian Adamec
S. Anderson
Jacquelynn Andrew
José Pedro Antunes Salgado
Amílcar Barata Salgueiro
Daniel J. Beadle
Rose Mary Beadle
Elizabeth Belding
Linda Bolton
Laurie Brandenburg
Marcia Bullis
Mary Burback
Teresa Burns
Paul Cameron Jr.
Jeff and Amber Capps
Lisa Cash Wiese
Jeanne Conlon
Casey Cook
Julie L. Coppock
José Carlos da Costa Álvares Rosmaninho
Bernard & Cherie Cremers
Douglass Deardorff
Mark Dimke
Peterson Douglas
Deb Dunkhase
Deb Galbraith
RuthSuzanne Gibson
Richard Goldschmidt
Charles B. Green
Arnie Haider
Nicole Harmer
Reinier Hesselink
Dorothy Hinman
Benjamin S. Horton
Douglas J. Horton
Dwight Hughes
Julie Johnson
Nan Johnson
Kevin Kacere
Pam Kalkhoff
Steve Keifer
Dennis Keitel
John B. Kennedy
James Klein
Chris Knapp
Vernette Knapp
Ken Kolek
Patti Kunz
Brenda & Wes LaMarche
Steven & Karen Laughlin
Donald LeBlanc
Bruce Lindholm
Elizabeth Loeb
Pamela Malloy
LeRoy Mann
Luís Manuel Araújo
Aaron Marshall
Nicole Maul
Roxane McCrane
Amanda McFadden
Larry McGee
Donald & Kristine Meyer
Judy Meyer
Tara Minetos
Roxanne Mitchell
Monticello, Iowa Rotary Club
Tom Narak
Christa Nelson
Amy Nicholson
Kenneth R. Noble
James E. Olson
Nancy Pacha
Rebecca Patterson
Mark S. Patton
David Poorvu
Steven Quigley
Dick Rasmussen
Sue Rasmussen
Miguel Marco Real Mendes
Lance Renfroe
Shawn Rhinehart
Roy E. Robertson
Rotary Club de Faro, Portugal
Rotary Club Lisboa Olivais, Portugal
Rotary Club Portela, Portugal
Vilia Sauerberg
Joel Schmidt
Judy Schneiderman
David Shragal
Mark Stanley
Louis Stepanek
Sharon Stepanek
Nancy Steyers
Camilla M. Streuter
VL Struzynski Olson
Julie Summa
Matthew Teply
Barb Thomas
Amanda Ueltschy
Rui Vidal Matoso
Gary Wagner
Carolyn Wanat
Eric Weiler
Jeanne L. West
Stephen West
Stanley White
Wiese Construction
Keith Williams
Herbert Wilson
Margaret Winkler
Connie Wisnousky
Laurel Worden
CO-PILOTS:
THANK YOU TO OUR
CORPORATE SPONSORS!





Thanks to the vaccine, polio has been eliminated in the U.S. for over 30 years. But the debilitating effects of polio still impact so many individuals and families.
Will you share with us how polio has affected your life? Please email us at flighttoendpolio@gmail.com with your story. We will be compiling these stories to bring along on our flight as a reminder of why we are taking on this endeavor. Until polio is gone forever, a resurgence is only one flight away.
You may provide us with your story anonymously or feel free to include names, photos and contact information. This information will only be shared with the pilots, John and Peter.
Click here to read Lisa's personal story. Thank you for sharing with us, Lisa.
Bill Bywater of the Iowa City Noon Rotary Club tells us his memory of the impact of polio on the community of Iowa City, Iowa during the 1940s - click the play button to listen. Thanks for this information, Bill.
In the video below, Robert and AnnMarie Ketron share their story and discuss how Robert's brother's polio diagnosis impacted their family. Thank you for this, Robert and AnnMarie!
Don't see your name listed? Please email us at flighttoendpolio@gmail.com.