Hackett High School Donates to Operation Gridiron Airlift

Press Release: OGA09-PR-4

Posted: Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Hackett Catholic Central High School in Kalamazoo, Michigan recently completed a football collection drive in support of Operation Gridiron Airlift. Hackett collected footballs prior to its recent homecoming game on October 9. St. Monica Middle School also conducted a collection drive as well for the three days prior to the homecoming game. In all, the two schools collected a total of 165 footballs that will make their way to our servicemen and women serving overseas. Hackett is a member of the Kalamazoo Valley Association (KVA) athletic conference.

Two other KVA teams will also be conducting football collection drives in the near future. Kalamazoo Christian and Galesburg-Augusta will be collecting footballs at their final regular season home games on October 23.

Orrville High School in Orville, Ohio is also planning a football collection drive on October 30.

The list of contributors to Operation Gridiron Airlift continues to grow and includes the following;

• The National Football League / Detroit Lions

• The Arena Football League / Grand Rapids Rampage

• arenafootball2 / Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz

• The Continental Indoor Football League / Kalamazoo Xplosion

• The Intense Football League / San Angelo Stampede Express

• The United States Air Force Academy (Mountain West Conference)

• Western Michigan University (Mid-American Conference)

• Central Michigan University (Mid-American Conference)

• Michigan State University (Big Ten Conference)

• Purdue University (Big Ten Conference)

• Arizona State University (Pac-10 Conference)

• FlexFab LLC of Hastings, Michigan

• Hackett Catholic Central High School, Kalamazoo, Michigan

• Private donations

About Operation Gridiron Airlift

For our troops serving overseas, the simplest gifts from home are always a welcome sight and very much appreciated. And what is more American than a football? Sometimes, just tossing a football around or organizing a friendly game while deployed overseas can be a welcome diversion, bringing a bit of home to a foreign location. That's why Operation Gridiron Airlift is collecting new and used footballs, that are in good condition, and sending them to our troops serving overseas. 

The organizer of Operation Gridiron Airlift is retired Master Sergeant Randy Snow of Kalamazoo, Michigan. He spent 21 years serving in the Michigan Air National Guard and retired as a member of the Battle Creek ANG Base in 2002. Since 2003, he has covered the Arena Football League, arenafootball2, the Continental Indoor Football League, United Indoor Football and the Indoor Football League. He has also covered the All American Football League and the Canadian Football League. His work can be found on ArenaFan.com, OurSportsCentral.com and AmericanChronicle.com.

For more information, or to make a donation, contact Randy at RandySnow22@yahoo.com. You can also visit www.OperationGridironAirlift.com or the Operation Gridiron Airlift page on Facebook.