Ocean State Job Lot Getting 'Thank-You' Banner for Vet Honor Flights

Friday at 10:30 a.m., Fire Chief Tim Mclaughlin will hang a "Thank You" banner at the Ocean State Job Lot at 1493 Hartford Ave. to recognize the store's customers for sending local vets to the WWII memorial in Washington DC.

The Chief will hang the banner on behalf of the RI Association of Fire Chiefs, who have been coordinating the trips, dubbed "Honor Flights" since last November. The Sept. 28 trip sent 800 veterans from New England, including 128 from Rhode Island, including Woonsocket veterans, to the memorial, said Ocean State Job Lot spokesman David Sarlitto.

The $250,000 trip was the largest Honor Flight the organization has run, Sarlitto said.

“We thank Ocean State Job Lot and their customers for stepping up to donate the money for all our veterans to attend this event, as well as the items they need, other than medication, that we collected from local Job Lot stores for the Honor Flights,” states George Farrell, chairman of RIAFC Honor Flight and a retired Providence Fire Department Chief.  “Job Lot has been supportive of our group since we officially kicked off with our first flight from T.F. Green last November, and we hope to continue partnering with them on future veterans initiatives.” 

Sarlitto said Farrell reached out to the company to thank them with the banners recognizing their efforts, which included organizing Southwest Airline flights from Boston, New York and TF Green, bringing along the veterans' guardians and, often medical personnel to care for them, and arranging their stays in DC. Those stays involved a gala dinner and meeting with former Secretary of State Colin Powell. 

But, Sarlitto said, the real thanks goes to Ocean State Job Lot customers, who helped fund the trips through their donations at the stores' checkout lines. He said the donations can be an inconvenience when they slow down lines, "Then, when you see what comes out of your dollars..." he said, it seems worth the waiting. 

So, the banner is really for the customers and employees. "It's a bit of a nod to all the folks who pulled this thing off," Sarlitto said. 

A brief video of highlights from the Sept. 28 honor flight is available on Youtube.