Teamwork Makes the Dream Work!

When the San Antonio Airport Super Shuttle went out of business recently, it caused a major problem...

The Gold Star moms lined up in front of the van that saved the day to say THANK YOU!!

When the San Antonio Airport Super Shuttle went out of business recently, it caused a major problem for Tuesday’s Children, a non-profit based in New York whose mission is to provide a lifetime of healing for those whose lives have been forever changed by terrorism or traumatic loss. Through a time-tested, long-term approach, Tuesday’s Children programming serves and supports our nation’s military Families of the Fallen; builds resilience and common bonds in communities worldwide recovering from tragedies; and keeps the promise to support all those impacted by Tuesday, September 11th.
Tuesday’s Children had scheduled a healing retreat for 14 Gold Star Mothers on Veterans Day weekend at a dude ranch in Bandera, Texas.  With Super Shuttle going out of business, the group was faced with having no transportation from the San Antonio Airport to Bandera, nearly 50 miles from San Antonio.  They had attempted to find a rental vehicle that would accommodate the group but nothing was available.
That’s where the teamwork came into play.  Mike McKinney, the son of NCOA legend Mack McKinney, was one of the first people to react to the call for help.  Mike reached out to Paul Siverson, NCOA past Chairman of the Board.  Paul in turn reached out to NCOA Executive Director Joe Terry.  Joe started looking for available transportation that could either transport the group or that Karen Burris, Tuesday’s Children’s Military Initiative Outreach Officer, could drive to transport the group.  Joe located a 15 passenger van that had just become available and reserved it for the group “just in case”  Realizing that size group plus luggage would be hard-pressed to fit in a 15 passenger van, Joe used his network of contacts to get the word out to other military/veterans groups in the San Antonio area.  The American Legion Post 157 in Bandera, Texas, was one of the groups that answered the call.  Susan with the American Legion volunteered to rally a literal convoy of folks to pick up the Gold Star Mothers at the airport and transport them to Bandera on Thursday and back to the airport on Sunday.
Fortunately that was not necessary!  The 15 passenger van, plus a Suburban that one of the Gold Star Mothers was planning to rent when she arrived in San Antonio, were enough to safely transport the group to Bandera for the much-needed healing retreat.
In an e-mail received on Tuesday, Karen Burris says, “The outpour of support was amazing and the constant contact to make sure everything was operating smoothly was much appreciated. ”  She went on to say, “Mike, Susan and Joe, thank you all for your military service.  Your swift “jump into action” to take care of the Gold Star families exemplifies the bond of the military community that never breaks.”