DFW International Airport and North Texas Commission Celebrate Five Years of Welcome Home a Hero

In the five years since launching the Welcome Home a Hero, more than 300,000 troops have been greeted by volunteers across the region offering a handshake, a kind word and a hug.

“The Welcome Home A Hero program is all about the amazing people who have made it their personal mission to make sure every soldier passing through DFW gets thanked properly,” said Jeff Fegan, CEO of DFW. “These volunteers, along with our Airport staff and Ambassadors, have really made an incredible impact in our community and on the morale of the soldiers who have experienced their kindness.”

Since 2004, the “Welcome Home A Hero” program’s volunteers have greeted about 300,000 inbound soldiers to DFW as they make their way home for two weeks of rest and recuperation (R&R) from active duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. Hundreds of organizations and more than 10,000 volunteers have greeted over 1,700 flights during the life of the program.

“We’ve reached the five year mark for the program, but that doesn’t mean our need for volunteers has diminished,” said Dan S. Petty, president and CEO of the North Texas Commission. “Now more than ever we need volunteers to donate just an hour of their time to welcome home troops who have sacrificed so much to serve our country.”

Organizers of the “Welcome Home A Hero” program, including the Airport, the North Texas Commission and the DFW USO, are actively seeking to recruit new volunteers to the program. DFW has launched the “Welcome Home A Hero” Facebook page as part of the effort, and interested individuals and organizations can also log onto www.dfwairport.com/heroes for more information about how to participate or contact Christene Wheeler at the North Texas Commission at 972-621-0400 ext. 123 or christene@ntc-dfw.org.