The 8th Annual Endeavor Awards were held this past Friday, May 13th and one of PALS Volunteer Pilots, Mark Hanson was honored with the 2022 Endeavor Awards.
It was an emotional and uplifting evening in Los Angeles at the Samuel Oschin Pavilion where the community of aviation and healthcare connected for a great cause. The cause, to honor some amazing individuals in both areas and to recognize their contributions and achievements to people in need. While we congratulate all the winners of course, we want to focus our attention on just one, Mark Hanson.
Mark’s dedication to PALS is without bounds. In addition to flying more than 200 patients and veterans, he is heavily involved with the PALS Pilot Ambassador Program, mentoring pilots and briefing new pilots prior to their first flight. In addition to PALS, Mark also volunteers with Angel Flight Soars, Above the Clouds, Veteran’s Airlift Command, Angel Flight East and currently sits on the board of the Air Care Alliance where he recently self-funded technology upgrades.
When the Covid-19 pandemic hit in March 2020 and passenger flights temporarily stopped, Mark found a way to be of service. He was instrumental in forming a partnership with Be the Match Foundation and the Air Care Alliance to organize the utilization of volunteer pilots to deliver blood products for life-saving bone marrow transplants nationwide. This endeavor resulted in 36 donated private flights, 2 of which were flown by Mark himself, and 24 patients received bone marrow transplants to date.
One such passenger has been on several PALS flights with Mark as the pilot and she was invited to attend the event and share her experience and gratitude for what he and PALS have done for her. Below are some photos of Mark and Brooklyn, as well as a copy of her speech. We’re so proud of both of them, especially Brooklyn on this evening for having the courage to go on stage and deliver her beautiful thank you speech.
A special passenger and friend of Mark's, Brooklyn attended the event
Our volunteer pilots are the backbone of our mission here at PALS. We’re so grateful to have such a dedicated group of them to provide free medical flights to our veterans and passengers.
Thank you to all of you who voted for Mark and helped him receive the recognition he deserves for his inspiring contributions and we also thank Angel Flight West for hosting such an inspirational event.
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