Alayna and family with Lisa Schuetz from MidAmerica Airport

ST. LOUIS, MO., July 14, 2015 - For 5-year-old Alayna Woolsey from Benton, Ill., who was diagnosed with Lymphoid Leukemia but is currently in remission, July 12th proved to be a pretty special day as it marked the start of a much-anticipated journey for her and her family. Recipient of the latest wish trip to be granted by Allegiant and Make-A-Wishâ, Alayna and her parents and brother were the VIP guests at a special sendoff celebration hosted by MidAmerica St. Louis Airport and Impact Strategies, as they prepared to depart on an Allegiant flight to Orlando for a magical wish experience.   

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Upon hearing about Alayna’s story, Impact Strategies, a Southwestern Illinois-based business, with offices in Fairview Heights and St. Louis, stepped up to ensure that her sendoff was as magical as her wish trip. Together with MidAmerica, they were able to provide the family with the full “red carpet” treatment at the airport.  Alayna and her family were greeted upon arrival by a long red carpet lined with balloons and a personal assistant was on hand to escort them through check-in to their gate, in order to ensure that all of their needs were met.  The family received gift bags, including T-shirts, toys, autograph books, photo albums, gift cards and more. To truly make Alayna feel special, she also received a portable DVD player and one of her favorite movies to watch during the flights.     

Representatives from MidAmerica St. Louis Airport and Impact Strategies were at the airport to share this special moment with Alayna and her family. 

“We wanted to show our support for Alayna and her family and make them feel special,” stated Tim Cantwell, Director at MidAmerica Airport.  “We were delighted to host them and I applaud Impact Strategies for stepping up and supporting all of the red carpet touches that helped kick this special journey off in a memorable way.”

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“Impact Strategies is delighted to play a role in helping to get Alayna’s wish trip off to an exciting start,” noted Mark Hinrichs, President of Impact Strategies. “We hope our contributions add to what we know will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience for her and her family.”

Since the 1980s, Make-A-Wish has been granting the wishes of children with life- threatening medical conditions to enrich their lives with hope, strength and joy.

“Allegiant Air’s generous and enthusiastic support is a wonderful way for the community to come together in supporting our wish children with hope, strength and joy at a time they need it most”, said Stephanie Springs, Chief Executive Officer of Make-A-Wish Illinois.

Make-A-Wish Illinois grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich their lives with hope, strength and joy. Since 1985, Make-A-Wish has worked with volunteers and generous supporters to share the power of a wish® with more than 12,000 children and their families across Illinois.  For more information or to find out how you can help, call 800-978-9474 or visit www.illinois.wish.org

MidAmerica St. Louis Airport is located in Mascoutah, Illinois, in the eastern portion of the St. Louis metropolitan area. Major multimodal rail and inland port centers are located within 22 miles of the airport, which also enjoys easy access to five interstate highways via I-64.  With parallel runways of 8,000 and 10,000 feet, the airport can handle simultaneous take-offs and landings in all conditions, minimizing delays.  It has an annual capacity of 200,000 operations. Current tenants include North Bay Produce, Inc., Boeing, and AVMATS, which has been providing alternatives for the support and maintenance of corporate aircraft at MidAmerica for almost a decade. MidAmerica is a Joint Use Airport partnering with Scott AFB, the home to US Transportation Command, a multi service organization, and Air Mobility Command, the USAF’s component command for airlift.  MidAmerica and the 375th Air Mobility Wing operate Scott AFB/MidAmerica St. Louis Airport.  For more information, visit www.flymidamerica.com.

IMPACT Strategies, Inc. specializes in Retail, Commercial, Medical, Senior Housing and Education construction and offers comprehensive construction services including design-build, general contracting, construction management and pre-construction management.  The company is headquartered in Fairview Heights, Ill. with an office in St. Louis, Mo. and primarily serves clients in the St. Louis metropolitan area and throughout the Midwest.

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