September 26, 2005
Willie E. Gary, Prominent Attorney and Chairman of the Black Family Channel uses Wings of Justice to aid Katrina Victims
Gary Takes Supplies to Katrina Victims and Transports Families to Loved Ones throughout the United States
Stuart, FL – Prominent attorney and Chairman of the Black Family Channel, Willie Gary, recently took flight aboard his Boeing 737 business jet, appropriately named the “Wings of Justice” to help victims of Hurricane Katrina. Joining him on this important mission was baseball great Cecil Fielder, boxing heavy-weight champion Evander Holyfield, actor Tommy Ford and partners from the Gary Law Firm.
On Wednesday, September 14, 2005, Gary and employees of the law firm loaded the “Wings of Justice” with thousands of dollars worth of baby bottles, diapers, toiletries, water, and other supplies to help those who were displaced by hurricane Katrina. During a two-day mission, Gary helped families left homeless by Katrina reunite with loved ones throughout the country.
The two-day mission began at Witham Field in Stuart, Florida, and continued on to Houston, Texas, where Gary handed out supplies and visited families at the George Brown Convention Center. Two families, who lost everything in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina, were invited by Gary to board his private jet to start a new life in Atlanta, Georgia. Patrick and Kristen Behn, a young married couple, had just moved to New Orleans two weeks before Katrina hit, and now found themselves back in Houston with thousands of other homeless evacuees. The Behn family was thankful to be offered seats aboard the Wings of Justice.
Willie Gary, Attorney and Chairman of the Black Family Channel comforts a young boy at the George Brown Convention Center after hurricane Katrina
Lucius Bonner, a 23 year-old man from New Orleans, spent an entire day floating on a tire until rescue workers finally returned for him. “They kept passing me by saying ‘we’ll be back.’ At that point I thought I was going to die,” said Bonner. Bonner was also welcomed aboard Gary’s jet and reunited with his father in Atlanta, Georgia. Gary, Holyfield and Fielder also handed out supplies and greeted families at the Houston Astrodome.
Gary felt that it was his duty to embark on the two-day mission to help hurricane victims. “Many of these people have lost their homes and their loved ones,” stated Gary. “We must all come together and aid in the rebuilding process. Our brothers and sisters are counting on us to be there for them during this troubling time and we don’t have the right to let them down,” continued Gary.
Gary, who is best known in legal circles for taking on some of America’s most powerful companies, winning billions of dollars in verdicts and settlements on behalf of his clients. Gary is also the Chairman of the Black Family Channel, America’s only minority owned and operated, 24-hour cable network. Known for his philanthropic endeavors, he and his wife, Dr. Gloria Gary, founded The Gary Foundation, which provides college scholarships to at-risk students who wish to attend college. The Gary’s have donated millions of dollars to help Historically Black Colleges and Universities including $10 million to his alma mater Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina.
