A ride from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., to nearby BWI/Thurgood Marshall Airport costs roughly $40 via most rideshare apps. Academy alumni and parents of midshipmen at the academy have been trying to save midshipmen a few dollars during the holidays on the airport trips by volunteering to pick up and drop off these future leaders for free using personal vehicles. It’s called the “Mid-Express”.
Three years ago, IAM member Chuck Lowe, realized that an IAM bus could drive more than a couple shipmen at a time, so he asked leaders at the William Wipinsinger Center, where he works, if the IAM could volunteer to help the effort.
It was a no brainer. This past holiday season, the campaign helped 330 midshipmen get underway on their voyages to and from their holiday breaks.
Lowe’s son, Ryan, is a “firstee,” or Naval Academy senior class member, scheduled to graduate in May. Chuck says Ryan knew he wanted to join the academy after visiting the site for a soccer tournament in the 6th grade.
“He was born on Sept. 11, 2002, one year after the terrorist attacks. Patriot’s day. He has always had a desire to serve and be a patriot,” said Lowe. “So when he made me aware that midshipmen needed this help during the holidays, I knew it was my time to serve them.”
Lowe is a founding member of the IAM’s Veteran Services Steering Committee, which was established in 2020 to provide IAM members who are military veterans with more assistance obtaining their VA benefits. Lowe, a veteran himself, has been fighting for other veterans his whole post-military career, but he jumped at the chance to help form the committee because he saw an opportunity to shape the actions needed at local and districts throughout the IAM.
Ryan majors in aviation and robotics at the academy. He hopes to be a Navy pilot and robotics engineer once he graduates. If the holiday rides on the “mid express” save 330 midshipmen $40 on airport trips, that calculates out to just over $13,000 saved every year. His dad, Chuck, who celebrates 25 years with the IAM this year, hopes to see his son burn through $13,000 in aviation fuel with the first six minutes of afterburner in an IAM-made F-35 fighter jet protecting our skies above a vast ocean sometime in the near future.
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