57th annual Batavia Brotherhood Banquet honors veterans

The Batavia Brotherhood Banquet planning committee is preparing the upcoming 57th annual evening of Christian fellowship. The Brotherhood Banquet will be held at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, May 7, at Holy Cross Catholic Church, 2300 Main St.

At the annual gathering, Christian men of all denominations share a meal and fellowship. This event continues the Batavia tradition of ecumenical gathering and cooperation. All men are welcome.

The 2026 banquet will feature representatives from Honor Flight Chicago. Honor Flight Chicago’s mission is to “Honor, Thank and Inspire” by building awareness and appreciation of the debt of gratitude America owes its veterans. This topic was chosen in part to commemorate America’s 250th anniversary of independence.

Honor Flight Chicago is a nearly all volunteer organization with over 1,000 active volunteers and is a 100% donor-funded 501(c)3 nonprofit. They receive no money from the government and 96% of their receipts go directly to veteran programming.

The centerpiece of their programming is the Honor Flight, escorting senior veteran heroes to Washington, D.C. for a Day of Honor at the World War II, Korea and Vietnam memorials built in tribute to their service.

This trip is provided at no cost to the veteran and is intended as a heartfelt thank you for their service and sacrifice from a grateful nation. The inaugural flight was on June 11, 2008, and the September 2025 flight included the 12,000th veteran to be honored.

Join in this evening of Christian fellowship. Tickets are $20 plus fee and are available at bataviabrotherhoodbanquet.org. It includes a turkey dinner with all the fixings.