SEATTLE, July 28, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Alaska
Airlines' Chief Football Officer Russell
Wilson led his team to victory this morning in the Alaska
Plane Pull for Strong Against Cancer.
Funds raised at today's event go directly to research in
immunotherapy treatments developed by the Ben Towne Center for
Childhood Cancer Research at Seattle Children's Research Institute.
In clinical trials, this breakthrough treatment has had a 91
percent success rate. Since the launch of Strong Against Cancer in
2014, Alaska has contributed more
than $350,000 in cash and in-kind
donations. In total, the plane pull raised an additional
$30,490 that will be used to help
find a cure for childhood cancer.
Wilson faced off against actor and comedian Joel McHale in the plane pull, competing to see
whose team could pull a 92,000-pound Alaska Airlines 737-800 25
feet in the shortest amount of time, as well as whose team could
raise the most money for Strong Against Cancer. Teams were made up
of Alaska and Horizon Air
maintenance and engineering employees and local winners of a
Facebook contest. Team Russell successfully pulled the jet 25 feet
in 16.9 seconds, with Team Joel coming in at over a minute. (A
second pull by Team Joel actually netted a time of 15.6 seconds,
but was unofficial.) All agreed that Strong Against Cancer was the
real winner.
"Russell is a great guy, and a great fit for Alaska," said Joe
Sprague, Alaska's senior
vice president of communications and external relations. "He's
known for his hard work, down-to-earth attitude and commitment
helping youth in our community. The entire team at Alaska thanks both Russell and Joel for coming
out in support of this great cause."
As Alaska's Chief Football
Officer, Wilson works with the airline to support youth and
education programs. Among them are the Russell Wilson Passing
Academy, which provides inner-city and underprivileged youth an
opportunity to attend football camp for a once-in-a-lifetime
experience; and Strong Against Cancer, a multi-year initiative
dedicated to ending childhood cancer.
Fans are encouraged to continue the fun and vote for their
favorite team by texting "TEAMJOEL" or "TEAMRUSSELL" to 501501 to
donate $10 to Strong Against Cancer.*
Tweets, photos and videos of the event can be viewed using the
hashtag #AlaskaPlanePull on Twitter and Instagram. (Texting charges
may apply depending on the carrier.)
Editor's note: Photos from Alaska Airlines' Plane Pull
are available for download at http://bit.ly/AlaskaPlanePull.
High-definition b-roll of the plane pull is also available for
download at http://bit.ly/planepullbroll.
Alaska Airlines, a subsidiary of Alaska Air Group (NYSE: ALK),
together with its partner regional airlines, serves more than 100
cities through an expansive network in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Alaska Airlines ranked "Highest in
Customer Satisfaction Among Traditional Carriers in North America" in the J.D. Power North America
Airline Satisfaction Study for eight consecutive years from 2008 to
2015. Alaska Airlines' Mileage Plan also ranked "Highest in
Customer Satisfaction with Airline Loyalty Rewards Programs" in the
J.D. Power 2014 and 2015 Airline Loyalty/Rewards Program
Satisfaction Report. For reservations, visit www.alaskaair.com. For
more news and information, visit Alaska Airlines' newsroom at
www.alaskaair.com/newsroom.
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SOURCE Alaska Airlines