Building on years of supporting Special Olympics Virginia athletes through events like the Dulles Plane Pull, Polar Plunge and Torch Run, members of the law enforcement community in Southwest Virginia were hoping for the opportunity to bring the Plane Pull tradition closer to home someday.
That opportunity came in 2023 when they pitched bringing the Plane Pull to Roanoke-Blacksburg Airport to ROA Public Safety Chief Ben Cook. After experiencing the Dulles Plane Pull firsthand in 2023, Cook introduced the idea to the ROA leadership team.
Fortunately, ROA has a leader at the top – Roanoke Regional Airport Commission President and CEO Mike Stewart – who was already very familiar with the Plane Pull from his service as Airport Manager at Washington Dulles International Airport. Stewart knew just how much ROA and Southwest Virginia's support would mean to Special Olympics Virginia athletes and the organization.
The ROA leadership team was all in.
As the hometown airport for Roanoke, Salem, and the counties of Roanoke, Montgomery, Botetourt, Franklin, Bedford, and beyond, ROA has always looked for ways to bring the Airport to the community and connect with those it serves. Hosting the Southwest Virginia Plane Pull has turned out to be one of the most memorable ways to do that.
"The event is bigger than the Roanoke-Blacksburg Airport. We're here to serve the region, and getting involved in the Plane Pull is a fantastic way to give back and work together for an amazing cause."
Now in its third year, the event has become a true team effort. Team ROA works alongside Special Olympics Virginia, the Western Virginia Regional Jail, FedEx, and Star Flight Training, each bringing something different to the table: SOVA leads large-scale event execution and volunteer coordination, the Regional Jail recruits teams and volunteers, FedEx provides the aircraft and staff for the main pull, Star Flight Training brings the plane and staffing for the Kids Pull, and ROA manages the operational and security planning that makes it all possible. "It is hard to believe this is already the third Southwest Virginia Plane Pull," said Alexa Briehl, ROA's Director of Marketing and Community Engagement. "It is a privilege to help host the event."
That privilege comes with real complexity. Bringing an event onto the "other side of the fence" at a commercial airport takes months of coordination. ROA submits a full event plan to the FAA — covering location, schedule, attendees, and any changes to normal operations — to ensure the safety of all participants and that flights, passengers, and cargo keep moving without interruption. The event itself takes place on the cargo apron next to Taxiway B and Runway 6/24. Once the FAA signs off, the team works with TSA on security, then builds a minute-by-minute timeline and task list spanning ROA's Public Safety, Facilities, Operations, and Marketing teams.
It's a lot of behind-the-scenes work for a day that, on the surface, is all fun — cheering, teamwork, and the sight of a team pulling an 82-ton cargo plane across the tarmac. "Being a part of a team pulling an 82-ton cargo plane or cheering on participants isn't something most folks get to do every day at the Airport," the ROA team said.
Ask Briehl what moment has stayed with the ROA team most, and the answer is simple: the athletes. "When you see the athletes and their coaches pulling the plane and cheering on participants, it is an incredible feeling," she shared. "There is so much optimism and enthusiasm." Watching the inaugural Southwest Virginia Kids Pull come together in 2024 was a highlight of its own — and the team is excited to see it return again in 2026.
"The event is bigger than the Roanoke-Blacksburg Airport. We're here to serve the region, and getting involved in the Plane Pull is a fantastic way to give back and work together for an amazing cause," said Mike Stewart.
For new Airport crew members wondering why the extra work is worth it, that's the message: this special event exists to serve the region. As Team ROA put it, "ROA team members are your colleagues, neighbors, and friends, and we love sharing this experience with the public." At the end of the day, it's about more than a plane on a tarmac — it's about a community, and a cause, worth showing up for.