Just in time for hurricane season, Sol Relief’s annual Hurricane Relief Happy Hour fundraiser held at The Hangar Restaurant brought together pilots, friends, and supporters from across the airport community for a cause that becomes especially important this time of year.
Jen Lockwood (4th from the left) and Sol Relief supporters at the Hurricane Relief Happy Hour Fundraiser, June 2026
For Sol Relief, a fundraiser is about more than raising money. Every dollar collected before a storm allows the organization to move faster when disaster strikes. While donations often pour in after communities have been devastated, having resources available beforehand allows relief flights to launch in the critical first days after an event.
Sol Relief co-founder Jen Lockwood says it best, “Hurricane season isn’t the time to start preparing. It’s the time to be ready.”
From the moment a storm is formed, relief organizations are tracking and planning. In many cases, relief flights can launch within 24 to 48 hours after a disaster.
Positioned on Florida’s west coast, relief aircraft flying from Albert Whitted can reach nearly every part of the state within hours and many Caribbean destinations with a single fuel stop. After a hurricane, ports can be damaged, roads can be washed out, and communications can fail. Aircraft often become the fastest way to move medical supplies, communications equipment, generators, and relief personnel into affected areas.
Sol Relief pilots delivering supplies, November 2025 Image Credit: Sol Relief
Born from the community response to Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017, Sol Relief has produced remarkable results working with the airport community to raise more than $2 million. Together, they conducted more than 100 emergency relief flights, delivered critical supplies, transported emergency personnel, repaired more than 160 roofs, built four homes, and constructed two community centers in affected communities.
Albert Whitted Airport has the resources and people to get these missions off the ground. This is the airport where you turn a 30 person volunteer base into more than 400. This is the place with beloved Pilatus PC12s carrying 1800 pounds of cargo across the Caribbean. This is a small waterfront airport extending its reach far beyond Tampa Bay.
For Jen Lockwood, Sol Relief represents the power of aviation to serve others. As another hurricane season begins, that mission continues. To donate to relief efforts or get involved, visit Sol Relief and help ensure communities receive aid when they need it most.
June 2026
Nisuka Williams