Airport Experience® News - Food & Beverage Issue 2026

BEFORE YOU TAKE OFF

MAKING MEMORIES ORD’s “Moments” Campaign Features Heartfelt Remembrances From Travelers

BY SARAH BELING

B. “Back in 1976, our 5th grade class took a field trip to O’Hare, and the moment I walked in, I was completely in awe. The sounds, the energy, the airplanes moving in every direction, it felt like another world… that day at O’Hare planted a dream in a kid who had never flown before. I worked hard, stayed focused, and chased that dream every step of the way. Today, I’m incredibly proud to say I’m a captain flying for Chicago’s hometown airline, United Airlines, based out of the very airport where it all began.” Having to randomly select a winner, “was a tough job,” says Pride. Ultimately, the prize went to a submission from the daughter of Sherry Caffrey, a licensed paramedic and former flight attendant credited for leading the program to place Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) throughout ORD and Midway International Airport (MDW). Caffrey’s daughter Emma Villari wrote that her mom “was directly involved in multiple cardiac arrest responses in the airport terminals.” Describing a case where one man’s life was saved due to the availability of an AED, Villari wrote that “This was possible because she helped lead the program that placed AEDs throughout O’Hare and Midway Airports,” adding that “her work contributed to a reduction in deaths from cardiac arrest at the airports and was recognized by the American Heart Association and in the New England Journal of Medicine.” And while the initial contest is over, travelers are still encouraged to share their stories with the airport as it looks ahead to the next 70 years. As respondent Britney O. noted, “O’Hare isn’t just where I leave or arrive. It’s where I remember who I am, and who I’m becoming.”

hicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) recently celebrated its seventh decade

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as a commercial flying facility, and the airport team marked the milestone by asking its travelers to share their most impactful memories of passing through the Midwestern hub. The O’Hare Moments campaign, which ran from December 2025 through February 2026, invited travelers to submit their stories of experiencing adventures, homecomings, reunions and other meaningful memories at the airport, with the chance to win a $500 gift card. “The campaign coincided with the progress of ORDNext, the largest terminal expansion in O’Hare’s history,” says Karen Pride, director of media relations at the Chicago Department of Aviation. Over 200 respondents submitted their stories, recalling everything from picking up their new dog and proposing to their significant other to running into Muhammad Ali, celebrating their dad’s last day as a flight engineer or bringing their newly adopted daughter to America through ORD. “A Homeland Security agent came up to me — I had paperwork to give him, and he said ‘Welcome to the United States,’ looking directly at my sweet baby girl, [which] make[s] me still cry today,” wrote Kelly H. of her experience arriving at the airport with her daughter for the very first time. “My daughter’s first steps were in O’Hare on American soil, now 23 years later she has graduated college and lives and works in downtown Chicago, the place where she first stepped.” Others found their passion for the aviation industry by visiting ORD. “I grew up in the south suburbs of Chicago and had never been to the airport, let alone been on an airplane,” wrote Scott

Above: Sherry Caffrey helped lead the charge to install Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) throughout the airport. Photo provided to ORD.

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AX NEWS JULY/AUGUST 2026