Purple Eagle plane honors St. Jude patient

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — As thousands pour in for the FedEx St. Jude Championship, you may notice a huge plane on the green.

Ahead of the first day of competition, a FedEx feeder plane sits on the golf course emblazoned with a St. Jude patient’s name. The Purple Eagle honor is an idea that took flight 12 years ago, honoring a St. Jude patient with a FedEx family connection.

This years’ Purple Eagle honoree in 7-year-old Micah, who was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia after he started kindergarten in 2022.

“It’s sports and entertainment and it’s meant to be fun – but that’s not all we are doing out here,” said Joe Tomek, executive director of the FedEx St. Jude Championship.

“The very first disease that Danny Thomas wanted to tackle was leukemia, what Micah has, and the survival rate was 4 percent when St. Jude opened their doors — fast forward to today and survival rate is 94 percent.

Micah’s grandfather Craig Howard is a FedEx manager, and he nominated his grandson to become a Purple Eagle. He says hundreds of St. Jude patients whose parent or grandparent are a FedEx team member applied.

“From the first day you walk in St. Jude in the middle of the night, the staff is all over you, from the timeyou walk in, for him, a three-year process,” Howard said. “The treatment is over. They are with you every step of the way. It’s unbelievable.”

As the 12th honoree, Micah will see his name in the skies under the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital logo with tail number N788FE. 

Now Micah hopes to be a nurse at St. Jude one day — and that is the power of giving back, coming full circle.

This plane will stay all weekend during the tournament.

Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WREG.com.