COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – As Veterans Day 2019 approaches November 11, the Flags Across Coldwater program is gearing up for the last of its five annual holiday flag placements across the city.
The Coldwater Kiwanis Club, in cooperation with Boy Scout Troop 433, started the display of the flags in 2006. The program has grown more than five-fold since its inception and now in its 14th year, nearly 600 flags will be flying next month as military veterans who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces are honored.
Ray Sebastian, the incoming president of the Coldwater Kiwanis Club, spoke last Thursday at the weekly meeting of the Coldwater Township Sunrise Rotary Club and said nearly 160 flags are put out in the downtown area alone. According to Sebastian, the overall total of flags is up to 580, which he termed a significant growth.
Volunteers deliver, install and then remove the flags for the designated holidays, which include Memorial Day, Flag Day, Independence Day, Labor Day/Patriots Day and Veterans Day.
Coldwater residents and businesses can sign up for $30 for a one year subscription with $20 for each additional flag. The program, which helps support Boy Scout Troop 433, has raised $12,000 annually in recent years.
