PHOTO PROVIDED Mary Lou Putek stands with the flags that she sponsored for her husband and his brother at the Flags of Honor Ceremony, a community event organized by the Rotary Club of Downtown Lock Haven.

LOCK HAVEN — On Memorial Day weekend, you have probably driven past Triangle Park in Lock Haven and admired the patriotic spectacle of flags. But you may not realize that each of those flags is dedicated to someone special.

The Rotary Club of Downtown Lock Haven is currently accepting sponsors for this year’s flags, which will be prominently displayed in Triangle Park. The flags will be erected in the park on Friday, May 23 with a special ceremony held on Sunday, May 25. For the first time, the flags will be on display until Sunday, June 1…giving the community extra time to admire them.

“I look forward to the Flags of Honor Ceremony every year. It’s a special way to remember my husband and his brother who have a combined 50 years of service,” Mary Lou Putek said. “It’s a privilege to pay tribute to each name on display. I’m happy that it’s extended this year, because that allows more time to visit each flag, read each name and think about them. Coming from a military family, it brings back memories and touches my heart.”

The public is welcome to walk among the flags and pay their respects to the men and women who are being honored and remembered. Each flagpole contains a plaque with the honoree’s name, branch of service and any other information that you would like to include. Your loved one will also be recognized in an ad in The Express and in a commemorative booklet that is handed out at the Flags of Honor Ceremony.

The Flags of Honor display, a Memorial Day tradition now in its 11th year, is not just limited to veterans. It is also an opportunity to remember a family member, friend, co-worker, teacher, first-responder or any special person in your life.

With more than 150 flag dedications over the past two years, The Rotary Club of Downtown Lock Haven hopes to exceed that number this year, but they need the community’s help.

To sponsor a flag, mail your information with payment to Rotary Club of Downtown Lock Haven, P.O. Box 634, Lock Haven, PA 17745.

Be sure to include:

— Your name, phone number, mailing address, and email address.

— The name and wording you would like on the flag plaque.

— A check for $35 per flag made out to “Downtown Lock Haven Rotary.”

The deadline for flag sponsors is Monday, May 12.

Not only will you receive the unique opportunity to dedicate a full-sized American flag to someone important in your life…you will also be contributing to a good cause.

Proceeds from this community project enable The Rotary Club of Downtown Lock Haven to make donations to local nonprofit organizations, such as Merit House shelter, the Sleep in Heavenly Peace free beds project, the Shoe Bank which gives free new shoes to children, Boxes of Hope for breast cancer survivors and Haven Cupboard. The club also gives three scholarships to Central Mountain High School graduating seniors.

“I am super grateful to have received this scholarship. It helped me purchase some things for my dorm, as well as putting the rest of the money towards tuition and room and board, so my dog and I can live on campus and be more involved in the community,” said Brooklynn Bechdel, a previous scholarship recipient.

This fundraiser would not be possible without the generosity of local businesses and The Rotary Club of Downtown Lock Haven would like to thank the following sponsors who have already committed this year: Angel Partners Nestlerode Contracting Co., Inc. and Schlesinger Communications, Corporate Sponsors Reese’s Print Shop, The Express, A.P.C. International, Beiters Furniture Mattress Appliance, Brigandi, Gleghorn and Haffley Insurance, Chatham Run Feed Mill, Diversified Asset Planners, Domino’s Lock Haven, Donald G. Walker Funeral Home, First National Bank of Pennsylvania, Glick Fire Equipment, Hall & Lindsay Law Offices, Light My Fire Hearth Shop, Lucky Seven Travel Plaza, Masters Excavating, LLC, Millbrook Plaza, Miller Brothers Auto Sales, Inc., Samuel R. Rockey, D.M.D., Starway Roof Systems, Susquehanna Trailways, SWC Realty, Terrapin, Woodlands Bank and WQBR Bear Country Radio.

All of the sponsors are named on a banner in the park, in an ad in The Express, and in a commemorative booklet that is handed out at the Flags of Honor Ceremony. They also receive a laminated sign to place in a window or office, designating them as a Flags of Honor sponsor.

For more information on becoming a corporate sponsor or a flag sponsor, text or call Wendy at 570-295-3443, send an email to dlhrotary@gmail.com, or find Downtown Lock Haven Rotary on Facebook.