PHOTO PROVIDED The Rotary Club of Downtown Lock Haven invites the public to the annual Flags of Honor Ceremony on Sunday at 12 p.m. in Triangle Park. Everyone will receive a free handheld flag for America’s 250th birthday. With a few of the special flags are, from left, seated: Heather Lively, Marianne Lotfi and Jeanne Baker; and standing: Lisa Schropp, Janine Bruno, Diahann Claghorn, Thomas Darby and Carmen Banfill.

PHOTO BY LISA SCHROPP
Patrolman First Class Andrew Fisher and Lieutenant Elizabeth Gregory are seen with Rotary District Governor Herb Smith at the 2024 Flags of Honor Ceremony.

LOCK HAVEN — The 12th annual Flags of Honor display is an official America’s 250th event, and everyone who attends the ceremony this Sunday will receive a free handheld flag for our nation’s historic birthday.

Bring a lawn chair and sit among the flags for an expanded program of speakers, vocalists and more. If it rains, the ceremony will move just up the street to Covenant United Methodist Church.

The community support for Flags of Honor has been tremendous, and each of the 188 flags will display an honored name, thanks to 95 sponsors. Both numbers are records!

The City of Lock Haven, a Flags of Honor partner with the Rotary Club of Downtown Lock Haven, is allowing the awesome display of flags to fly in the heart of the downtown from Friday evening, May 22nd through Tuesday, June 16th, running from Memorial Day weekend through Flag Day weekend.

The flag sponsors are especially invited to Sunday’s ceremony, and of course, anyone and everyone is welcome. Members of Downtown Rotary will greet you and give you an America’s 250th flag as well as a copy of the commemorative booklet listing the flag sponsors and the names of those honored with a flag.

The order of the ceremony is:

— Presentation of Colors by members of Scout Troop 711,

— National Anthem by vocalist (Cpl.) Amy Kowatch, U.S. Army veteran,

— Invocation by Rev. Justin Frear, Covenant United Methodist Church,

— Remarks by Rotary District Gov. Dawn Linn,

— The Folding of the Flag by Pennsylvania National Guard members SSG Nikki Litz and MSG Monica Anderson, with narration by Rotarian Carmen Banfill,

— Remarks by Lock Haven Mayor Joel Long,

— “America the Beautiful” medley by soloist Kim Vance,

— Remarks by Rick Vilello, Deputy Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development,

— “Taps” by MSG Monica Anderson

— “Amazing Grace” Farewell by Sgt. John MacMillen, U.S. Air Force veteran.

Emcee is Rotary Area Gov. Diahann Claghorn.

Honored guests at the ceremony will be all three Clinton County Commissioners: Chairman Jim Russo, Jeff Snyder and Angela Harding; City Council members Tami Brannan and Micah Clausen; representatives from Clinton County Veterans Affairs Todd Warner, Jeff Croak and Harry Williams, III; Dr. Rick Schulze, Downtown Lock Haven, Inc. manager; and the ceremony participants.

Flags of Honor is a project of the Rotary Club of Downtown Lock Haven, with help from the city and this year’s Angel Partners — Nestlerode Contracting Co., The Express, Reese’s Print Shop, Schlesinger Communications, WQBR Bear Country Radio, and Covenant United Methodist Church.

Redmond’s Complete Comfort, LLC is once again the Gold Medal Sponsor, with a total of 23 flags this year.

This year 35 businesses have become corporate sponsors: Addie’s, American Legion William Marshall Crawford Post 131, American Legion Auxiliary William Marshall Crawford Unit 131, Avery Dennison, Bayliff Hearing Services, LLC, Chatham Run Feed Mill, Croda, Davis Insurance Agency, Diversified Asset Planners, Inc., Feger Insurance Agency, Inc., First Citizens Community Bank, First Commonwealth Bank, First Quality, GLICK Fire Equipment, Haffley Insurance, author John B. Gordon, Jr., Hall & Lindsay, P.C., Kliney’s Home Furnishings, Love Disposal, Inc., Lucky 7 Travel Plaza, Lumberjack Lifestyles, Miller Brothers Auto Sales, Inc., Pine Creek Veterinary Associates, Pine Mountain Dental, The Stephen Poorman Trust, Redmond’s Complete Comfort, LLC, David S. Rockey, D.M.D., RTG Solutions, Sons and Daughters of Italy Loggia Giosue Carducci Lodge #146, Susquehanna Transit Co., SWC Realty, Donald G. Walker Funeral Home, Woodlands Bank, Workman Masonry, and Your Building Centers, Inc.

Proceeds from Flags of Honor benefit scholarships for Central Mountain High School graduating seniors.