WESTFIELD-Keepsake flags will once again grace the front lawn of the Westfield Middle School next month during the Kiwanis Club of Westfield’s annual “To Serve and Protect Park of Honor.”
“It is a way to recognize and honor those military personnel that are serving or have served our country, along with the police departments, first responders and fire departments that protect our community every day,” said Frank Sposito, incoming Kiwanis president.
Flags are now available for purchase for November’s To Serve and Protect Park of Honor, sponsored by the Kiwanis Club of Westfield. (Submitted photo)
Individuals, families and businesses can sponsor a flag in honor of someone, past or present, and each flag will be displayed with a ribbon containing information about the person each flag honors as well as the sponsor’s name.
Flags are now available for purchase until Oct. 18 by sending a check for $30 for one flag or $100 for four flags to Westfield Kiwanis Foundation, P.O. Box 773, Westfield, MA 01086-0522. A form on the Kiwanis Club website must be completed and included with the check.
“I have two brothers that served in the military and currently my son and nephew are firefighters and they have been honored with a flag in the Park of Honor,” said Sposito, who has been a Kiwanian for nine years. “Looking at the flags standing tall is such a beautiful sight.”
Kellie Brown, outgoing Kiwanis president, is hopeful that area residents will once again support the Park of Honor.
“We sold 103 flags last year and with the monies raised over the past two years we gave out $5,000 in camp scholarships to local youth,” said Brown. “There is no financial requirement for these scholarships, only that a parent or grandparent has served.”
Row upon row of 3’ x 5’ American flags will be on display from Nov. 2-30. A brief ceremony to kick off the Park of Honor will be observed Nov. 2 at 11 a.m.
Area residents are welcome and encouraged to walk among the flags during the month’s presentation, reading names and other information about the honorees.
Individuals who purchase a flag can retrieve it on Nov. 30 from 10 – 11 a.m. at the Westfield Middle School or after that date at the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Westfield.
For more information on the Park of Honor and a form, visit https://www.westfieldkiwanis.org.
