We thank all the club members, family members, and friends who helped us deploy flags for our 2026 Flag Service Project. On Wednesday May 13 we initiated the 2026 Rotary Flag Project deployment. The process was completed by Friday May 22 in time for Memorial Day on May 25! 
The task involved being part of two person teams that delivered the flags from our warehouse to our customers. We used routing software to create routes of approximately 25 homes. The flags were dropped into plastic conduits in the customers lawns that have been previously installed by other volunteers. They were topped with a bright red plastic cap. Our hearts burst with joy when, after several minutes crawling on the ground, we spotted that red cap and were able to deploy a flag. We also installed a solar powered light for each flag. Then we moved on to the next address.
One member of the team had to have a vehicle capable of carrying ten foot flags. A route took as much as 4-5 hours to complete.
The flags will remain out until after the September 11 holiday. They will need to be picked up and returned to the warehouse in the week starting Monday September 14. If you did not help with the deployment this year, then please consider helping with flag removal or with another task or helping next year.
We also need volunteers to install the conduits for new customers. This involves physical exertion. First select a spot on the customers property usually five feet from a sidewalk and five feet from a driveway, Then, using a sledge hammer you must drive a one inch diameter lead pipe 16 inches into the ground. After removing the pipe replace it with a 16 inch tube of PVC conduit. Then place a heavy metal washer around the conduit. (Sometimes it is necessary to use a metal detector to find the conduits.) Then place a bright red plastic cap on the conduit.
If you can return as a volunteer or want to be a new participant, please let me know. It can be a lot of fun and we raise $30,000 for our community grants program and other projects from the effort.
Gratefully,
John Loftus
Rotary Flag
Project Manager