BANNER YEAR
Committee celebrates first anniversary on Veterans Day
TROY, N.Y. » Members of the Troy Military Banner Committee celebrated its oneyear anniversary by holding an event on Veterans Day.
The group came together with members of the community Saturday to celebrate its first anniversary with a Veterans Day open house and fundraiser at the Veterans of Lansingburgh.
Members of the committee said they could never have hoped for the success the program has seen. The group has produced more than 450 banners to honor veterans who date back as far as the Civil War; members had expected to produce just 300 in the initial batch.
The event featured food, music and other entertainment, as well as raffles and a 50/50 drawing. A $5 admissions charge helped the committee cover unexpected costs for hanging the banners throughout the city, as well as to maintain and update its website at www.troymilitarybanners.com.
“[Our first year] has been amazing, [we went] from 20 to 460 [banners] in one year, we never dreamed, we’ve always hoped and now I already have 35 more applications for next year,” said committee member Joanne McCarthy on Saturday afternoon.
The four-hour event also had some local dignitaries in attendance, including Rensselaer County Executive Kathleen Jimino, Troy Mayor Patrick Madden and members of both the Rensselaer County Legislature and the Troy City Council.
“We should really be thanking our veterans every day. We focus on it on Veterans Day, but we owe them a great debt of gratitude every day and how better to say thank you than to put their names and faces up all around our city.”
— Rensselaer County Executive Kathleen Jimino
“I’m blown away [by the work of the banners committee],” said Madden. “I remember when they made the announcement last year, probably around this time, and I thought that this was a cool idea, this is great, but I had no idea that it would take off the way it did.”
“We should really be thanking our veterans every day. We focus on it on Veterans Day, but we owe them a great debt of gratitude every day and how better to say thank you than to put their names and faces up all around our city,” added Jimino.
Community members and veterans in the community were also happy with the efforts of the committee over the past year, and wanted to attend the fundraiser event to show their support.
“I think they have the best looking banners in the Capital District and it’s just really an outstanding thing for Troy,” said Mike Wood, who is a veteran of the United States Army National Guard.
“It’s Veterans Day and as far as I’m concerned, we’ve served our country, we’ve come back and now we serve the local community whether it’s veterans or the youth; and in this case it’s for the veterans, and it’s just a really good cause,” added Lisa Higgitt, who is on the Board of Directors for the Veterans of Lansingburgh Club and also served in the United States Army.
The program concluded for the year on Veterans Day, with any banners purchased now to be produced for the 2018 season, which will run from Memorial Day to Veterans Day. The cost for families to honor loved ones who served has been increased from $150 to $175 to cover production cost for the banners, but those who purchase the banners will still see them displayed for three seasons before being presented to the purchaser. One new feature the committee came up with for the near future is to also create small, replica banners for the families to put in front of their homes.
For more information on the program, visit the committee’s website or its Facebook page at www.facebook.com/troymilitarybannercommittee.
The group also is accepting donations by mail at: Troy Military Banner Committee, P.O. Box 1365, Troy, NY 12181.