ELLY GRIMM
• Leader & Times
Every major holiday, Liberal citizens and visitors from out of town see Kansas Avenue decorated with the U.S. flag.
These efforts are thanks to the Liberal Noon Kiwanis Club, and like any other major project, needs funds to keep going, and the group is currently seeking donations.
“With the Freedom Heritage Flag Project, the Noon Kiwanis Club will take the money we receive and replace and update our flags we put on display on Kansas Avenue, which is really needed due to the wind and other crazy weather conditions that come through the area,” Noon Kiwanis President Becki Richardson said. “Also, our club's van requires maintenance, and we're needing to fix up some parts of that. There are some general maintenance costs to keep up with everything, and that's what the donations will go toward. The Freedom Heritage Freedom Flag project has been an integral part of Liberal's identity for more than 50 years, and it has expanded so much throughout the years because originally, the flags were displayed just for those who donated, but now, the flags are displayed on Kansas Avenue from 11th Street to Pine Street for the key national holidays like President's Day, Memorial Day, Flag Day, Independence Day, Labor Day and Veterans Day, and welcome flags are also displayed for special occasions like Pancake Day and the Five State Fair. The team currently in charge of installing the flags uses a van outfitted with a welded-on crow's nest to help ensure efficiency and safety – compare that to the beginning when the club used a pickup from Stu Emmert's outfitted with a do-it-yourself mechanical scaffolding unit attached until a safety scare brought that to a halt. The community's support remains the backbone of this project, and all donations and contributions are greatly appreciated and can be sent to the Noon Kiwanis Club of liberal, P.O. Box 1152, Liberal, KS 67905. The club works at keeping this tradition alive, and it's a powerful tribute to U.S. citizens who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedoms, and this project helps ensure the U.S. flags proudly wave in the community on those major holidays.”
A project of this magnitude, Richardson added relies on a lot of dedication of club members and volunteers as well as the generosity of local businesses and individuals.
“We did recently mail out letters to businesses in town, and individuals can also donate to this cause, and the club invites supporters to contribute donations of $100, $150, $200, or any amount they can afford, to help sustain these efforts,” Richardson said. “As our Flag Chairman Andy Skinner says every year, this project is a testament to our community's respect and gratitude for the freedoms we enjoy, and every flag represents the sacrifices made by those who came before us, so we're proud to be able to continue this tradition.”
Richardson said she and the rest of the club are proud to have kept the tradition going for so long.
“This has been going on for more than 50 years, from the research we've been able to gather, and it makes us really proud to be able to keep this going. We've also been doing the Pancake Day breakfast for a long time, and all of the service projects the Noon Kiwanis Club does throughout Liberal have been longstanding and mean a lot to me and many others in town,” Richardson said. “It makes us proud to be able to continue this legacy of this project and many others. Anyone with any other questions about donating toward the project is more than welcome to get in contact with the club through our social media pages. And if you can't donate money, we'd be more than happy to have you as a volunteer when we work with the flags – it's usually in the early morning and/or late evening when we do everything, and we'd be more than happy to have your help. The club itself meets every Thursday at 12 p.m. at Seward County Community College in Room SU214, and anyone is welcome to come and see what we're about and possibly sign up for one of our big projects. Our fundraising goal is $5,000 – there have been years when we've raised more than that, and there are years when we've raised less than that, so we decided that was a good number to strive to.”
Another minor goal of the fundraising campaign, Richardson said, is to shed more light on the Noon Kiwanis Club and everything it does.
“We're excited to shine some more light on what we do as a group, especially with this project, because on those aforementioned holidays, they're up and flying by the time a lot of people are driving to work, but not everyone knows who is in charge of actually doing that, and it's us. It's nice to shine more light on the group and what we do, and it's always great getting out and sharing what we do,” Richardson said. “Anyone wanting to join would just need to get in touch with me, and my phone number is (620) 360-0037. I've been with the Noon Kiwanis for about 10 years now, and it's a great group to be part of, and it's a global organization dedicated to improving the world one child and one community at a time. Some of our other bigger events are the Meadowlark Elementary School book fair, the Pet & Spook Parade on Halloween, and we also provide scholarship money to high school seniors and support the Liberal High School Key Club.”
Richardson said she and the rest of the club are looking forward to keeping the tradition alive for many more years.
“We wouldn't necessarily say no to putting up more flags, but that would depend on the number of poles, location(s), and how many volunteers we could get, because putting up all the flags we have does take a decent chunk of time. However, we would definitely be open to putting up even more flags if we had the resources and the manpower to do support that,” Richardson said. “We love working on this project and love making the community all pretty with the flags we put up, it just adds that extra spark to the community. And we've had so many people in the community tell us how much they enjoy seeing all the flags waving on Kansas Avenue and how great they make the town look, so we want to be able to keep doing what we're doing, and we'd appreciate any support possible.”
