Troy’s Avenue of Flags project by the Noon Optimist Club is making its final appearance of the year this week with nearly 500 flags on display in the city and Concord Township for Veteran’s Day.
The club started the project in 2011 when 48 flags were placed around town.
The program has grown steadily with word of mouth and the flags themselves serving as its promoters.
In the program, people pay $40 a year to have a 3 foot by 5 foot American flag placed in front of their home on five national holidays: Memorial Day, Flag Day, July 4, Labor Day and Veteran’s Day. Teams of club members deliver the flag, place it in a sleeve inserted in the ground, retrieve it and store it until the next holiday.
“We started with three teams and now have 15 teams. The irony I find is one of the teams has as many flags as the whole program did when first started,” said Steve Hamman, who along with wife, Jan, coordinates flag distribution and storage. Both are club members.
The Hammans store the flags in their garage. When returned from duty, the flags are dried completely, and then rolled and stored under a system developed by the Hammans.
The flags are purchased locally and all volunteers who handle the flag are taught flag etiquette, Jan Hamman said.
The Noon Optimist organization, whose focus is on youth, was looking for a fundraising project when the flags were suggested. The Centerville Optimist Club, the largest Optimist group in the country, is among other clubs in the Dayton area with a flags project.
The project has allowed the club to increase the scholarships it offers local students each year, said Susan Funderburg, club member and one of those involved in the project start up.
Before the project, the club would scrape together enough for a $500 scholarship. This year, it awarded five $1,000 scholarships to graduating Troy High School seniors.
For more information on the Troy Noon Optimist Avenue of Flags, call 937-339-0511 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
The Troy Noon Optimist Club is offering subscriptions to the Avenue of Flags project as Christmas gifts for recipients who live in the Troy area. Purchasers will receive a specially made gift card from the club that they can give to their recipient. Anyone interested in gifting a flag subscription is asked to contact club member Alan Kappers at 937-339-0511 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more details. The cost of a subscription is $40 per flag to be displayed for five holidays or a subscription for four flags at a single address for $120.
