6/20/2008
Lake Havasu City, Ariz. – Boaters at the north end of the Bridgewater Channel may have noticed a new addition to the area: a flag pole sporting the American Flag as well as the banner of the Freedom Bridge Foundation.
The pole is actually one of two dedicated for the area. The second will go on the other side of the channel. “That is the footprint of where the bridge will go, that designates the location of the second bridge,” said Larry Robinson, executive director of the Freedom Bridge Foundation.
The pole and Freedom Bridge Foundation banner was donated by Tim Dam, owner of Orseeni House. The American flag was donated by the local chapter of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. The second pole was donated by Big O Tires, but Foundation members are still waiting on approval from the State Parks Board before that one is erected.
Robinson said so far, the reception to the flag as been warm. “As people go by, they wave while we’re raising the flags. We had one gentleman in a pontoon boat that went by as we were raising it on Flag Day. He pulled out an American Flag of his own and waved it as he went past,” Robinson said.
Additionally, the new flag has given the foundation the opportunity to spread the message of what they are trying to accomplish. “A lot of people ask about what is going on and it gives us a chance to talk about the project. It also shows progress, that something is happening down there,” he said.
The foundation was formed to create a lasting memorial to veterans out of the second bridge. The additions to the span, the memorial park and the Memorial Walkway, will be paid for by sales of memorial bricks instead of tax funding. The group says they have never seen such a monumental undertaking in which private dollars are used to improve infrastructure.
The flags will be raised Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
-END-
Photo Cutline:
From left: Freedom Bridge Foundation executive director Larry Robinson, his son James Robinson, retired Petty Officer First Class with the US Navy, Judy Lacey, Veterans Affairs Coordinator with the foundation, Lake Havasu City Council member and Foundation Chair Brian Wedemeyer and Orseeni House owner Tim Dam pose infront of the flag pole installed by the foundation. The pole, which bears the American Flag as well as a banner with the Freedom Bridge Foundation logo, marks where one side of the Freedom Bridge will be.
Jarrod Lyman
Vice-President
Lake Havasu City CVB
(928) 453-3444 x134
(928) 453-3344 fax
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