Millersburg Lions Club salutes Hometown Heroes
MILLERSBURG - Debbie Mullen was so impressed by a veterans display honoring local heroes she saw while vacationing in Tennessee, she decided to run the idea by her local Lions Club about doing something similar in MiIlersburg.
The Lions and the village of Millersburg have been supportive of her proposed project, as have other related businesses.
Mullen, a Millersburg Lions Club member, got the go-ahead from her club to undertake the project. She got permission from the village of Millersburg to display the banners of veterans on the poles in town, along with a waiver of the ordinance to hang the banners from AEP poles, which the village does not normally allow. She also received permission from AEP to attach the banners to their poles.
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Millersburg Electric agreed to provide the use of a lift truck to help hang the banners up on the poles.
"Everybody we have asked in the community has been very supportive," Mullen said. "I thought this was such a neat idea. We have so many veterans and this is such a patriotic community, I knew it would go over well.
"I presented it to our club, and they were 100% behind it," Mullen added. "They asked me to manage it."
The Lions Club, community support
Lions is focused on addressing vision and optical issues, but they also support scouting and sports teams at the high schools and other community projects, like the Christmas lights and flags throughout town and the Holmes County Fair.
"This is a new direction which is aimed at recognizing and supporting the veterans in our community," Mullen said.
Millersburg Village Administrator Nate Troyer said the village is glad to support the Hometown Heroes project undertaken by the Lions Club.
“The village is honored to support such a worthy project," Troyer said. "We’re grateful that the Lions Club has taken on such a big project and look forward to working with them both this year and for years to come to continue this program.
"Any time we get the chance to help honor and show respect for our veterans and active military members we will do whatever we can to help,” he added.
Schlabach Printers in Sugarcreek designed the veteran banners
The veteran banners will go on display the week before Memorial Day and be taken down after the Fourth of July. The banners, which were designed by Mullen, have been custom made by Schlabach Printers in Sugarcreek.
The banners are made up of photos of veterans in uniform, provided by families, along with their basic military information.
"On the top of the banner, it reads: 'Holmes County Hometown Heroes'," Mullen said. "The banners are double-sided colored vinyl banners.
"We hope to make this an annual project," she continued. "We have 41 of them for our first year. There are 20 decorative poles in downtown Millersburg, and I thought that would be plenty. But we doubled that. It was pretty exciting the initial response we got."
Mullen is still taking orders for veteran banners but any new orders will be used for future displays.
"We hope to keep growing this display every year," she said.
The Hometown Heroes program, sponsored by the Millersburg Lions Club is funded entirely by donations and banner sponsorships, and provides the community an opportunity to honor our local veterans with personalized banners, proudly displayed between Memorial Day and the Fourth of July.
To order a banner, go to: HChometownheroes@gmail.com or stop by the Lions Club food booth at the Holmes County Fair in August. You can also visit the Holmes County Hometown Heroes Facebook page for more information about ordering or sponsoring a banner.
This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Millersburg Lions to honor Hometown Heroes through banner display
