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Banners pay tribute to veterans, active service members

Daily Mountain Eagle - 8/18/2017

By NICOLE SMITH

Daily Mountain Eagle

Jasper Main Street will soon be honoring the men and women who have served our country.

Banners to honor area veterans and current service members will be placed on lampposts in downtown Jasper one month prior to Veterans Day in November.

Jasper Main Street (JMS) Executive Director Mike Putman said JMS and many other sponsors of the banner project want to honor those who have served America by displaying a record of their service along the streets of downtown Jasper.

"We want to honor our military as a community, and that includes not just downtown Jasper, but Highway 78, Industrial Boulevard and Walker County as a whole," Putman said. "For the purposes of Jasper Main Street's banner program, a veteran is any person, who served honorably, or who is currently in active duty, in the armed forces of the United States."

Banners can be purchased for $300 each, which guarantees three years of display life. An American flag will also be placed along Highway 78 in Jasper for every banner that is purchased.

Currently banners are displayed downtown to reflect historic landmarks in Jasper, and JMS will roll out flourish banners after the military service banners have been displayed. Banners will rotate periodically to preserve their life in the years to come.

Each veteran or active duty banner will feature the honorees photograph, branch of service, name, rank and service dates. To purchase a banner, email Mike Putman at mike@jaspermainstreet. com.

Holly Trawick has designed the banners for Jasper Main Street, and the Walker College Foundation, for which she is executive director, is a sponsor of the banner project.

"She's been very helpful to Jasper Main Street's design committee," Putman said.

Trawick said banners have impacted downtown in a positive way to highlight the city and county's history, while also demonstrating a bright future as revitalization of the district continues.

"The Jasper Main Street Design Committee found that banners are a great way to show the personality of a community. The historical buildings banner campaign highlighted the pride we have in our community history," Trawick said. "Veterans banners show the pride we have in the individuals who have made our way of life possible. When a visitor sees these banners, they learn what is important to our community in a visual, meaningful way."

The deadline to order banners is Sept. 15.

A total of 25 banners were sold during Jasper Main Street's first banner campaign.

Sponsors of the current banner campaign include Jasper Main Street, City of Jasper, Scott Crump Toyota, Honda & Hyundai of Jasper, Walker College Foundation, Jasper Auto Sales, Friendly Auto Sales, E-Z Auto Credit, Southern Wholesale Jewelers, Reliable Heating and Cooling and Remax Elite.