Three Darien businessmen who donated dozens of flags for downtown lampposts have been thanked by the town Beautification Commission in a public letter.
“On behalf of the Darien Beautification Commission, we would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude for the generous donation of the American flags that you sourced, purchased and assembled,” commission members said in a letter to the three businessmen: David Hawes, head of the Hawes Team at Compass real estate; David Campbell, CEO and president of Rings End Lumber and John Hertz, one of the founders of Hollow Tree Self Storage.
“Your support played a pivotal role in the success of the celebration of Memorial Day and towards the overall beautification of Darien, and we are immensely grateful for your contribution.
“To have the flags flying from the town lampposts is not only beautiful but also serves to remind the town of the sacrifice that so many have made for our freedom,” the letter continued. “We have received positive feedback, and it is clear that your contribution to the town’s appearance makes a significant difference.”
The letter from the Beautification Commission was reprinted in the June 21 issue of the Town of Darien newsletter.
“Some years ago, some residents had donated flags to be hung downtown in addition to the baskets that Beautification puts up,” Town Administrator Kathleen Buch recently told the Board of Selectmen. “Those flags had gotten old, and they were in bad shape, so Beautification asked for money in the fiscal ’25 budget to replace them.”
Money for the flags — a total of $5,000 — had been initially put into the current fiscal year’s budget last winter during budget deliberations, then it was taken out, then put back in again by the Board of Finance and Board of Selectmen. The money became part of the budget finally approved by the Representative Town Meeting.
Buch said had initially removed a $5,000 item from the Beautification Commission during the town’s deliberations over the budget late last year or early this year. Then the Board of Finance and Board of Selectmen put the money back in, and the Representative Town Meeting approved the town budget with the flag money in it.
Buch said that after the money had been put back in the budget, “the people who donated the original flags donated some more. So we don’t need the $5,000 that was put in the budget for the purchase of the flags.” At Buch’s recommendation, the money was transferred into the town’s contingency fund.
Selectman Monica McNally asked whether the donors would like to be recognized by the town. Buch said she’d check into that, and perhaps they might be recognized by the selectmen at a future meeting.