Republic Services Honors Veterans at 'Follow the Flag' Event in Utah's Grove Creek Canyon
Republic Services Salt Lake division proudly sponsored the annual Follow the Flag ceremonial event, established to honor Veteran’s with a large American flag hung between two canyon walls across a 600-foot-wide crevice in Grove Creek Canyon, in Pleasant Grove, Utah. Republic Services provided thousands of attendees with water bottles, sunglasses, and recycling education materials. Republic also provided recycling bins throughout the event, supporting our customers at the city and the Pleasant Grove Parks and Rec recycling efforts for the ceremony.
In partnership with the city of Pleasant Grove and the National Forest Service, the process to rig the Nation’s beautiful flag between the walls of Grove Creek Canyon commenced. On July 4, 2015, organizers celebrated the first ceremony to unveil the flag. The Boy Scouts of Troop 1166 and 26 from the Utah National Parks Council, Timpanogos District, were vital in executing the project by carrying the flag up the mountain to the point where it would be displayed.
Each night over the course of the week, the local boy scouts camped on-site and watched over the flag from dusk to dawn. The flag was lit nightly for one week, using a 7K Xenon light which has been heralded as one of the brightest lights on Earth. What started as a shared idea between a few members in the community to celebrate our Nation’s birth and encourage patriotism in the hearts of our community, has inspired thousands of people as the flag can be seen up to 50 miles away.
The flag installation has become a tradition and was unveiled a second time on September 11, 2015. In 2016, the event was attended by thousands of people with publicized events involving the transport of the flag to its destination, a 5K fun run, and the unfurling of its majestic colors in a breathtaking ceremony on the 4th of July. With continual support from local community leaders, organizers, donors, and businesses like Republic Services, Follow the Flag continues to grow and flourish.
“The mission of Follow the Flag is to strengthen the devotion of humanity, because we all have an undying responsibility to be courageous, to speak out, to have hope, and to inspire patriotism in others,” stated Kyle Fox, co-founder of Follow the Flag. “We developed the Follow the Flag event during a time when Americans were losing hope in their great country. Our purpose and vision is to bring people together, to unite our Nation’s citizens around a common symbol of freedom, hope, and love.”
Learn more about Follow the Flag, or see the FOX13 news story here.
