Military Banner Program comes to Canyon Lake

BY Greg Golding

The City of Canyon Lake has begun a Military Banner Program for residents to honor active duty military personnel and veterans who reside in Canyon Lake. Just before Christmas, six banners were hung on light poles lining Railroad Canyon Rd. honoring Adam McNaughton, U.S. Navy; Brent Tibbet, U.S. Navy; Kevin Keigwan, U.S. Army; Steven Garza, U.S. Navy; Nicholas Tousseau, U.S. Navy; and Russell Kurt Moore, U.S. Marines.

The 30×90-in. banners were ordered and purchased by wives, mothers or fathers of those named. Joe Grasso of All Signs Graphics & Design made the banners and installed them.

According to Nancy Horton, chair of the Veterans Day Committee, this was the culmination of a three-year dream and she expresses her deepest appreciation to Debby Gagnon for heading up the effort to make it happen. The City of Menifee assisted the effort by providing a copy of the brochure used for its military banner program.

Debby says this is an ongoing program, noting, “We won’t be able to give any specific dates for installation, but we are trying to install in groups of six. The original six have been installed on the only three available light poles on Railroad Canyon Rd. The rest of the banners will be installed in the Towne Center parking lot on light posts closest to the Veterans Monument, then extending out to the rest of the parking lot.”

To participate in the program, family members can pick up an application at City Hall or Pack Wrap and Post in the Towne Center. Along with filling out the application, copies of the applicant’s driver’s license or a utility bill showing the Canyon Lake address of the military service person or his/her immediate family member will be required.

Also needed is a 5×7-in. color portrait of the service member in his/her military uniform for display on the banner (photos will not be returned). Digital photos with a resolution of 300 DPI or higher also will be accepted and can be e-mailed.

The spelling of the name on the banner will be taken directly from the application. The cost of each banner is $250 and includes installation. Active duty banners will be displayed year round. They will be removed when the service person is no longer serving active duty in the armed forces, or if the banner becomes damaged or when the program concludes.

Banners will be returned to the applicant after removal, or they will be placed on the wall in the City Council Chamber or at the Veterans Monument.

Annual verification of the service member’s active duty status will be required. Eligible branches of the military service include Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marines, Navy, Merchant Marines, National Guard Active Reserve.