The Auglaize Township Historical Society and the Village of Harrod are jointly promoting a military banner program for residents of Auglaize Township. We have devised a list of criteria and commonly asked questions and answers for those wishing to participate. We realize that there will be questions that we have not thought of so please feel free to contact us if there is something that is not covered. We also ask that you take time to look through this material before contacting us. We are all volunteers and it take a lot of time to coordinate a project such as this.

Anyone who wishes to purchase a banner for themselves or for a military veteran will be referred to as the sponsor. We will attempt to accommodate everyone who fills out the application to the best of our ability however there will be a cut off date of April 1, 2023 to place an order.** We will hang the banners as they arrive. We can’t guarantee that they will be hung for Memorial Day 2023 at this time. We will try our hardest to make this happen!** The orders will be processed on a first come first served basis.

The sponsor may request a street or a certain block that they wish the banner to be placed in but there are no guarantees. We will try to place them as close as possible. Again, this will be on a first come first served basis. The area around the Veterans Park will be reserved for the Veterans who built and maintained the Park.

The Village of Harrod has agreed to install the banners in the village.

We have also received permission the Auglaize Township Trustees to place banners in West Newton and in Westminster. It will be the sponsors responsibility to have them installed in those communities.

We have also been advised that there will be major construction and changes to route 117 through Westminster in the coming year. At that time new light poles will be installed and there will be a place on the poles that are made to mount the banners. If you are considering Westminster you may want to wait to get a banner. You may order it now and have it installed at a later date or on one of the poles that is not on SR 117. Any further questions should be addressed to one of the Township Trustees.

BANNER SIZE

The banners are made with high quality vinyl material and they will each be 24” wide and 48” high. They will be mounted on brackets on the utility poles throughout the village of Harrod. Each banner will have the name and a picture of the Veteran. The same information must appear on both sides of the banner.

Anyone can become a sponsor and purchase a banner but to be eligible to be on the banner the honoree will have had to have served in the Armed Forces of the United States of America.

HOW LONG WILL THE BANNERS LAST?

The banners are extremely durable and withstand most weather conditions. Colors last over a year under standard sun and storm conditions. Like anything else, banners displayed outdoors for several months can begin to look "weathered". We recommend retiring banners after they start looking weathered and a replacement banner be ordered if you wish to continue displaying that particular honoree for an additional period of time. The biggest "enemy" to our banners are box trucks and tree branches.

If at any time the banner becomes tattered or torn or if faded to the point of not looking good it will be taken down at the discretion of the banner committee or village council. The banner will be given to the sponsor and that time the sponsor will have the opportunity to purchase another banner at a reduced price. (The brackets will not need to be purchased the second time) If the sponsor elects not to replace the banner then that spot will be offered to another sponsor on the waiting list.

It is possible to put more than one person on a single banner, say two brothers or a father son, but we do not recommend doing so. The picture would not be as big and the names would have to be printed smaller to accommodate the space. Both sides of the banner must display the same picture. You can not put the son on one side and the father on the other side.

GOLD-STAR PROGRAM

The company we are purchasing the banners from have a Gold Star Commitment program that produces at no-cost, banners of the fallen heroes from recent wars (1990-present), whether they died due to combat, by accident or by self-infliction. Families of these fallen heroes are still suffering greatly the loss of their loved one. Their wounds are still "fresh," which is why we chose this segment of honorees first.

WHY DOES YOUR GOLD-STAR PROGRAM APPLY TO CURRENT WARS ONLY?

We seek to honor all who served in our United States military - those who have donned the uniform of the U.S. military and to make the ultimate sacrifice if needed. Many have.

The Gold Star Commitment Program was started in honor of Jason M. Back, Captain, U.S. Marines, who died in 2015 due to inner battles caused by serving in recent wars.

The company has also just started a New Enlistment commitment. They will produce, at no-charge, banners that honor the young men and women who have signed up to join our military at a future date. We believe they deserve recognition, as less than 1% of all Americans have ever taken that step.

WHAT PHOTO FORMAT & RESOLUTION IS BEST FOR BANNERS?

A color or black & white photo of the honoree in their military uniform is always best. Do not crop the photo. Simply let us know if you want a portion of the photo to be cropped out and we will take care of it. Have it scanned or photographed in high-res even light and sent to us as a .jpg with the maximum quality settings.

Via email to lifebulbemail@gmail.com
Via text 419-230-1946
Via mail to ATHS PO BOX 3, Harrod, Ohio 45850

PLEASE INCLUDE YOUR VETERANS NAME AND SPONSOR NAME IN THE EMAIL, TEXT OR LETTER.

WHAT IF THERE IS NO MILITARY PHOTO FOR AN HONOREE?

In most cases when there is no photo of the individual in uniform to be found, other options are available. A current photograph of the honoree wearing a veteran's or branch hat has been utilized. High school photos have been used as well, especially for those that served in earlier wars and, perhaps, were killed in action. We also have placed their branch emblem on a patriotic background in place where the photo would go. This will still give them the honor they are due at the same time keeping a consistent look among all banners.

WHAT GUARANTEE COMES WITH YOUR BANNERS?

All of our banners come with a guarantee - 24"x48" and smaller come with a 6-month guarantee and larger banners come with a 3-month guarantee. The guarantee covers banners that are damaged by weather, box trucks, torn, lost, or stolen. These banners will be replaced at no-charge (no changes allowed) and shipped.

Our banners are extremely durable and have held up well against many strong storms nationwide. They are not covered against hurricane force winds.

WHO APPROVES THE ARTWORK FOR EACH BANNER?

Once the banner sponsorship information and photo is received, it will go into the set-up process and a proof will be sent to the sponsor for review. A copy of the proof will also be sent out to the program head at the same time. Sponsors typically approve or request changes to their banner(s) once they receive the proof, as they only have to concentrate on their own submissions. They are better equipped to verify spellings, information and overall accuracy rather than one person trying to review hundreds. Your status page will reflect when proofs are sent out and when they get approved by the sponsor. If time is running short for display, you may want to contact the sponsor for approval and/or payment of their banner in order to process it in time for display.

Most of the questions and answers were taken directly from the companies website that will be producing the banners. The company currently has banners in Delphos and Waynesfield for anyone wishing to see what they look like. We believe that they will last longer than what the companie’s warranty is but will make no guarantees. There is no mark up on the banners and are purchased by the sponsor at cost of the ATHS. We thank you for supporting this program and keeping the memory of your loved one and their service alive.

Please purchase and fill out the form below by clicking on the photos of the sample banners and clicking add to cart. Online payment is only accepted at this time.