PORT ANGELES — Banners advertising events and businesses are a common sight in any town, but Port Angeles will soon be one of the few in the state to use them to honor its men and women in the military.
The first sign through the Blue Star Banner Program is expected to go up on Lincoln Street in the next couple of weeks, said Mike Sturgeon, who proposed the program to the Port Angeles City Council.
The council approved the program last month. It removed its last procedural hurdle Tuesday by amending the city’s sign ordinance in order to allow the banners to go up.
The banners will be placed on light poles on Lincoln Street; each will list the name of a Port Angeles resident who is serving in the military.
The first will honor Coby Love, 21, a Navy intelligence specialist who is serving with an Army unit in Afghanistan.
‘Great idea’
His wife, Gemma Love, said the program was a great idea for Port Angeles.
“It means so much to Coby,” she said.
“It gives him a sense of pride and more strength to do this over there, knowing that he has people here that care about him.”
His banner will be sponsored by Wave Broadband, where he worked before his service, Gemma Love said.
She added that the banners also mean a lot to the families of those who serve.
“What they are going through and what the families are going through is an awfully difficult ballgame,” she said.
The Loves have two children together.
Seven more on order
Sturgeon, who is the construction coordinator for Wave Broadband in Port Angeles and a Navy veteran, said he has orders for seven other banners.
Each of the banners, which are sponsored, costs $350.
The program, started by Lynette George in Kitsap County about four years ago, has been adopted by Bremerton, Poulsbo, Silverdale, Belfair, Kingston and Port Orchard.
At Tuesday’s council meeting, George told the Peninsula Daily News that she was excited to see the program spread to the North Olympic Peninsula.
“I’m hoping that it will spread throughout the state,” she said.
Gold Star banners also are available for men and women who die in the line of duty.
The Port Angeles banners are being coordinated through George.
Those interested in sponsoring a banner can contact her at lynette.george@kitsapbluestar.org.
________
Reporter Tom Callis can be reached at 360-417-3532 or at tom.callis@peninsuladailynews.com.
