The Mineral County Recreation and Community Development department is hosting a Presidents’ Day 5k walk/run on Monday, February 19, to raise money for the Big Flag fund.
The parks and rec department hopes that if people have the day off that they’ll consider joining their neighbors and friends at Veterans Memorial Park to get some physical exercise and support the cause.
“We’re putting this together to raise money for the Big Flag,” Recreation and Community Development Assistant Director Julie Sanchez reiterates, referring to the 60’x30’ American cloth flag that has become a totem for Hawthorne.
The Big Flag was bought from Sign City in October 2016 to fly during Veterans Day and now lives permanently at Veterans Park. It is also the same flag featured at the annual Armed Forces Day Parade held every May, where local officials, dignitaries, volunteers, and attendees all help carry it down to the park at the end of the parade. However, an American flag that size requires some maintenance, and the Big Flag Fund helps offset its costs. It’s one of the first things one sees when coming into the northern part of Hawthorne.
“Our department wants to make sure that the flag remains in good shape,” Sanchez says.
This inaugural Presidents’ Day Walk/Run to support the Big Flag will start at Veterans Park, go down A Street, follows West 1st Street to Armory Road, and ends at Veterans Park. It will not be timed, and paid participants will receive a water bottle at the end of their walk/run. Pre-registration takes place at the park on the morning of February 19 from 6:30-7:30 a.m.; the cost to participate is $20 (cash-only.) The event starts at 8 a.m.
“This is the first time that the [parks and rec] department has done something like this, and 100 percent of the funds are going straight back to the Big Flag,” Sanchez says. “We’re excited to do this.”
For more information or to request a copy of the Presidents’ Day Walk/Run registration form, visit https://www.facebook.com/MineralCountyParksandRec.
