March 28, 2024

Flag dedication to be held before SWCC vs. Marshalltown volleyball game

Southwestern Community College has received an 18-foot-long American flag that will be dedicated during a ceremony prior to the SWCC volleyball game against Marshalltown Monday.

“When it comes down, it’s all but three, maybe four foot from the floor,” said Tom Lesan, SWCC vice president of economic development. “We’re putting it over by the west basket(ball hoop). It’s huge and really impressive.”

The South Central Iowa Community Foundation (SCICF) board donated the flag to the college, and representatives from the board will be present for the ceremony, which begins at 6:45 p.m. Monday in the SWCC student center gymnasium.

SCICF gifted the flag and a rolling flag box to SWCC as part of its project of donating flags to a number of high schools spanning Union, Ringgold, Clarke, Decatur and Lucas counties.

“It’s a proactive grant we have done in five of our counties at the high schools, and we wanted to include SWCC, also,” said Stacy Stephens, SCICF program administrative assistant. “We had seen it in another town in Albia and one of our board members had went there and said, ‘Wow that’s cool, we should do that.’ So, the executive board decided to proactively do it in ... those counties.”

During the pre-game ceremony, SWCC President Barb Crittenden will speak, a photo will be taken, and then the flag, mounted from the gym ceiling, will be lowered using a remote control and the national anthem will be sung.

“The flag, when lowered, is 18 feet long, so it makes quite an impression,” said Terri Higgins, SWCC director of marketing and enrollment management.