5th Annual Flag Raising Ceremony

Join us to honor the men and women who gave their lives for our great country.

Fisher’s Landing Resort has known Memorial Day as the starting weekend of the summer season for decades. Everyone enjoys boating, hanging on the sandbar, BBQing, and spending time with family and friends. My father (Randall Phillips) served in the United States Air Force and my sister and myself were taught from an early age to respect our flag, take pride in our country, and appreciate the men and women of the military who sometimes had to pay the ultimate price so that we could enjoy our freedoms.
A few years back as I was riding through Pruitt City, on Memorial Day I noticed there were so many American flags flying everywhere. I took pride in the fact that our River Community was so patriotic. I thought to myself we should do something on this holiday to show our collective appreciation for our Military and love for our Country, and as I passed the Martinez Lake Fire Department, I realized we could do a small flag raising ceremony for those of us who wanted to participate.

I didn’t realize so many others in our community would jump on board with this idea. Fisher’s Landing bought a new flag (made in America) for this event and supported my efforts whole-heartedly! I asked my neighbor Cal Gunny Grimes if he could raise the flag and speak but he owns the Swallows Inn at San Juan Capistrano and Memorial Day Weekend is a huge work weekend for him. He then hooked me up with his friend and fellow Marine Reg Nelson who had a place on Swede’s Hill. Cal Gunny Grimes and Reg Nelson are a part of a group of Marines called the "Nights at the Round Table" and between these guys they have 236 years of service to our Country! (Thank you all for your service)

The moment I spoke to Reg Nelson, he was a wealth of information on how to properly display and raise "Old Glory" and he said he would be honored to raise the flag for the ceremony.

Inaugural Flag Raising Ceremony, we were not sure how many people would participate, but we had a crowd. Reg Nelson proudly raised our Flag, and my neighbors Mike and Jackie Hancock played the National Anthem on their boom box

We had a pretty good size crowd and watching the crowd as the flag was raised and anthem played and seeing and feeling the emotion on everyone’s face who loves our country stays with me. Hats were off, hands over the hearts, people standing at attention, no kneeling, traffic stopped (thanks to Fisher’s Landing facilities crew) and the children were participating and more importantly watching!

Location: Fire Station