Monterey Seeking Submissions for Town Flag Design
MONTEREY, Mass. — The Selectmen and sate Sen. Benjamin B. Downing, D-Pittsfield, are sponsoring a contest to design an official flag for the town to hang in the Great Hall at the State House.Residents are encouraged to submit a flag design: teachers, students, seniors, artists or any individual or group interested in creating a piece of Monterey history.
Once chosen, Monterey will present its flag to state officials in Boston. The Bureau of State Office Buildings began a project to improve the acoustics of the Great Hall in 1992 by collecting the official flags of the 351 commonwealth communities and hanging them throughout the space. State House visitors are often awed with the degree of detail represented in the flags and how they proudly display a community's history and heritage, said Downing
"Over the past two years, I have welcomed delegations from Pittsfield, Stockbridge, Otis and New Marlborough to the State House so they could present their flag to state officials," he said. "When visitors come to the State House and realize their hometown is not represented in the Great Hall, they are often disappointed. I'm excited to kick off this process and look forward to the day when Monterey's colors are hung in the Great Hall for all to admire."
Flag contest entry forms are available at www.montereyma.gov or can be picked up at Town Hall at 435 Main Road or at the Monterey Library at 452 Main Road. The deadline for submission is Oct. 31.
The community at large will vote for the top five finalists; those designs will then be judged by a panel of Monterey officials. The winning design will be announced on Dec. 12 and the new flag will be raised locally on Jan. 9, 2012.
After the local ceremony, Downing will host a delegation from the community in Boston to officially present Monterey's new flag to BSB officials at the State House.
