^{This page is part of © FOTW Flags Of The World website}

Florida, Massachusetts (U.S.)

Berkshire County

image from www.townofflorida.org/Flag.htm

Description of the flag

See also:

Description of the flag

In 1997 the 3rd, 5th, and 6th grades at the Gabriel Abbott Memorial School took a field trip to the Statehouse in Boston where there is a large hall with flags hanging overhead from towns all across the state. Teachers and chaperones on the trip realized a flag from the town of Florida was not flying. A short time after the trip, a town flag design contest was organized by art teacher Brigitta Furhman, in which the 5th through the 8th grades participated. Teachers Mary Scanlon, Alfred Gallese and Denise Chesbro judged the entries and chose two designs-one centering around the eastern portal of the Hoosac Tunnel and the other, the elk statue at the Whitcomb Summit on the Mohawk Trail. One design was created by Ian Downey, son of Christopher Downey and the late Barbara Downey, and the other was created by Shelby Lewis, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Lewis. The two designs were combined with the Elk perched atop the Hoosac Tunnel and this design was then approved by the selectmen. Carolyn Cummings of the town of Florida has made two flags-one for the Statehouse and one that is displayed in the school. Jeffrey Burdick, chairman of the Adrian J. Poirot Veterans Memorial Committee, has commissioned a third flag to be hung in the town office building and to be used at town functions, such as the Memorial Day service. At the Memorial Day service on May 29, 2000, Shelby Lewis and Ian Downey were awarded certificates of appreciation for their flag design and Carolyn Cummings received the Betsy Ross award for sewing the new flags.
Dov Gutterman, 19 October 2002