Jul
2
Proper Disposal of The American Flag
Filed Under AFB on TV, AFB's Community Service | Leave a Comment
What do you do with the American flag once it is finished serving its duty? That’s what Tracy Douglass from KARK Channel 4, and participators from the Boy Scouts, the American Legion, and Kerry McCoy of FlagandBanner.com set out to inform viewers early Monday morning, June 2, 2007. Participators gathered together at Arkansas’ Macarthur Military Museum to partake in a flag burning ceremony of the American flag.
It is customary when a flag has faded, molded, discolored, or the fly-end is tattered, to present the folded flag for inspection to the Commander before disposal. The Ceremony begins with the presentation of the colors, then the presenting of the folded flag, and then the flag is placed in a fire and burned… It is tradition to return the flag to the earth. Bring your worn and tattered flag to FlagandBanner.com for $5.00 off your next American Flag purchase July 2nd thru July 3rd. FlagandBanner.com will dispose the flag for you. And if you’re not nearby Flagandbanner.com bring your flag to your local Boy Scouts of America troop, or The American Legion Auxiliary.
Have a safe and Happy 4th of July!
Feb
19
President’s Day Gift
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Recently returned from Operation Enduring Freedom, Jeff Vaughn, a Flight Engineer with the Air National Guard, presented Kerry McCoy, President of Arkansas’ Flagandbanner.com, with a gift in honor of her business this President’s Day. Before Jeff Vaughn went overseas, Mrs. McCoy gave him an American flag in honor of his service. MSGT Vaughn and his crew went over seas from July to September of 2006. With them, they carried this American flag on a C-130 aircraft during 25 combat missions in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan. These missions included combat drop offs, combat air drops, aero medical evacuations, DV support, prisoner transfers, and humanitarian airlift.
Upon return from overseas, MSGT Vaughn designed a certificate for Arkansas’ Flagandbanner.com. His crew of six men and women signed the certificate and placed it with the flag in his hand-made display case for Arkansas’ Flagandbanner.com. When asked why he went through all the trouble to make this gift for Kerry McCoy’s business he said, “I just wanted to show our appreciation of what your company does by promoting patriotism and support for our men and women at war. It’s not a service that we do; it’s a way of life.”
You can come and see Jeff Vaughn’s honorable gift at our historical building in downtown Little Rock at 800 west 9th Street. We are so honored to receive this gift, and thank him so much for all that he has done for our country. We also thank all the men and women who are currently overseas. It is guys like him that make us proud of what we do.
Oct
25
President of Arkansas FlagAndBanner.com, Kerry McCoy shares her story and expertise with business students from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
In a classroom setting with 20 attentive students, Kerry answers questions and gives advice on how to start a business, interview for jobs and have realistic expectations.
May
1
Street party at FlagandBanner.com headquarters
Filed Under AFB's Philanthropy, AFB's Community Service | Leave a Comment
Ninth Street once again became an entertainment district on Saturday, May 20 as Arkansas’ FlagandBanner.com and the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center hosted “The 9th Street Block Party.” In celebration of Arkansas Heritage Month, sponsored by the Department of Arkansas Heritage, the street was blocked off at West Ninth and State Streets and filled with musicians, artists and food vendors, and was a lively scene for families and people of all ages.
Entertainment and activities scheduled throughout the day included:
• Jazz blues, gospel, and hip hop musical acts
• Performing artists
• Memory Booth - locals brought their stories and photos of the 9th St community which was documented on film by Dempsey Film Group of Little Rock
• Local and regional artists
• Community information from Little Rock Fire Department and MEMS Ambulance Services
• Food from Pokey D’s, Margo’s Diner and Vino’s
• Kid’s activities
• Free admission, popcorn, cold drinks and cotton candy
Ninth Street, anchored by the Mosaic Templars Headquarters Building and Taborian Hall (now home to Arkansas’ FlagandBanner.com), was a thriving arts and entertainment district during the first half of the twentieth century. The modern organizations joined together to host an event that highlighted that legacy. Arkansas Flagandbanner.com offers commemorative Dreamland Ballroom t-shirts for promoting awareness of the historic dance hall.
Everyone brought their blankets and lawn chairs and enjoyed an entertaining day!
Feb
1
Arkansas Flag and Banner Celebrates 30 Years - Arkansas Business Magazine
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Arkansas Flag and Banner celebrated its 30th Birthday in 2005, and in those 30 years, this homegrown startup has expanded from a one-woman operation to a diversified national and international competitor in its industry, all while keeping its roots in the community where it sprouted. Owner Kerry McCoy was 20 years old and had $400 to her name when she quit her job selling flags for Betsy Ross Flag Girls in Dallas, packed everything up into her yellow ‘71 Chevy Camaro and drove home to Little Rock to start her own flag business. As luck would have it, no other local flag sellers existed in Little Rock at that time, and the country was preparing to celebrate its bicentennial, an occasion of rediscovered patriotism. To such a clear demand, she fed supply by cold calling and knocking on the doors of other businesses.
McCoy slowly expanded her sales methods, graduating from door-to-door sales to telemarketing, then to mailings and catalogs, and finally to the Internet in 1996, when she changed the name of the company to Arkansas’ FlagandBanner.com. And as sales increased, she diversified her product line. To her sewing department, she added screen printing and eventually digital printing capabilities, widening the range of customized flag and banners the company offered. Along with national, state and historic flags, her company also started selling flag poles and other flag accessories. In 2001 she opened a retail store for patriotic gifts and accessories, boasting the most red, white and blue under one roof. What resulted wan an entirely new creature in her industry.
There is not really anybody like my company in the whole United States….There is no flag and banner company that is as full service as we are,” McCoy said. She pointed out that none of her competitors sells traditional flags, flag poles, flag accessories, patriotic gifts, and custom flags and banners.
“It’s a lot of balls in the air,’ Mccoy said. Yet Arkansas’ FlagandBanner.com juggles them all. The company continues to grow 10 percent every year. It did $2.5 million in sales in 2005 and was named a finalist for the 2004 Arkansas Business of the Year Ward for businesses with 25 employees or fewer.
Most of the company’s sales - about 80 percent - are business to business. And with Internet sales earning 20 percent of revenue, Arkansas’ Flag and Banner.com has garnered big customers from coast to coast. For example, the company has sold custom banners as large as 20 ft. by 30 ft. to art expos in California and to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.
While continuing to grow and improve its current business model, Arkansas’ FlagandBanner.com is also working this year on reopening the Dreamland Ballroom located on the top floor of Taborian Hall, the historic building where the company is headquartered. McCoy hopes to restore th ballroom to the original glory it enjoyed during the ’20s and ’30s, when such music legends as Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and Ella Fitzgerald played there. In its restored state, the Dreamland Ballroom will be open to the public as an event center for rent. McCoy is currently seeking additional financing for this effort.
Feb
1
Lunchtime Lecture: “African American Fraternal Organizations in Little Rock and Arkansas, 1830-1930”
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FlagandBanner.com and the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center, a museum of the Department of Arkansas Heritage, co-hosted a program entitled, “African American Fraternal Organizations in Little Rock and Arkansas, 1870-1930,” on Monday, February 27, in the FlagandBanner.com headquarters at 800 W. 9th Street.
Blake Wintory, research and interpretation director for the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center, presented a program that discussed African American fraternal organizations, including the Mosaic Templars of America, the Knights and Daughters of Tabor which were formerly headquartered in Taborian Hall, the Knights of Pythias, the Odd Fellows and the Masons. Since 1992 Taborian Hall has been home to Arkansas’ FlagandBanner.com. Kerry McCoy, owner of Arkansas’ FlagandBanner.com, followed up with insights on Taborian Hall and the plans to restore its third-floor auditorium. After the lecture, McCoy lead a tour of Taborian Hall. Attendees were invited to bring a lunch and soft drinks were provided.
Oct
1
61st Airlift honors Arkansas Children’s Hospital
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Captain Christopher Kiser (right), along with the 61st Airlift Squadron, based at Little Rock Air Force Base, presents a certified American flag flown over Iraq and Afghanistan to Melissa Wolfe (left), a representative from Volunteer Services of the Arkansas Children’s Hospital. The flag was donated by Arkansas FlagandBanner.com for the occasion and after the presentation ceremony, the squadron visited the children and handed out flag stickers, also donated by FlagandBanner.com.
Aug
1
Community Service Awards and Inviting Arkansas
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Kerry and Grady McCoy are shown attending the 28th Annual Community Service awards held June 28 at the Embassy Suites ballroom in Little Rock. The black tie and dinner awards presentation was sponsored by the Governor’s office, Arkansas Department of Human Services Division of Volunteerism, KARK and St. Vincent Health System.
Inviting Arkansas/ August 2005 pg. 7
Jan
1
Meet the staff
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FlagandBanner.com employees pose in front of the FlagandBanner.com headquarters for a group photo. The photo is to be published along with a business profile in a local business journal’s February issue. All but 5 of our employees are pictured.