The yellow ribbon has served as a symbol of freedom for several decades, in films, song lyrics and during the hostage crisis in Iran that ended in 1981.
At the Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce Rooster Booster Breakfast Thursday morning, Mayor Tom Watson stressed the importance of showing support for the members of the Kentucky National Guard that will be deploying at the end of July.
The mayor then spoke on behalf of the Daviess County Rotary Club about the yellow ribbon show of support that will be available to the community through the sponsorship of Daviess County Rotary and Independence Bank.
“It’s really important that our community support this effort,” Watson said. “Let’s make them feel special — they’re doing their job so we can do this job.”
Beginning Thursday, July 18, members of the community will have the opportunity to pick up yellow ribbon kits at each of the Independence Bank locations. The kits, purchased by the Daviess County Rotary Club, will consist of an 8” pull-string bow with an additional 2 yards of ribbon and an informational sheet.
Community members are encouraged to take one ribbon kit per family and place them around a prominent tree or pole in their yard. The hope is that ribbons will be present in 500 different yards of 500 families. Any monies donated to the Daviess County Rotary Club will be used to purchase additional ribbons.
“The freedoms that we have are just amazing and all of that is directly related to a service member or a veteran,” said Rotarian Barbara Poynter. “There are so many things that we have that we don’t’ even think about — because of the men and women in uniform.”
On July 25, beginning promptly at 2 p.m., there will be a departure ceremony for the more than 150 National Guard members and their families at the Owensboro Convention Center. Local and state officials will be present for the hour-long ceremony. All other events in the days preceding are intended only for service members and their families.
Additional information about the official parade route and public send-off will be released at a later date.
