City staff: five banners ordered for inaugural Veterans display; registration to reopen in February

City staff reported to the Winter Springs veterans committee that five banners have been registered for the program’s initial launch and that those banners will be printed in the next few weeks and installed on light poles near the Veterans Memorial on Bloomberg in mid-January.

“So, yes, we did have five participants register for this year, for the initial launch,” said Brian Dunnigan, director of administrative services and operations. He said the banners will remain in place through just before July 4 and that staff will notify committee members when installations occur so they can take photos and provide local publicity.

Dunnigan outlined the program schedule: staff will reopen registration in February or early March for the next round, with a mid-November cutoff for applications to allow time for printing and installation. He said the next full installation cycle would be January 2027 for banners registered in 2026.

Committee members raised photo-quality concerns for some submissions and staff said images that need retouching would be handled under the program’s posted photo guidelines. Committee members also discussed communication plans and media interest; staff said they would contact people whose banners are installed and expects some reporters to request interviews about the program.

The committee did not take a formal vote on the banner program during the meeting. Staff asked members to provide additional names for future rounds and noted a partnership contribution from the Marine Corps League for next year’s installations.