Veteran banners, yard signs new to Summit Township
SUMMIT TWP — Photos of Jenny Davis’ father, husband and son are all displayed in the front yard of her home in Herman.
She had ordered lawn signs featuring each of their military photos through a project organized by Garret Kamerer, a Butler Area High School senior who organized the initiative to earn his Eagle Scout rank.
A two-fold endeavor, Kamerer’s project included printing yard signs with the military photos for people and printing veteran banners to hang on utility poles along Bonniebrook and Herman roads in Summit Township.
Davis picked up the prints Wednesday outside the Herman Volunteer Fire Company, where the scouts were distributing hundreds of prints to people who ordered them.
“I was really excited they were doing this,” Davis said. “It is pretty sentimental.”
Kamerer said his Eagle Scout project took months to pull off.
Last July when Kamerer was considering what to do for the project, he passed under military banners in Butler while driving with his mother.
About eight months, more than 90 veteran submissions and several calls to the power company later, Kamerer was able to hang veteran banners throughout Summit Township recognizing service members throughout the area.
The timing couldn’t have been better. He hung the banners the week before Memorial Day.
“For eight months we were gathering intel and finding out which poles we could use,” Kamerer said. “We had a bunch of meetings with people, put it on Facebook trying to get attention to it.”
Kamerer advertised for veteran submissions on Facebook and on the Herman Volunteer Fire Company’s marquee sign. He said the response was bigger than he expected, prompting a need to call the power company several times.
“We had to reapply for poles to use because we kept running out of space,” he said.
A majority of the veteran submissions Kamerer received were for people still living, but there are several who are deceased, and two who were killed in action.
Kamerer said more than half of the people who submitted veterans also ordered yard signs. He also said he has some family members in the military, who actually did not ask to be included on the banners.
Kamerer had help from several members of his Boy Scout Troop, Troop 30 which is based in Oakland Township. His troopmates helped hang some of the banners, and were present to distribute the yard signs Wednesday evening.
The yard signs cost $125 each, which was the total cost paid by the buyers, Kamerer said, because the goal was not to profit from the project.
The project was simply intended paying respect to people who served in the military, Kamerer said.
“The thing I’m most proud of is just honoring the veterans,” Kamerer said. “They deserve it.”
Kathleen Spack, a former resident of Summit Township, ordered prints of her dad, Leo Collins, who was in the Navy. She thanked Kamerer profusely when she picked up her yard signs Wednesday, and said his efforts were appreciated.
“It’s wonderful to do this. It’s so nice,” Spack said. “I think (dad) would be honored.”
A complete list of veteran banners in Summit Township can be found online at troopbanners.com.
