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What's
New
September 26, 2008
Products &
General Announcements |
Flag Demand
Updates | Patriot Day
On Monday, July 24, 2006, President Bush signed into law:
H.R. 42, the "Freedom to Display the American Flag Act of
2005," which prohibits restrictions on displaying the U.S. flag on certain residential property.
The bill prevents a condominium association, cooperative association, or residential real estate management association from denying an owner or resident from displaying the U.S. flag on their residential property within the association.
This bill was sponsored by U.S. Rep. Roscoe Bartlett, R- Md.
Products and General
Announcements
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September
2008:
Some common replacement parts for the TopFlight™
20' Flagpole are
now available.
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July 2008:
Price reduction on the new Flag
Spreader for presentation flag pole sets.
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March
2008:
Glen Raven Mills has acquired The Astrup Company and
John Boyle & Company. Through the merger of these two companies
with Glen Raven Mills they will now be known as Tri
Vantage, LLC. With the union of these three industry leaders this
will allow unmatched service and numerous advantages to its customers.
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January
2008:
New Flag
Spreader for presentation flagpole sets.
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July 2007:
New sales tax rate takes effect July 1st to reflect the new five year 1% City
of Rockford sale tax for road and capital improvements. The new tax rate for most items sold in
the City of Rockford is now 8¼ %.
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February 2006:
After 3 years of we are sorry to say that we must
raise flag prices by about 3%. Not bad since inflations has gone up
about 10% in the same period of time.
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January
2007:
The Jolly
Roger Flag is now available.
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August
2006:
You may now access our web site by using www.blakeflags.com
or www.blakeawning.com.
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July 2006:
The Solair
Retractable Awning manual is
now available for download in PDF format.
May 2006:
Added the awning Photo
Album.
March 2006:
Good news, flag prices continue to remain
stable! U.S. and state flags prices did not increase this year. Except for a few flags of the world
and confederate flags,
nearly all other flag prices have not increased this year.
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November 2005:
Blue Star Service Banners
are now available in 3
sizes and with 1 to 4 blue stars.
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April 2005:
For the second year in a row, flag prices continue to remain
stable. Except for a few flags of the world and some racing flags,
nearly all flag prices have not increased this year!
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February 2005:
We now offer FREE ground shipping
on flags orders of $100 or
more to the continental 48 States. Ground shipping charge for 20FT flagpoles
are flat $12 or $25.
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December 2004:
Added memorial flag cases
for internment
and service flags.
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October 2004:
Most flag orders are now shipped using U.S. Postal Service (USPS) priority
mail unless other instructions are
giving. United Parcel Service (UPS) is still available but at a higher
cost. Typical minimum USPS priority mail for a 1LB package is only
$4.05 compared to $9.50 for UPS ground residential service. And USPS
priority mail estimated delivery time is only 1 to 3 days. UPS ground
can be 1 to as much 5 days.
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September 2004:
Added Specials and Closeout Flags.
August 2004:
Added U.S. Classroom Flags and Banners.
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July 2004:
Added U.S. Stick Flags. Economical cotton mounted
U.S. flags. Available in 4 sizes and 3 styles. Excellent for handing out at
parades, promotions, and special occasions.
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April 2004:
Added Military and POW-MIA indoor
presentation and
parade flag sets.
The ISO 9001:2000 Certified Flag is now
available in a 4x6' size.
The ISO / TS 16949 Flag is now available.
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February 2004:
Price drop on outdoor U.S. polyester flags!
The manufacture lowered their prices on U.S. polyester flags and we are
passing the savings along to you! They are the same high quality U.S. polyester flags, just a lower price.
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December 2003:
The Blake Company's flag and awning web pages are updated with a new look!
Military Outdoor Flags
are now available in 5x8'
sizes.
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July 2003:
New sales tax rate takes effect July 1st to reflect the new 1% Winnebago
County Safety Referendum tax. The new tax rate for most items sold in Winnebago County is now 7¼ %.
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February 2003:
The Deluxe 8x12" Desk Flag Set
is now only
available with the U.S. flag.
The Ultimate 8x12" U.S. Desk Flag Set is now called the Executive
8x12" U.S. Desk Flag Set. It is the same set, just a new name.
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January 2003:
Added ISO & QS Corporate Quality Flags.
Added the evolution of the U.S. flag
star field
design.
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December 2002:
Added Flag Frequently Asked Questions
including
Flag Care, Flag Life, Flag Size, and Flag Holidays.
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November 2002:
3x6' Pleated Full Fan
decorations with
stars are
back in stock again!
Added maps and driving
directions.
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October 2002:
New TopFlight™
telescoping 20' aluminum flagpole.
Added new web pages for "Blake
Awning".
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September 2002:
Our flag order form is now on a secure web site server for your
added safety.
Flag Demand
Update
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Spring 2005:
Until further notice, you can expect nearly all flags
and flag products to be shipped in 1 to 3 weeks and some cases
the same day!
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Spring, Summer, Fall & Winter 2004:
Flag demand continues to be normal. You can expect nearly all flags to be shipped in 2 to 3 weeks and some cases
the same day!
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Winter 2003:
It is safe to say that all flag demand is back to normal. You can
expect nearly all flags to be shipped in 2 to 3 weeks and some cases only 1
week.
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Summer 2003:
U.S. flag demand is about normal for this time of
year. POW-MIA flags and some of the military branch flags still remain
more popular than normal. Lead time for out of stock flags are taking
the normal 2 to 3 weeks for shipping and in some cases only 1 week.
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Spring 2003:
U.S. flag demand is up a little since the start of the
military action in Iraq but we are keeping up with this demand.
POW-MIA flags are in higher demand then normal and we may be out of stock of
some sizes for short periods of time. So far out of stock sizes are only taking 2 to 3 weeks to
ship and we expect this short lead time for POW-MIA flags continue.
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Winter 2002:
It's safe to say that U.S. flag demand has returned to
normal again. Nearly all flag items are available again in there
normal lead time of 2 to 4 weeks. But if flag demand increases again we will do our
best to meet the public's need for flags as always.
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Fall 2002:
Flag demand is still higher that normal for this time of
year. But our stock of normal U.S. flag items and accessories are pretty
much back to normal. Most of the time special order flags are taking 2 to
4 weeks now instead of the 4 to 8 weeks it was taking 6 months ago. The only exception
is the larger U.S. flag sizes like 8x12' and larger. They are still taking a
little longer than normal to ship.
The 3x6' pleated full fans with stars are still out of
stock. The manufacturer is still not taking orders for them. We hope
this will change soon. But we have plenty of the 3x6' pleated full fans
without stars and the smaller 18x36" fans with stars.
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Summer 2002:
As most everyone is aware the demand for U.S. flags and flag
products during the last 3 months of 2001 was way beyond anything the flag
manufactures could have imagined. And the demand from January through May
of this year has remained well above the normal demand for that time of
year. We are now in the middle of the most popular flag season: Memorial Day through Independence Day. Unfortunately
all sizes of U.S. flags are still not as easy to come by as in the past. But we are doing
our best to keep up with the demand. At this time we are asking everyone to please try
to plan ahead for their flag needs. Especially now with the first anniversary of
September 11th approaching and the new holiday, Patriot Day, to commemorate
it.
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Spring 2002:
The flag industry has seen a tremendous surge
in the demand for U.S. flags and flag products since the events of September 11, 2001.
Items that normally used to take only 1 or 2 weeks to get were taking months to
get. One flag manufacture is already booked solid with orders for the 3x5'
U.S. outdoor nylon flag through August 2002!
The New York Times ran a story on Sunday, September 23, 2001, about the
demand for U.S. flags and how Americans started buying flags only hours after
the September 11th attack. The article said that Wal-Mart sold 116,000 flags
that Tuesday and 250,000 more on Wednesday, compared to 6,400 and 10,000 on the
same days a year earlier. At the time that the article was written, 3 flag
manufactures told the Times about how their flag sales soared in the
weeks after the attack:
- Annin & Co. sold 100,000 3x5' flags per week, up from 20,000
before the attack.
- Valley Forge Flag Co. sold 40,000 3x5' flags per week, up from
10,000 before the attack.
- Eder Flag MFG. sold 3 million cloth flags and flag-shaped lapel
pins in 5 days after the attack.
Flag manufactures have added overtime, more staff and equipment to try
to meet the high demand for flags and flag products. But it will be months
before inventory and lead-times will return to a more normal level.
Even contacting flag
manufactures is difficult. Using the phone is next to impossible. The only
way to check on open orders with the manufactures is via Fax and they will only respond on a first-in
first-out basis, sometimes taking a week or more to respond.
Patriot Day
On December 18, 2001, The President of the United States signed
Public Law Number 107-89, designating September 11th as Patriot Day.
State and local governments and the people of the Untied States are asked to
observe Patriot Day with appropriate programs and activities to honor the
individuals who lost their lives as a result of the events of
September 11, 2001.
Patriot Day, September 11th, has also been designated as
a day that the U.S. flag should be flown at half-staff from sunrise to sundown.
In addition, the
people of the Untied States are asked to observe a moment of silence on Patriot
Day in remembrance of the victims.
Days when the U.S. Flag should be flown at
half-staff:
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May 15: Peace Officers Memorial Day
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Third Saturday in May:
Armed Forces Day
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Last Monday in May: Memorial Day (half-staff
until noon)
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July 27: Korean War Veterans Armistice Day
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September 11: Patriot Day
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December 7: Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day
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