Back to Civilians Photo Gallery
IU boys just returned from Miami this afternoon with the glorious National Title
On Tuesday, January 20, 2026, 8:24 PM, Naomi Long <missvixen2002@gmail.com> wrote:
Dear John,
I hope you are enjoying Florida, our IU boys just returned from Miami this afternoon with the glorious National Title! It is certainly freezing here as well as in Big Indian, except my dad has snow. I have been meaning to write to you for far too long; life has been incredibly busy, and even my trip to New York in November was completely jam-packed.
I completely understand your sentiments regarding the 25th anniversary of 9/11. While it may feel as though the memory is fading for some, please trust that it remains a priority for those of us dedicated to ensuring it is never forgotten. Within the National Society, the administration changed on July 1st, and the Storage Administration commemorative events for 2025–2028 have been released. The theme for the anniversary is "Illuminating the Sacrifices Made for the Blessings of Liberty," which stems from the overall administration theme of "Illuminate Our Legacy."
My own timeline has shifted recently as well. I was originally planning to focus on 9/11 during my first year as Chapter Regent; however, our current Regent resigned, and I will now be taking over as interim Regent from February 1st through July 31st. Consequently, I am moving my plans forward. We are hoping to participate in the local "Back the Badge" 5K this year and continuing our Patriot Day traditions of meeting with local fire, police, and EMS. And there are more things that I have in the hopper so to speak.
Regarding the flags, I am still actively presenting them. This past year I presented one to the Liberty Township Fire Territory, and this year I plan to honor Danville. Since Danville is the county seat, I am also considering a presentation at the courthouse to make it a more significant event. Additionally, I am working with our newsletter editor to feature a dedicated section February through December that highlights the photo and name of a victim from the Towers, Flight 93, and the Pentagon. I truly believe that putting a face a name out to my members will really be impactful.
I would love to coordinate a field of flags, but given the significant manpower and coordination required—and our very strict budget regulations for 2026—I don't believe we can pull that off at this time. However, if I were you, I would send a request to the National Society to see if they would consider your flags, as we are currently selling the "9/11 Flag We Remember" flag. It never hurts to ask.
On a personal note, I am completely out of flags and need to purchase more for my upcoming presentations. To start, I would like to order 10 of the Flag of Honor and 10 of the Flag of Heroes. My plan is to provide both for special presentations, while the Danville Fire and Police departments will receive the Hero flags in September. Just let me know when we can get together on the flags that would be great.
I have a wonderful surprise for you.... both flags are now proudly displayed in the museum at the Indiana War Memorial!!!!
Just had a thought... have you tried reaching out to Brotherhood Designs? Check them out at: www.brotherhooddesigns.org
I don't know if I have been much help, but maybe just a little...
Always, Naomi
---------------------------
On Tue, Jan 20, 2026 at 11:40 AM michelott@aol.com <michelott@aol.com> wrote:
Naomi,
I hope this note finds you well. Right now I’m in Florida but the weather is unusually cold. But I hear Big Indian is in the deep freeze. I trust George is staying warm.
The reason for my note is to ask for your help trying to reach more folks to make them aware of the upcoming 25th anniversary of 9/11. Somehow it seems to me that folks have forgotten or moved on. I’m feeling that this year may be the last to remind folks that 2972 people never went home that day and they died in place of the rest of us.
My efforts have been focused on things like store chains, truck stops and places that may wish to carry flags near the anniversary date. I’m also focusing on patriotic, first responder and military organizations that can use the flags as fundraisers or even to host full or limited 9/11 Memorial Fields. I have been disappointed in both efforts as I seldom even receive responses. I have even offered to include an insignia of the organization on the bottom of the flags if quantities are sufficient.
As you have used the Flag of Honor in your capacity as an ambassador of the Daughters of the American Revolution I’m hoping that perhaps you can give me some insight into your efforts. Perhaps the National DAR would consider using them in some context. In any case I appreciate your input. Thanks for helping.
John Michelotti
Flag of Honor/Flag of Heroes Project
