Every September, for almost 20 years, Prosperity Bank, in conjunction with the City of Odessa, has displayed thousands of American flags at Memorial Gardens Park as part of its American Tribute with a small ceremony to honor the first responders and those who were injured or died in the Sept. 11 attacks.
This year, the plans will still be display the flags but there won’t be a public ceremony this year due to COVID-19.
West Texas Area President Mike Marshall said the plan for this year’s tribute is to have the flags out from Sept. 9 until Sept. 20 at Memorial Gardens Park at 4730, E. 42nd St.
“We don’t necessarily have a ceremony as we have had in years past,” Marshall said. “But we do intend to put the flags out. It’s something that we accomplish every year with the help of the City of Odessa Parks and Recreation department. Steve Patton and his crew, they come out and help lay all the infrastructure of the poles and the bar and we come out and put the flags out that Thursday.”
Marshall said that they intend to meet with the heads of the fire, sheriffs and police department for a laying of the wreaths.
“We always do that to remember the heroes who have left before us,” Marshall said. “I think right now, we’re tentatively scheduled to do a small impromptu ceremony on Friday (Sept. 10) at the tent.”
Over 3,000 flags will be on display from Sept. 9-20 before they are taken down.
“That allows everyone to come out and enjoy them for a couple of weeks,” Marshall said.
A couple of groups usually come out and help put up the flags.
“The chamber is coming out to help,” Marshall said. “Also, the Odessa Board of Realtors group is coming out. Once again, we’re working with the city and we’re just trying to be cautious and not have a large gathering, just to keep everyone safe. We’re playing it safe this year.”
A wreath is also placed at the Memorial Statue at the park.
“This year, with COVID being on the rise, we want to be thoughtful and be cautious,” Marshall said. “While it is an outdoor event, it’s probably not a good idea to have an organized activity to try and keep everyone as safe as possible and then allow them to come out on their own. We like to leave the flags up for about a week and a half so the people can come out on their own and enjoy it with their families.”
The event started a year after 9/11 to honor the victims. While it still honors those who lost their lives in the tragic events from 20 years ago, it has also evolved to honor first responders and those in the medical field as well.
“I think it has evolved over time as we’ve seen in the last 10-plus years,” Marshall said. “(We’ve seen) the shortage of staffing in the nursing industry and the medical industry and know how important that is for all of us each and every day. We’ve taken it a step further and started an endowment for nursing scholarships at the bank and award those scholarships each year so that’s another small piece of a big step that’s evolved out of this event. When we do have events, we fundraise but the bank contributes to this and we give scholarships each year to the nurses over at Texas Tech health science center there in Odessa. Once again, it’s a way that we’re trying to give back to the community and help with the need that we have. It’s really kind of neat how this has started but it’s evolved to reach other areas and touch other areas in the community.”
While this year’s tribute might be a little scaled down due to the COVID-19 guidelines, it’s still something that the bank is glad to continue to be able to do, especially given the other tragedies that have happened in the area over time.
“For us, we’ve had so many tragedies that have happened over the years and so many things that we’ve worked very closely with the city and the police department and sheriff’s office,” Vice President of banking center Shannon Raven said. “It’s a thank-you to our first responders.”
If you go
- What: American Tribute.
- Where: Memorial Gardens Park.
- When: Sept. 9-20 (display).
