West Seneca Veterans/Military Banner Program

Honoring West Seneca's Past and Present Members of the Armed Forces

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West Seneca is launching the Fourth Veteran/Military Banner Program as a living tribute for our community to honor past and present members of the Armed Forces. The Banner program is non-political and non-partisan. This effort is to serve as a living memorial to those service men and women from West Seneca who have honorably served or are currently serving in our military branches and to make area residents aware of their unselfish service to our nation.

Fifty (50) Veteran/Military Banners are available for display for 2024. If more than Fifty (50) requests are received, the Veteran/Military Banner Program for 2024 will be a LOTTERY-based system. The opportunity to obtain a banner will only be conducted by email.

Any family wishing to purchase a Veteran/Military for 2024 will send an email beginning February 1, 2024.

• Applicant must state that a banner would like to be purchased
• Email must contain the full name of the applicant, telephone number and email address
• All emails received will be assigned a number
• Only one submission per family
• Only families that did not have a banner in 2022-23 will be accepted in the first round

If more than fifty (50) banner requests are received, a random draw will be made on Monday, March 4, 2024 from all first-time respondents. The drawn applicants will be notified by email that they are eligible to purchase a Veteran/Military banner.

If drawn applicants respond to the email that they still wish to purchase a banner, an applications will be emailed to applicants to complete and return for processing

If there are any banner slots remaining, previous families who displayed a banner in 2022-23 will be asked if they wish to display again in 2024.

ALL emails requesting a banner must be received by 29 February 2024. Any email requests received after this date will not be accepted.

ALL VETERAN/MILITARY BANNER REQUESTS MUST BE EMAILED TO:

wsvetsbanner@gmail.com

EMAIL REQUESTS MUST BE DATED BETWEEN 01 FEBRUARY 2024 AND 29 FEBRUARY 2024.

ANY EMAILS RECEIVED PRIOR TO OR AFTER THE ABOVE DATES WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.

Banners will be full–color, two–sided custom banners printed on thick 18-ounce reinforced vinyl with pole pockets, grommets and reinforcement stitching

• Banner size is 24 inches x 48 inches

• Banner will be displayed from streetlight/utility poles along Union Road between Center Road and Seneca Street, Main Street and Legion Parkway. Banners will also be displayed within the Walkway of Freedom complex

• Banners will be displayed from Memorial Day until removal in mid–September. (Actual dates for display and removal will be determined by the Highway Superintendent based on the department’s manpower and workload) After display, banners will be removed and given to the families who purchased the banners

Please Note: Last Day to apply for Veteran/Military Banner is Thursday, 29 February 2024

In order to allow for a coordinated and consistent program, the Veteran/Military Banner Program Committee has established the following policy and guidelines for the Hometown Military Banner Program.

Eligibility

Active, retired, or honorably discharged members of the five United States Armed Forces service branches (Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard). This program includes those serving in the Reserves or National Guard. Veteran/Active–Duty Member must meet the following criteria:

• Current Town of West Seneca resident or
• Graduated from a West Seneca High School or
• World War II veteran who was inducted into the military service while living in West Seneca

Acceptance

Following the March 4th random–drawing, accepted applicants will receive a confirming email along with a banner application, photo submission information and payment requirements. The prospective applicant will then have until Saturday, 30 March 2024 to submit their completed application, photo and check for $125.00 made payable to: American Legion VBP

Submission

• Photograph submission will be required before an application is considered complete.

• High-resolution digital image (minimum 200 dpi) of honoree in official uniform (with no objects in background, except the American Flag). Digital image must be in JPEG format.

• Digital copies may be sent to: wsvetsbanner@gmail.com

• Print off application, complete, scan and include in email with scanned photograph.

• Mail check to: American Legion Post 735, 35 Legion Parkway, West Seneca NY 14224
  OR

• 5-inch x 7-inch hard–copy photograph (or larger) of honoree in official uniform (with no objects in background, except the American Flag). Photograph may be black and white or color. Original hard–copy photos will be returned by Committee.

• Print off banner application, complete application and mail with check along with the hard-copy photograph.

• Hard–copy photographs may be mailed or dropped off at:

  American Legion Post 735
  35 Legion Parkway
  West Seneca, NY 14224

• If a photo is not desired or photo is unavailable, a shaded silhouette will be used in place of a photograph.
  
  
  

  Who can submit an application for Banner?

• Veteran or Active–Duty Military

• Immediate family member (spouse, parent, sibling, child or child–in–law, or grandchild) of a veteran or active– duty serviceman or servicewoman.
  
  
  

  Cost of Veteran/Military Banner

• Cost of the Veteran/Military banner is: $ 125.00

• Payment by check/money order only, made payable to:

  American Legion VBP

  
  
  

  Banner Application

  
  

  Banner Information

  • The Banner information, including military branch and the spelling of the veteran/military member's name will be taken directly from the application. Neither the Town of West Seneca nor the West Seneca Veteran/Military Banner Committee will be responsible for misidentified military branches or misspellings that were submitted with the application.

  • The Town of West Seneca nor the West Seneca Veteran/Military Banner Committee will be held responsible for replacing banners that are stolen, vandalized, or damaged due to any acts of nature, including high winds.

  • Should damage occur and banners need repair, they will be removed and given back to the applicant and it will be the applicant's responsibility to have the banners repaired or replaced.

  • The banner will also include the name of the veteran/military member's family or sponsor. Sponsor's name cannot be longer than 17 character long. (example: John Smith / The Smith Family / Smith Company)

  • Veteran/Military Banners will be displayed along Union Road between Center Road and Main Street and displayed in the Walkway of Freedom complex in random order. Special placement requests will not be honored.

  • Veteran/Military banner belongs to the applicant/family/donor. The banner is for use by the West Seneca Veteran/Military Committee for public display. The banner will be returned to the applicant/family/donor at the end of the display period.

  • Old photos can be copied into digital form at any photo shops or drug stores (CVS, Walgreens, Office Depot, Walmart)
  
  
  

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  Any questions, please submit to: wsvetsbanner@gmail.com
  
  
  

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  The Stolen Valor Act of 2013 (H.R. 258) is a United States federal law that was passed by the 113th United States Congress. The law amends the federal criminal code to make it a crime for a person to claim they have served in the military, embellish their rank or fraudulently claim having received a valor award specified in the Act, with the intention of obtaining money, property, or other tangible benefit by convincing another that he or she received the award. Fraudulent claims about military service to subject to a fine, imprisonment for not more than one year, or both.

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THANK YOU!!

Please direct questions or comments to the Webmaster

Copyright 2021          West Seneca Veterans/Military Banner Committee, West Seneca, New York U.S.A.          All rights Reserved.