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    The answer became clear after speaking with Scott Spooner.  No, he is not an elf…he is the President of the Kiwanis Club of Northridge, a club of sixty members who are dedicated to making our community a better place, and who, for the past ten years or so, have been placing the flags as just one of their many community service projects.  The Kiwanis is a global organization of volunteers dedicated to changing the world one child and one community at a time. However, the Northridge Kiwanis Club distinguishes themselves as a group who promotes patriotism through action, deed and dress!  They begin their Thursday afternoon meetings with a flag salute and a patriotic song, and many are seen at meetings or in the community wearing their trademark red, white and blue ties or scarves.

    The tradition of the Kiwanis flag placement project has its roots in the 1980s Iran Hostage crisis.  During this time period an unknown Northridge resident placed flags on light posts on Reseda Blvd. in Northridge.  When the flags eventually went away, Kiwanis member Ron Smith suggested they bring back patriotism to the Northridge community by displaying flags along Reseda Blvd. from Memorial Day through Fourth of July.  The group did some fundraising to purchase flags and put them on display poles.  Over the years, they have expanded the placement to include 450 flags at the train overpass at Reseda and Nordhoff, Devonshire Street in Chatsworth, Sepulveda Blvd. in Mission Hills, and Chatsworth Street in Granada Hills.

   The Kiwanis volunteers have created quite a system for this project!  A team of five meet at 5:30 a.m. the Saturday before Memorial Day at the McDonalds at Reseda Blvd. and Nordhoff Street to begin the project.  Larry Nye has designed a special platform over his truck to be able to reach the 14-foot high flag holders on the light posts.  A second crew meets up at 8 a.m. to complete the route and flag placement.  In total, the placement takes 30 man/woman-hours for the team.  The weekend after 4^th of July, the volunteers meet up again to take down the flags.  They are then cleaned and put away for the next year.  Other Kiwanis Clubs in the Valley, inspired by the Northridge Club, have adopted flag placement projects in their areas.

   “This project has become a labor of love for the Kiwanis of Northridge.  We appreciate the waves, thumbs-up, honks and smiles we get on flag placement day.  One elderly gentleman was walking down the street with a cane, and observed a flag being placed.  He stopped, straightened up, saluted, and stood at attention until that flag was done being placed. That says it all,” says Scott Spooner.   

  It says a lot…and we say thank you to the Kiwanis of Northridge for their patriotic reminder to us all.  For more information on the flag project, or the Kiwanis of Northridge, please contact Scott Spooner, Kiwanis of Northridge, at 818-585-9648 or visit their website at www.northridgekiwanis.org.   

    Holly Rasey is the Director of Development at New Horizons in North Hills.  She is on the Board of Directors of the SFV Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals and the SFV Youth Chorus. Contact Holly at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or 818-894-9301 ext. 334.