On June 14, 2016, Paradiso Insurance proudly helped paint Stafford Springs red, white, and blue during our annual Flag Day cookout! The event was an extreme success that brought in a steady stream of visitors from 11 am to 2 pm, all of whom were excited to celebrate our country and our community. We all enjoyed delicious food, music, friends, and a shared sense of patriotism!
During the week of June 13th, but especially on Flag Day, everyone was encouraged to bring us their old or damaged American flags to be properly disposed of. In addition, we were giving away complimentary flags and mounting kits. Our insurance agency is proud to only supply quality flags that are 100% made in America, as we believe that buying in America matters. If you picked up one of our flags, we encourage you to not only display it proudly at your home, but also on social media! Make sure to use the hashtag #FlagsFromParadiso when you show off your new American flag. Along with other patriotic goodies, we also provided free tee shirts that proudly picture the American flag and show gratitude for members of our armed forces! Our goal was to spread red, white, and blue far beyond the doors of Paradiso Insurance.
We didn’t stop there though! There was plenty more for people of all ages to enjoy at our Flag Day cookout. For example, our most popular attraction for the children was our face painting station. Many kids chose to sport a painted American flag or one of our patriotic temporary tattoos. Others wanted to blow bubbles or put together mini airplane gliders. Everyone loved looking at the classic cars that lined the sidewalk of our agency.
Chris Paradiso’s 1939 Ford Pickup
Wayne Shary’s 1964 El Camino
Jay Anderson’s 1960 Wagon
Jay Anderson’s 1936 Rat Rod
As guests looked at these beautiful cars, mingled, and enjoyed our barbecue, the radio station i98.3 played some great music for everyone to listen to. All of our visitors, young and old, seemed to have a wonderful time engaging in our Flag Day cookout.
Our celebration clearly would not have been a proper summer cookout without some tasty food from the grill! Our guests enjoyed hot dogs, hamburgers, pulled pork, and an ample variety of sides and drinks. After we all had our fill, we surprised Chris’ sister Rachel with a cake to celebrate her first place finish at the Special Olympics! Everyone got a chance to see the metal Rachel proudly wore around her neck. Honoring her achievements was truly a perfect end to an already special day.
Our Flag Day cookout ended up being so successful that Channel 3 news and the Journal Inquirer even stopped by to cover the event! However, our celebration would not have been as outstanding as it was without the help of our friends. Paradiso Insurance would like to especially thank Roy Houle, Chris’ cousin Larry, and the folks at McKinney Construction for cooking some delicious food. We’d also like to thank Debbie Alberts and Scott Nigro form Aqua Pump Co. for all their help throughout the day. Finally, we acknowledge some of our special guests, including Tim Keene, a local Navy Seal veteran, and David Sommerdorf, a local Marine Corps veteran.
Of course, our utmost gratitude goes out to all those who came to celebrate with us. We appreciate your shared love for our flag and all that it represents. At Paradiso Insurance, we truly see the importance of coming together as a community and are proud to have successfully done that this Flag Day. We hope to see you at our next annual Flag Day cookout as well!