People traveling along U.S. 96 and State Highway 326 in Kountze may notice a banner honoring a veteran.
The 54-inch by 30-inch double-sided vinyl banner was placed March 15 on a street pole honoring United States Marine Conley “Reece” Hathorn, a former Kountze resident.
According to Kountze Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Donya McLaurin, the veterans banner project came about after the loss of Hathorn, her cousin. The 22-year-old died June 18 in a car accident and was three weeks away from his final day in the U.S. Marine Corps while stationed at Camp LeJeune in Jacksonville, North Carolina.
McLaurin noted while attending Hathorn’s funeral in Kingston, Tennessee, she discovered the city had banners in their city honoring veterans.
“I told my mother I wanted to bring this to Kountze,” she said. “I wanted to honor Reese and don’t want him to be forgotten. When I got back from Tennessee, I started working with Paul Blackburn of Entergy Texas to get this project approved.”
She noted that Entergy’s policies will not allow the banners to be hung year-round. McLaurin said the Chamber will work with Leigh Burks and LIT (Lamar Institute of Technology) in Silsbee to install the brackets on the poles for the banners.
“The lineman students will be installing the brackets on the poles,” she added. “Since the city doesn’t have a bucket truck, we have to pay someone else to do it. LIT will put up the brackets for us in April and volunteer Chamber members will hang the banners and take them down.”
McLaurin said the Chamber ordered 75 sets of brackets.
“We can hang them along U.S. 69 and SH 326, and around the courthouse,” she added.
She noted the banners, which cost $200 each, will be displayed from mid-May through mid-July, and mid-October through mid-November. Veterans do not have to be Hardin County residents. They can be active, retired or deceased veterans.
She said all proceeds from the banner project, sponsored by the Chamber, will go into the scholarship fund, promote local businesses, sponsor parades and to promote the city.
McLaurin noted that, after a person pays for a banner, the Chamber will send them an application to fill out. It can be emailed to KountzeChamberCommerce@gmail.com, along with a high-quality photograph of the veteran.
For more information, call McLaurin at (409) 658-1741.
— Dannie Oliveaux, Staff Reporter