Last Saturday, May 23, representatives from Club America, a department of Turning Point USA (TPUSA), held an event at the Inside Scoop in downtown Overton to donate flags to the local group, Flags Up.

Justin Barrows, the Turning Point USA representative for the American Southwest, saw a post on Facebook stating there were flags that were torn and tattered due to the recent windstorm. He grew up in Moapa and wanted to do something about it. “In just two days, the Club America, with coordination from Karen Bailey at TPUSA, we were able to hold an event to support Moapa Valley. For every person who showed up to check their voter registration, a flag was donated, with over 50 presented to the Flags Up team,” Barrows said. He continued, “This is important. The real stars of the event are the Flags Up men who do incredible work in my hometown.”

Club America is a nonpartisan educational youth organization that has charters in high schools across the country, including Moapa Valley High School. It is centered on civic pride. Club America helps the nation’s young people who want to learn how our government works and learn the Constitution to know their rights as Americans and have fun doing it.

Clifford Peterson, one of the founding members of Flags Up, said, “It is cool to be recognized by a national organization. The whole team was excited for the event.”

Flags Up currently has eight members who ride up and down Moapa Valley Boulevard every Tuesday and Friday to line the streets with American flags,  and they do it all on their own time, at their own expense. Peterson said when Barrows contacted Chris Cook, a member of Flags Up, things moved very quickly. Chris spoke with the team members and quickly volunteered The Inside Scoop (with his wife Tish and mother-in-law Joyce, who own the restaurant) as the event venue.

“Community residents kept coming throughout the day to support us, and we were thrilled to receive the brand new three-by-five flags, just in time for Memorial Day and the upcoming Flag Day and Fourth of July,” Peterson said.

All the members of Flags Up, which include Clifford Peterson, Jack Johnson, Paul Bowerman, Kevin Peterson, Leon Utterback, Chris Cook, Phillip Kelly and Joshua Phillips, are very appreciative to TPUSA, Club America and everyone who attended the event.