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Otis, Massachusetts (U.S.)

Berkshire County

image by Eugene Ipavec, 27 March 2009

Description of the flag

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Description of the flag

In "The Berkshire Eagle", 10 February 2009, Trevor Jones reported the adoption of the flag of Otis:

"When the town's Cultural Council visited the State House last March, members were awed by the nearly 300 flags lining the walls and representing the state's various cities and towns. They then noticed something was missing - a flag from their home town. "I think our town is a very tight town and we needed a flag to represented what we're about," said Arlene Tolopko, council chairwoman and member of the town's Bicentennial Committee. From there an idea was born and nearly two centuries after becoming a town, a design was chosen Monday night to fill that space and become the town's first official flag. The design was chosen by Otis Bicentennial Committee from 16 entries, as part of a competition for residents to design a flag in advance of the 200th birthday celebration next year.

The winning design was submitted by Karen Amanti, a part-time graphic artist who has previously done design work for Tanglewood and has lived in Otis for 33 years. The winning design was one of three she submitted.[...]
Amanti's design features several elements that represent the small community, from sailboats dotting the Otis Reservoir, to town buildings nestled in the rolling hills, along with fall foliage, camping tents and winter ski trails. "I wanted to capture what our town is all about," she said of the design's inspiration.
[...]
While all members of the committee approved the design in the end, it took several votes and a half hour of discussion to break a tie between another design, with several committee members preferring some simpler designs. "It was simple and had the mountains and the water, which is what the town is all about," Alba Tutnauer said about one of the alternate designs. Now that a design has been chosen, a flag-raising ceremony will be held at the Otis Town Hall on June 13 - one year before the town's bicentennial is celebrated.
[...]"
Source: http://www.berkshireeagle.com/ci_11669243 (no longer available)
Ivan Sache, 10 February 2009