
DATE: Thursday, July 31, 1997               TAG: 9707310386

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B5   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY MIKE KNEPLER, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   98 lines

TASK FORCE ASKS STUDENTS TO DESIGN A REGIONAL FLAG

``I pledge allegiance to the flag . . .

``Of the cooperative cities and counties of Hampton Roads.''

Well, maybe not quite . . . yet.

First, you need a flag.

And on Wednesday, regional leaders announced a high school contest to create one. If completed, Hampton Roads might be the only region anywhere to sport its own.

``This is truly an historic opportunity for our area,'' said Janette Crumley of the Regional Identity Task Force, which is trying to improve Hampton Roads' image locally and around the world.

``It will help affirm a sense of community and pride for our area,'' Crumley said.

Project leaders hope each locality will fly the flag at prominent civic sites, such as city halls and city council chambers. It would join, the current array of flags for the United States, Virginia and individual cities, said Jack Hornbeck, president of the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce.

The leaders also would like schools and area businesses to fly the Hampton Roads flag.

The project was announced to a group of 30 high school arts coordinators and teachers who attended a luncheon harbor cruise hosted aboard the Spirit of Norfolk.

The flag will help improve the marketing of Hampton Roads, especially as a vacation destination for tourists, said Bob Gregory, sales director for the Spirit of Norfolk.

``I'm tired of hearing, `We went to Myrtle Beach because there's more to do.' There's not more to do there,'' Gregory said. ``But perception is reality. And the perception is there because they have a packet with all that there's to do in Myrtle Beach. . . . Here you have to go city to city.''

He foresees bumper stickers with the Hampton Roads flag. ``It's very much grassroots.''

The educators represented several private schools as well as 13 of the region's public-school districts, from Williamsburg to the Eastern Shore to Currituck County, N.C.

As the vessel cruised the waters of Hampton Roads, educators danced the macarena and bus stop and wrote post cards of their voyage. ``I hope all of you are energized!'' Crumley declared.

Noting a display that included other flags, Crumley and her colleagues advised: ``Make your flag as simple as possible. Think Japan!'' And, ``Read about the Amazon woman and what's she doing on the Virginia flag.''

Japan's flag displays a single red dot against a white background.

A handout noted that the scantily clad woman on Virginia's flag is ``Virtue'' dressed as an Amazon warrior treading on ``Tyranny, represented by a man completely overcome, his crown fallen from his head, . . . a whip in his right hand.''

Virginia Beach Mayor Meyera E. Oberndorf, who was not on the cruise, said she will support the flag project ``if folks honestly believe it will bring a sense of pride and professionalism to the region.''

She compared the symbolism of a flag to an engagement ring. ``It means we promise to work together,'' said Oberndorf, the political leader of the state's most populous city. ``I guess the flag is an attempt to work together to make our regional family flourish.''

Oberndorf said she ``certainly will encourage my City Council to support the flag being set up on a flag pole wherever appropriate.''

While some leaders were enthused that a flag would help attract business even from overseas, James Babcock, chairman of the Regional Identity Task Force, said he was more pragmatic.

``I wouldn't expect anybody in Europe to recognize our flag,'' he said. ``It will have mostly local significance.''

Babcock described the flag as being a building block in an ongoing series of booster efforts. ``All these little things help in the long haul,'' he said. ``They help raise the consciousness of people that we are all part of a mutually interdependent maritime economy.''

It's important that the flag will be designed by students, ``our future citizens,'' Babcock said. The project will stimulate discussion between teens and parents, he said.

Next? A regional anthem or a pledge to the Hampton Roads flag?

``Why not? All these things are fun,'' Babcock said. ``They help build a sense of community, that we're all in this together, not just because of economic necessity but, hey, we all live here together.'' ILLUSTRATION: Graphic

FLAG CONTEST

Some guidelines from the Regional Identity Task Force, which is

sponsoring the contest:

Do choose bright, distinctive colors, but no more than three;

choose colors that symbolize the lifestyle, history and uniqueness

of Hampton Roads. Make your flag as simple as possible. Think of

the Japanese flag.

Don't use numbers or letters in your flag, or try to be

political. No wavy designs.

Incentives: There will be prizes for students and their teachers.

Also, teachers may consider making a contest part of a student's

grade in art classes.