BELLVILLE — More than 100 people attended a giant flag raising on Monday at Love’s Truck Stop in Bellville.

The flag is 30 feet by 60 feet and flies atop of a pole 120 feet high.

Many county officials were in attendance for the event, including Richland County Commissioners Marylin John, Darrell Banks and Tony Vero. Mansfield Mayor Theaker was also on hand. Dunkin Donuts distributed free donuts and water.

The flag flies just off I-71 at the State Route 97 exit in Bellville. It is believed to be the largest flag between Cleveland and Columbus.

The entire project was donated by local contractors, businesses and engineers.

Bellville mayor Teri Brenkus delivered the following speech:

“Welcome everyone and thank you for joining us in this extraordinary heat as we make history in the valley today.

“Jodi Perry CEO of Richland County Chamber/RCDG, Leah Jones (Sen. Sherrod Brown), and Marilyn John County Commissioners

“Here is a quick story about all the people I need to thank today. I’m going to read every word because my biggest fear is that I will miss thanking someone and that would simply be awful. Please come forward and stand alongside me when I call your name or the company you work for.

“Many people have asked me where this idea came from. It was a year ago in June that the kids and I set out with my siblings and nieces and nephews to College Port Texas to see my father. The best part about that van ride was the beautiful, large flags that flew in that 2,600 miles and most of them were in Texas where everything is BIGGER.

“As soon as I got back to Bellville I eyed the ideal spot. Tom and Judy Love liked the idea and agreed to fund the pole, lights and electric but insisted that an access road be put in for the safety of the veterans from the Bellville American Legion Post 535 who graciously agreed to care for the flag.

“The first person I consulted was our Village Administrator Larry Weirich who helped me understand who did what in the local construction world. If you have had any involvements in the Bellville Monster Flagpole project you have Larry to thank or blame whichever you feel is fits.

“I started off by calling Rick Weemhoff with Integrity and the project just took off after that. Rick and his son Cody Weemhoff along with their crew cut and installed an actual road for easy access to the flagpole site along with several repairs of the existing access road.

“Roberta Perry from RCDG pointed out I would probably need a county permit for the pole (and I did) thank you Roberta……. Tom and Jim Boyd from Boyd Brothers Trucking graciously agreed to cover the permit expense. This is also where Brian McCartney and his engineering team at K E McCartney & Associates signed on to the project which ended up being over 150 hours of hands on engineering work.

“Then came the questions of who is going to drill the hole which Jimmy Jackson with Jackson Geo Thermal instantly came to mind. Jackson’s crew drilled all day long to get down to the plan requirements of 14 feet deep. When Jimmy first agreed to the project the hole was 36” which he had an auger for. But the plans had to be redone and the hole size went to 48.”

“He could have backed out of the whole project but he didn’t he just made it happen by locating and purchasing a 48” auger. Next I needed to find concrete and someone to frame and set the concrete.

“Adam Moritz from Lexington Concrete agreed to supply all the concrete needed for the project. Larry then mentioned Gary Brennstuhl with Brennstuhl construction would be the guy we needed to set the concrete.

“Gary Brennstuhl and his crew were here for days along with Jimmy Jackson and the Kokosing trio framing and setting the sleeve and yet again last Tuesday as we set the actual 120-foot pole upright. We needed an 84 foot lift that’s where Lenard Dolce from Dolce’s Tree Service stepped up to save the day by having his staff member Austin on site to take the braces off the pole which the brace was 80 feet high.

“The whole time that all of this work was being done Guenther Meisse from ALLPRO HD was taking footage to ensure that this historic project was being documented for future generations to enjoy the story. In the mix of all this you should know that I’ve been accused by my husband Mike of over simplifying everything.

“This is where Barth Bergot and his amazing crew at Kokosing came in to play. As Tim, Kelly and Russ will tell you I asked Kokosing to simply weld the flagpole. Then we found out that the weld had to be a very special certified weld that no one was certified to do but believe it or not they had someone certified.

“Tim Truex tackled one obstacle after another to keep the project moving forward (and there were many).

“The Kokosing crew took care of a lot of gray area that I simply didn’t know existed. We needed a third party inspector which we found in Mistras Group out of Columbus with Russell Higgins who lives not far from here in Apple Valley.

“We also found Dan Kehn along with his son Dan Kehn with Kehn’s Kranes out of North Liberty who agreed to raise the pole. I just loved it when generations were working together to make this happen. Even Lloyds Rebar out of Shelby was willing to donate any rebar that was needed.

“In the last leg of this race the question was who was going to light up Lady Bell? Tom Lamp from Lamp Electric agreed to lay over 2400 feet of wire and wire up the LED lights which will be finished up later today. Lamp Electric needed a trencher which was donated by Cardinal Rental and Sales from Lexington.

“The 30 X 60 foot flag is donated by Jason Potes at Stoodts Market, The Haring family from Comfort and Quality Inn’s, Jeff Mason at Major Metals, and Brian McCartney at KEMcCartney and Associates.

“This entire project is covered by the Bellville Beautification Committee which is a sector of RCDG. I’d like to thank Amni Um with Motel 6 and Days Inn along with Dr. Debra Halling for donating toward our next flag and maintenance fund at RCDG. Anyone interested in donating to the maintenance fund can grab a flyer at the Dunkin Donuts table today.

“Speaking of Dunkin Donuts I would also like to thank Rachelle for serving everyone coffee and donuts along with Jason at Subway for providing lunch to all of the contractors who worked on this project.

“And the CERT team is here today to taking care of any parking issues, thank you all for making this such a great day!

“After all of our notes are collected and final figures are in I will post a plaque in the hallway inside Love’s acknowledging everyone who brought this project to reality.

“Lastly, thank you Commander Webb and the veterans at the Bellville American Legion post #535 for caring for the flag and raising it today.

“As you can clearly see it takes a lot of dedicated people to raise this flag! The real reason we are all here today and why everyone of these people agreed to join forces was to dedicate this flag to all of our courageous service men and women (past and present) and their families who sacrifice so much for the freedoms that we are blessed with today.

“Mr. Brasure will you strike up the band and Commander Webb please raise that flag!”