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East Haven Students to Participate in 20th Annual ‘Pause for the Pledge’

Students from the East Haven school system and Town Council Chairperson Kenneth McKay will lead the Town of East Haven in its 20th annual participation of the observance of National Flag Day and the annual Pause for the Pledge of Allegiance. The festivities, which will take place Thursday, June 14 beginning at 6:30 p.m. on the Town Green, will begin with patriotic performances by the East Haven Academy Symphonic Band directed by Maria Berte and vocalist Karen Wagner of Wagner Iovanna Studio Productions and her vocal students, followed by a brief ceremony for the pledge at 6:45 p.m.

For the seventh year in a row, student representatives from the East Haven school system will participate with the pledge precisely at 7 p.m. McKay will be representing the administration as this year’s Flag Day ceremony falls at the precise time as the EHHS Class of 2018’s Senior Athletes Celebration, in which Mayor Joseph Maturo, Jr., will be participating.

This will be the 33rd year for the National Pause for the Pledge, which was signed into law by President Ronald Reagan in June 1985 as an official part of National Flag Day activities. On Flag Day, June 14, at 7 p.m., all Americans are asked to pause and recite the Pledge of Allegiance. The Town of East Haven continues to be one of the only communities in the state to recognize this very unique statute.

Maturo will also issue a proclamation declaring June 14 as Flag Day in East Haven and urging all citizens to pause for their own Pledge of Allegiance at 7 p.m.

“I am pleased that our town has continued this unique tradition, which we began in 1999. The response, over the years, to this brief, yet very important ceremony, was extremely gratifying. As we continue to experience worldwide acts of terrorism, programs like this become more important than ever, as our symbol of freedom continues to stand tall: the flag of the United States of America. With respect to the sacrifices being made each day by the brave men and women who serve our great country and the sacrifices made by each of them and their families, I once again ask all residents of East Haven to participate in honoring our flag by reciting the pledge wherever they may be at 7 p.m. that evening,” Maturo stated.

“Whether you can join us on the green that evening or not, I ask all our citizens to pay respect and to give thanks for this very precious gift of freedom. Our flag and our freedom must never be taken for granted!” Maturo concluded.