Recently, the Sedona City Council designated Jan. 23 as Sedona Flag Day.

You can be forgiven for not knowing much about Sedona’s official flag, however — as, according to the flag’s biggest promoter, Ron Sievert, the flag has never quite caught on among
the populace.

“We’re not a flag town,” Sievert said. He added that for much of the city’s history it was actually illegal to fly most flags along public thoroughfares. Nonetheless, Sievert claimed that he has engaged in a “20-year quest to get the flag integrated.”

Sievert’s efforts began in October 1995, only a couple weeks after opening his store, Flags, Kits and Fun. It struck him that Sedona needed an official flag, and so he began to promote the idea of a design contest in the community — a community that Sievert called “smaller, a little more cohesive” than the one in existence today.

Ultimately, the result proves Sievert’s claim of cohesion: The 45-day contest engaged a sizable portion of Sedona’s population. By the end, 131 businesses and 60 churches and civic groups participated, handing out flyers to any and all interested.

“They handed out 20,000 flyers — 17,000 from the supermarkets alone,” Sievert said. “If you got groceries, you got a flyer. If you bought groceries four times in one day, you got four flyers.”

Sievert admitted that, though he persisted and was successful in his efforts, at times it was a tough sell. In 1995, he was still new to town, a Californian through and through. His manner often put people off. “Some saw me as a hustler,” he explained. “I’m aggressive. I’m gregarious … and I was trying to make a name for myself.”

Sievert’s panel of nine judges, culled from the city, local businesses and organizations, received close to 400 entries. School children submitted their rough-cut designs, while adult enthusiasts and professionals submitted their own slightly more streamlined concepts.

On Jan. 23, 1996, the winner was announced and given a check for $1,000. Marc Jacobson, who had only recently branched out from a career in engineering and opened a sign business, had designed a flag featuring the Cockscomb rock formation.

“Back then, I’d just started out on my own as a graphic designer,” Jacobson said. “It was a good boost to my career …. That was the beginning for me.”

Sievert is sentimental about Sedona, circa-1996: “The culture has changed,” he said. “Corporate would have more to say now. You couldn’t have people handing out flyers like that now. Safeway would have to ask for approval to hand out that many flyers.”

Sievert said that embracing the flag has come down less to culture and more to lack of support. Interest, he explained, has always waned the moment he walks out the door. Prior to the adoption of an official flag day, the city showed little support.

According to Sievert, the city has never featured the flag on its website. The Sedona Police Department has never taken Sievert up on his offer to put decals of the flag on squad cars.
Nonetheless, Sievert remains enthusiastic about the flag, offering one to interested parties with little prompting.