WORKING -- BRIAN SPRAGUE

-- Story by Angelique Flores, Photo by xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

HE IS

Making your flags

WHO NEEDS A BANNER?

Brian Sprague is the operations supervisor at Pageantry World Inc., a

Huntington Beach company that designs and manufactures flags and banners.

Sprague oversees the warehouse shipments, inventory, stock and sales.

“When I first started working here, I thought ‘Who needs flags and

banners?”’ he said.

Sprague soon learned the answer. Schools, government buildings, grocery

stores and car dealerships -- to name just a few -- need banners and

flags of different shapes, colors and sizes.

“They’re everywhere,” he said.

The family-owned business has created the flags for eight Olympic games,

five world’s fairs and more than 100 amusement and water parks around the

world.

FLAGS FOREVER

A 10-year employee, Sprague started out sorting flagpoles. He worked his

way up, in the process learning about flags, flag poles and everything

you need to create them.

“There’s a lot to know, and I’m still learning,” he said.

Sprague plans to stick with the flag business. Pageantry World cranks out

100 flags on a slow day. On a busy day, the company can make 1,000.

One of the largest orders the company ever had was for 40,000 banners and

flags for the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles.

“That’s not including the ones made for the individual venues of each

country,” he said.

EYE-CATCHING FLAGS

Sprague feels pride when he is out driving around and sees the flags his

company has made.

“I always tell my friends ‘my company did those,”’ he said. “It makes you

smile every time you drive by.”

A memorable group of banners were made for a Bayer Aspirin building, he

said. The 15-story building had a banner that stretch from top to bottom

on all four sides with the word Bayer on it. It resembled a gigantic,

yellow box of aspirin, he said.

Still, Sprague’s favorite banners are the Looney Toons banners made for

Six Flags.

INTERNATIONAL FLAGS

Through his job, Sprague has traveled all over the country, learning

little-known facts about flags.

“It’s an exciting business. There’s always something new,” he said.

Some countries have up to three different flags, each hung depending on

where and how it’s being used, Sprague said.

And, not everyone knows his or her country’s flags, which can lead to

problems. At a badminton championship, a team walked off the court

thinking its country was represented with the wrong flag, Sprague said.

“We had to call the embassy, who told them to get back on the court and

play,” he said.

FUNNY FLAG FACTS

Sprague said he receives many requests for historical U.S. and military

flags. Some of these are for collectors, and some are for television and

movie sets.

The largest flag the company has made is a 30-foot by 50-foot American

flag.

“That’s a stock item for us,” he said.

The largest pole they have installed is 157-feet-tall and stands in

Orange topped with a copper eagle bearing a 6-foot wingspan.