CouveCast
Welcome to the City of Vancouver Washington's official podcast. Each episode is a mix of city insights, stories, behind the scenes and some fun along the way. Real talk with people shaping Vancouver's future.
CouveCast
CouveCast episode 4 Interview with Rosa Mendoza about the flag selection process
In this episode I interview Rose Mendoza, Chair of the Flag Selection Committee. We discuss the committee's task of reducing the 138 flag submissions to 6 finalists! We also get to hear from a few of the flag finalists about what designing a city flag meant to them.
Welcome to CouveCast of the 25 hours of ficial podcast hosted by Steve Harris. Each episode is a mix of full insights, stories, behind the scenes, and hopefully a few laughs along the way. No jargon, it's real talk with the people working with our one episode out of time.
Speaker 4:Well, welcome to CouveCast, the City of Vancouver's official podcast. I'm your host, Steve Harris, and this is our next episode in our series about creating a new flag for the City of Vancouver. Today I'm joined by Rose Mendoza, Chair of the City of Vancouver Flag Selection Committee, to discuss the flag selection process. Well, welcome, Rose, and thank you for joining us. Hi, Steve. Thank you for having me. So to start right off, why did you join the flag selection committee?
Speaker 5:I joined because I thought it would be an exciting opportunity to continue to support my community. I currently sit on the Culture, Arts and Heritage Commission where I've had the opportunity to serve for the past year or so. And when we were presented with this, you know, this really cool new thing, I got kind of excited. That sounds pretty fun. Yeah, I grew up here, so it was um, you know, something that I wanted to be involved in, something that I hope is uh, you know, relevant to the next generation, you know, that kind of a thing.
Speaker 4:So since you grew up here, uh before the the selection committee came to be, did you were you aware of the current city flag? Did you know what it was? I wasn't actually so you're you're you're an example of this.
Speaker 5:I was one of them. I was I promise.
Speaker 4:I think a lot of people fit in that situation.
Speaker 5:So yeah, for sure.
Speaker 4:Um and in the last episode, uh, someone you're familiar with, we talked with Ted Kaye, uh renowned vexillologist and author of Good Flag, Bad Flag. How helpful was it to have Ted and the NAVA's advice?
Speaker 5:I found it personally to be extremely helpful as someone who's less familiar with flag design, um, you know, him going through all of like the standardized flag principles and like what it should look like. I had no idea that you know the colors, the shapes, and all of these different things played such a huge role in the design of the flag. So it was really interesting to hear you know all of those little fun facts and snippets while we were going through this process.
Speaker 4:He seems very knowledgeable. We spent two episodes with him, and he had personally owns over 500 flags. That's incredible.
Speaker 5:I didn't know that either. He's very excited. He was so excited about the entire process and was very much not to say a cheerleader, but very much a cheerleader, very much rooting us on the entire time, um, and even helped facilitate that first round of you know, dwindling down all of all of the flags that were submitted.
Speaker 4:I'm assuming that with him there 138 flags. I'm sure it was daunting at first, and then with him helping you, I'm sure it kind of felt like, okay, well now we're kind of getting some footing. We're we kind of we kind of have a direction now. He's kind of pointing us with some of the ways we should be going with this.
Speaker 5:It was definitely reassuring because there were some, you know, obviously like, oh my gosh, we love this so much. And then he would come in with his expertise and like, well, think about these elements and how it's gonna fly or the different colors and how they fade. And so just a lot of those little bits that we're like, oh, okay, maybe not, you know, maybe we didn't necessarily think about at first. It was really helpful as we were kind of going through that process and like, okay, maybe this one wouldn't work as well as as this one would per se, based on you know, this criteria that was just presented. So I thought I found it to be extremely helpful.
Speaker 4:Excellent. Um, how did the committee balance design principles with what the community valued in a flag or balancing tradition with the desire for a fresh modern look?
Speaker 5:I think one thing with this question in particular that I would like to point out, and just in in the process as a whole, is that I mean, like you said, the first flag, a lot of people had no idea, did they?
Speaker 4:Well, what happened there?
Speaker 5:Yeah, they didn't know. Um, I think from based on you know the history and the stories that I've been told, um, because this was even before my time, um, that the council, I believe, at the time, or individuals within the city council at the time, just chose a flag. They didn't want to do or or or maybe decided not to do the the whole the community process, and you know what, we should have a flag. They put up a flag and it was there. Yeah. This round was very, very intentional with um we had two members of city council, three commissioners, including myself, um, and then two youth participants, one of which was our co-chair. So we were very, very intentional on having this very diverse committee, this very multi-generational committee with all of these different insights and you know lived experiences and expertise. Um from the you know, 138 uh community submissions to the public feedback, to um, you know, everything that the residents had to share with us, they really did help shape this entire process. At least we that was the hope, you know. We really wanted everyone to be um, we really wanted everyone to be involved. This wasn't just the committee, this was a community process as a whole.
Speaker 4:Absolutely. Which is important, obviously. Yes. Um, and uh with the 138 submissions you mentioned, uh, how difficult was that to narrow it down to just six?
Speaker 5:Um it was pretty difficult. Like you said, uh like Ted was a huge, huge, huge, huge help in that very first round. We had um it was the Aspen Room here in City Council where we had all of the flags displayed on the wall. So as soon as we walked in, all of the prints of 138 different beautiful flags. Flag room, yeah. Yes, the flag room for sure. Um so it was a bit daunting at first, um, but like I said, with the criteria definitely helped dwindle that down. There was a ton of really great ones. Um, a ton of really there were some funny ones too, ones that were, you know, they were just goofy and they were just entertaining. So good mix. Oh, definitely a good mix. Um but it was it was uh helpful to um arrange the ideas and kind of you know go through that based on the experiences of the committee and with the input of the committee. Um it really was just a a highly collaborative process.
Speaker 4:Yeah, excellent. Uh so the committee the committee blended elements from different submissions to create two new flag options. What what made you decide to do that?
Speaker 5:Ultimately, it was the stories of our flag designers. We had um, you know, once we got it down to a handful of flags that we thought represented um Vancouver in in in various ways, whether it was geographically or just the different elements and whatnot, ultimately it was the designer stories and the similarities, and we wanted to try to blend those a little bit. So that was the the real drive behind that.
Speaker 4:Yeah, I could see that. Uh certain flags, those elements from those that you'd like to pick and maybe combine to make a single flag of a combination of those two. Um yeah, I could see that. So um were there any symbols or colors that sparked debate or strong you know opinions?
Speaker 5:Um I think there was a lot of greens and blues. Um, you know, we're in the Pacific Northwest, so we figured those would be really strong elements. Um as Washington as a whole, there's a pretty strong connection to our sports teams and and whatnot too. So in in the first round, that was one of the um considerations that we had to keep in mind was what was distinctly Vancouver versus something that could be, you know, referred to one of our Washington sports team as a whole. So trying to make that um, you know, trying to differentiate those two and really, you know, find something that would really fit. I think another thing that we really tried to touch on to is trying to distinguish Vancouver from Portland because that was another thing was a lot of the flags that focused on the geographical region as a whole, with like, you know, the river and the land and the fort and all these things. Some of them had like Portland in it, which is is great. We're so close to them and we are, you know, sister cities in a way. Right. But we are not Portland. And that was just one of those things that we really wanted to highlight is that we are Vancouver, we're very proud to be here and just really focus on our community.
Speaker 4:Makes sense. Yeah, highlight uh the city of Vancouver and its community.
Speaker 5:Yeah, yeah, very much so.
Speaker 4:Um so uh the committee hosted an event to raise the six finalists on the flagpole that's in front of City Hall. Uh and you, of course, were there. Was it exciting to meet the designers and learn, you know, more about them?
Speaker 5:It was, yeah. No, I think being able to have the designers present while we were raising the flags. One, it was really cool to see the flags up there. They were, you know, got to raise them themselves with that really um it's one of those exciting things. That was probably exciting for them. It was. I mean I got excited.
Speaker 4:My kids there that were doing the raising, you know. That was pretty neat.
Speaker 5:Yeah, and like I got to help with some too, because we were, you know, part of that, and I I got excited, but I think it was really nice to um be able to humanize the designs. Because I mean, when we're presented it, we have sheets of paper on the wall and then a stack of paper in front of us with a description. And yes, we have their, you know, their name and their reasons why behind it, but to able to connect with them and to hear their stories like from their voice is is far more impactful than you know the sheet of paper ever could have been.
Speaker 4:And the chance to see each one up there, hey, does it what does it look like up there? This was what it would be if it's flying up in the breeze.
Speaker 5:Yeah, well, and then you you you know you look over and you see the flag and you see them admiring their that's their work too. Like they um um our our our artist finalists are all from Vancouver or work in Vancouver or from here, so they're very much of and for the community. So it was yes.
Speaker 4:Yeah, and it must have been uh it felt like quite an achievement going from, like you say, from just a room of flags to actually seeing the final ones going up on a poll.
Speaker 5:Well, and have them all you know all made up and flowy and stuff. It was uh it was really cool to see.
Speaker 4:That's very awesome. Um, and speaking of that event, we actually had a few of those designers speak um at the event, and we're gonna go ahead and listen to their comments um about that day and how exciting it was for them. So here we go.
Speaker 3:I I just want it to bring a greater sense of sort of a distinct Vancouver identity that people feel like this is a city with its own sort of like soul and that they're a part of and they're all part of a city that's bigger than themselves. I'd love to see it on like patches and tourist stuff.
Speaker 2:I honestly did not expect to be selected. I when I came down here when I saw all 138, and I was like, there's no way, there's so many good ones on here. There's no way that I stand a chance. But um, yeah, I got the news and I was just so excited, and yeah, I just hope that the community likes it and they um they see that I try to put a lot of effort, even though it looks really simple, there's a lot of thought behind it, and it did take a lot of time.
Speaker 1:I think it instills, you know, kind of a sense of pride and uh a sense of identity. Um, you know, I I travel a lot outside of the region and everyone knows Portland, but not a lot of people know Vancouver, Washington. So uh whatever you know small part that we can play in in helping to put Vancouver on the map, so to speak, and um, you know, just instill pride in the in the community here.
Speaker 4:Okay, well that's uh they're definitely excited. It sounds sounds like it was a great day.
Speaker 5:It was a beautiful day. Um and it didn't rain, thankfully.
Speaker 4:No, it didn't rain and hardly any wind, as a matter of fact.
Speaker 5:We got a little wind, we got a little lucky, but I not not as much wind as we were hoping for to see the flags in their full glory.
Speaker 4:Yeah, but but definitely the excitement uh was there. And the kids, like I said, their kids, some of them being there was fun too. Oh yeah, very, very fun. Um so now uh speaking of the committee, I heard that the committee received uh 1,438 responses on the finalist feedback tool. Uh how did the committee use the diversity of perspectives and how was it reflected in the final decision?
Speaker 5:Yeah, um, so the committee is very passionate about the flag. We we we definitely uh took that into consideration with the feedback tool. Um we took it very seriously. Obviously, you know, we wanted the community involved as much as they you know had capacity to or allowed to, all the things. Sure. Um most of the feedback that we were given was very thoughtful and constructive. Um there was some negative, there's always gonna be some negative in there. We kind of anticipated that, like I said, people are very passionate about this project, as they should be. You know, this is this is gonna be their flag and for their home. Yeah. Um the there was some strong support for symbolism. Um others thought maybe they were a little too abstract. Uh so there was a lot of mixed feelings, I feel. Um, but all of this was, you know, we use this tool during our deliberation process throughout every activity that we did to help dwindle down to the finalist. We had our um our community feedback present and was was using that as a um as a tool throughout the whole process. So very much um, you know, leaning on that. And actually, our two um our our finalists and then our runner-up were the um scored the highest amongst the our finalists. So we're hoping you know people can find something that they like.
Speaker 4:I think that's just something that's a that's a fair amount of uh turnout for responses, and and um it's it's important that you show that uh it's community driven and and that's not taken lightly.
Speaker 5:Yeah, and you know, very different from the first round, so just trying to keep everyone involved.
Speaker 4:Yeah, that's fantastic. Uh so when is the proposed flag going to city council for consideration?
Speaker 5:So that will be happening on November 10th. I will be presenting along with my co-chair and Laura from the city. Um we'll have a whole presentation, it'll be a big reveal with the artists. So if you're able to join in person or uh you know listen online, please, please do so. We you know could use the support.
Speaker 4:And this is the November 10th at the city council hearing.
Speaker 5:Yes.
Speaker 4:Yeah, so uh people aren't able to watch when it's live. Of course, CV TV does record that and and uh they can watch it at their leisure. Well, that's very exciting. I'm sure uh the the finalists uh will be very exciting. So are all the finalists then gonna be present at that, or how would that be?
Speaker 5:I believe we're inviting them, and our final two artists um will be presenting the flag once we finish our presentation. So they'll you know stand up and do the big reveal to City Council.
Speaker 4:Yeah, that's that's pretty fun. Um what do you hope this new flag will represent for future generations of Vancouver residents, and how do you hope it will help connect to Vancouver's identity?
Speaker 5:I really hope that our next generation is able to find a connection in the flag to um really see the meaning in uh the geography, in our deep-rooted history, in the future moving forward, because this really is meant to be something for them, you know.
Speaker 4:It's it is maybe somewhere besides just in the council chamber.
Speaker 5:I I hope so. Businesses and communities and and schools, you know, stickers, all the things everywhere I think I want. Our hope ultimately is this is something that people can be proud of, you know, that people can, you know, fly and you know, all the things.
Speaker 4:So even I've heard the rumor tattoos. I mean, I don't know.
Speaker 5:I have to keep saying that is how you know a flag is truly made it, or how you know a flag is truly iconic, is once people start getting tattoos of it. So we'll see who gets the first Vancouver flag tattoo.
Speaker 4:Everybody on the flag committee now is a tattoo. Uh yeah.
Speaker 5:We do have some youth members, so I don't know if we can do all that yet.
Speaker 4:Might be a little bit of hard push. A little bit. Hard spell on that one. Uh okay, well, uh that's about all the time we have for today, Rose. I want to thank you for joining me today. Uh, if you want more information about the design and selection of the new city flag, be sure to check out the website at cityofvancouver.us /flag. If you enjoyed this episode, share it with a friend, leave us a review, or fly your Civic Pride a little later today. Until next time.