Folsom, Calif. – (June 11, 2026) – KFBK’s Kitty O’Neal interviewed members of SAFE Credit Union’s VALOR (Veterans and Loved Ones Resource) about their 3rd Annual U.S. Flag Collection Drive on her show “The Afternoon News with Kitty O’Neal.”
The drive provides designated drop-off bins – at SAFE’s 18 branches in the Sacramento area, SAFE’s headquarters in Folsom and the Aerospace Museum of California – where SAFE members and the public can bring old and damaged U.S. flags for proper retirement through Tuesday, June 30.
“The U.S. flag represents sacrifice, and service, and freedom," said SAFE Credit Union Deposits Operation Manager and Blue Star Mom Karen Thorson, whose son Trevor serves in the Navy as a hospital corpsman. "It represents the commitment that service members, including my son, make every day. And it also represents the families who support them.”
“So being part of this effort to make sure the U.S. flags are retired with dignity feels like a way to honor that sacrifice in a very personal and meaningful way,” she continued.
Read more about the story and listen to the broadcast on O’Neal’s website here.
Last year, VALOR collected more than 500 flags.
After the flags are collected, VALOR and SAFE employees will gather at the credit union’s headquarters to properly fold each flag before giving them to the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 6604 in Folsom to arrange retirement ceremonies under the U.S. Flag Code.
“The first step is to fold the flags properly in the original official triangle shape where the flags’ blue star field is visible and then we package those flags and we turn them in to the Folsom Veteran Foreign Wars Post (6604),” explained SAFE Credit Union Vice President of IT Operations and VALOR’s Executive Sponsor Robert Paduano.
For more information email [email protected].
Members of SAFE Credit Union's employee resource group VALOR - Veterans for Loved Ones Resource - are interviewed about the 3rd annual employee-led flag collection drive that provides bins for members and the public to bring in their old or damaged U.S. flags for respectful "retirement."
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About SAFE
SAFE Credit Union has made members an integral part of its vision since 1940. Over the years the credit union has kept the focus on what really matters, putting members first, a formula that has seen SAFE grow into a leading financial
institution in Northern California with $4.3 billion in assets and about 244,000 members. SAFE crafts every cutting-edge product and sterling service with members’ needs foremost in mind. In addition to banking services conveniently
available through online, chat, mobile, or phone options, SAFE offers in-person services for members and small businesses at service centers across the Greater Sacramento region. SAFE is a not-for-profit, state-chartered credit union
with membership open to businesses and individuals living or working in Sacramento, Placer, Yolo, El Dorado, Sutter, Butte, Nevada, Solano, San Joaquin, Contra Costa, Yuba, Amador, and Alameda counties. Equal Housing Opportunity Lender.
Insured by NCUA. www.safecu.org