When Derby VFW members approached Shelton Collision about giving their flag depository box a face lift, the staff at Shelton Collision jumped at the opportunity and offered the products and labor to do the job at no cost.

"Our team decided to take it on as a community project,” Shelton Collision owner Brad Shelton said.

VFW members didn’t really have an idea as to what they wanted to do; they just knew they wanted something other than the aerosol paint job that had previously been on the box. When the box arrived at Shelton Collision all the old paint had been stripped off and from that point the team at Shelton took over.

Once a decision was made as to what to do, Shelton Production Manager Don Cook took on the task of making it happen. The process began with a bare metal surface and was prepped and painted just like they would do a vehicle, all the way to the top coats. Decals were made to not only dress up the box but provide some direction for the user. Overall the collision repair center had about 20 hours in the project.

"The VFW has always been good to us over the years and we just felt this was something that we can do to give back,” Shelton said.

People with worn American flags that are in need of proper disposal can drop them off in the flag depository at the Joseph F. Herndon II, VFW Post 7253 at 101 S. Baltimore in Derby.