Flag day in Topeka

Voters choosing from among three finalists to be the next city of Topeka flag overwhelmingly approved a design featuring a sunflower accompanied by a white star at Topeka's location on the state map.

That design was chosen by more than 70 percent of the nearly 4,000 people who participating in the selection, representatives of Forge, the city's young professionals association, said Thursday.

Forge planning committee members Leo Espinoza and Brittany Stiffler Crabtree announced the winner near the end of the annual State of the Community luncheon, which organizers said 500 people attended at the Ramada Hotel and Convention Center.

The number of votes cast was "incredible for a community of our size," Crabtree said.

“It is clear which flag the community wanted,” Forge executive director Lindsay Lebahn said in a news release issued Thursday by the Greater Topeka Partnership. “With all the exciting developments and changes within the Topeka community, there really isn’t a better time for this.”

The vote culminated a Topeka Flag Redesign Initiative made public last July by Forge, which offered a $2,000 award to the winning designer.

The name of the firm that created the winning design wasn't being made public at its request, said Matt Lara, public relations manager for GTP.

"They don't want it to be about them," he said.

Out of more than 300 designs submitted, three were chosen as finalists. Organizers identified them as "Design A," "Design B" and "Design C."

The public was allowed until 11:59 p.m. April 9 to vote online or by text message for any of the three. "Design A" won.

In Thursday's news release, GTP encouraged the public to share the flag on social media using the hashtag #TopekaFlag.

"The community can find the art for the flag, ways to purchase merchandise with the new flag and more at TopekaFlag.com," the release said.

The winning flag features:

• A white, five-pointed star at Topeka’s location on the state map.

• A design of a sunflower, the state flower, recognizing Topeka’s status as the state capital. The use of the sunflower was inspired by Topeka being known as the “Golden City” because of the way the sun washes over the land.

• Nine petals, representing the city’s nine founders.

• A green arrow pointing to the star, illustrating forward motion and giving a nod to the state motto, “To the stars through difficulty.”

The Topeka City Council will vote on whether to adopt the winning design, said Molly Hadfield, the city's media relations director.

If the design is adopted, the city will buy new flags featuring it and put them up in places that include the city manager’s office, the city council chambers and in front of city buildings, she said.

No tax dollars went into the initiative, Lebahn told the city council earlier this month.

While leaving Thursday's event, those in attendance were given lapel pins featuring the new flag design, as well as forms they could use to buy memorabilia linked to the flag, including T-shirts, ball caps, mugs, license plates, stickers and coasters.

The form didn't provide an opportunity to buy a flag.