B.R. man gets national honor for state flag design

It seemed like a simple mandate: Add three drops of blood to the Louisiana state flag. At least that’s what Baton Rouge designer Glen Duncan thought when he volunteered to redesign the flag after a 2009 state law was passed requiring that three drops of blood be added to the breast of the flag’s main character—a mother pelican. “What we discovered was, we had no single state flag,” says Duncan. “Over time, each manufacturer seemed to create a new version. We had to draw a new flag from scratch.” Now Duncan is getting national recognition for his creation. The National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution is awarding Duncan its National Medal for Historic Preservation. “His work to design a new official seal and flag for Louisiana, and write a book to describe the process of maintaining its historical and legal accuracy, is a wonderful addition to the Daughters of the American Revolution goal of promoting historic preservation,” says Linda Winthers, the society’s national historic preservation chair. Duncan will receive the medal tonight in New Orleans, at the annual meeting of the Louisiana Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution. The project began back in 2009, when Duncan and colleague Curtis Vann—also of Baton Rouge—volunteered to assist then-Secretary of State Jay Dardenne to comply with the new state law regarding the flag. Dardenne publicly released the new flag in late 2010 during his inauguration as lieutenant governor.