Brick Township has the largest number of registered boaters of any town in Ocean County, and until this week, there was no way they could represent themselves on the water.
At Tuesday's township council meeting, members of the governing body and Mayor Stephen C. Acropolis awarded Brick Township High School art student Jacqueline Eak a certificate and a donated $100 prize for her winning design of the township's first 'burgee,' a nautical flag that is flown on one's boat and represents a town or a yacht club.
Acropolis said over 100 designs were submitted, and Eak's picture of a flying gull surrounded by the ocean and the township's green, white and yellow colors came out on top.
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“Jacqueline’s submission stood as having the most traditional look,” said Mayor Acropolis, who was one of the judges. “You could easily picture it flying on a boat traveling up the Metedeconk River.”
The idea to create the burgee was brought to the township's attention by township resident Cindy Burkland, who serves on the Traders Cove Citizens Advisory Committee. Burkland will sell the burgees to help raise funds for the blossoming park and recreation area being built at the site on Barnegat Bay, just west of the Mantoloking Bridge.
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"This summer, if you're out at Tices [Shoal], and you see the burgee, you'll know the other person is from Brick," Acropolis said.
After Eak's design was selected as the winner, the township had an order of burgees created that will be available for sale to the public. The burgees will be available in five sizes, 12-by-18 inches for $20; 16-by-24 inches for $25; 24-by-36 inches for $75; 36-by-54 inches for $100; and 60-by-90 inches for $150.
According to township officials, the burgees will be available for purchase shortly.
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