Flag #111 - Congressman Rudy Yakym
Flag #111 | Congressman Rudy Yakym | Washington, DC | 2025 | Engine Series | Hose Origin: Indiana District 2 Fire Departments (9 total) including Grissom Air Force Base
Four hundred miles. Nine fire departments. One flag.
On May 21, 2025, Brotherhood Designs co-founders Scott and Rob loaded up and headed north through Indiana's 2nd Congressional District. What followed was a 14-hour day of handshakes, firehouse banter, and retired hose changing hands—from the crews who used it to the craftsmen who would give it new purpose.
The route took them through Elkhart, South Bend, LaPorte, Peru, Logansport, Rochester, Warsaw, Hamlet, and Goshen. At each stop, firefighters welcomed them into stations, shared stories, and contributed hose that had seen real service protecting their communities. At Elkhart's Station 4, Chief Will Kornrumph and the C-shift crew marked a milestone: Elkhart Firefighters Local 338 became BDC's 1,000th Facebook follower.
Every piece of hose collected that day carried history. Every firefighter who handed it over trusted that it would become something worthy of their service.
It did.
Flag #111 is an Engine Series American flag with a custom Indiana state silhouette cut from hose retired by Grissom Air Force Base in Peru. The flag represents not just one department, but nine—a unified symbol of the firefighters who protect Indiana's 2nd District.
The story began when Congressman Yakym spotted a Brotherhood Designs flag hanging in Congresswoman Erin Houchin's Capitol Hill office. Her IN-9 flag was Indiana's first BDC piece in Washington. The Congressman's chief of staff reached out, and the District 2 project was born.
When Scott and Rob presented Flag #111 to Congressman Yakym and his team, the reaction was immediate—emotion and pride. Alongside the flag, they left a digital picture frame documenting the entire journey: the hose collection, the craftsmanship, and the contact information for every department involved. The Congressman can now point to any section of that flag and tell its story, or pick up the phone and thank the firefighters it represents.
The Architect of the Capitol crew installed the mounting cleat, and Flag #111 took its place on the wall—Indiana's second Brotherhood Designs flag in the nation's capital.
Retired firefighter John Knox stood with Scott and Rob for the unveiling, a new brother in service they'd met just days earlier at Corey's Cruise in Pennsylvania. Connections like that remind everyone involved why this work matters.
Congresswoman Houchin paved the way. Congressman Yakym raised the bar. And Brotherhood Designs is just getting started. The Congressional Brotherhood Wall of Honor is growing, and representatives across the country are taking notice.
Local legacy, national symbol. Every hose has a story—and now those stories are being told in the halls where decisions shape the nation.
Every hose has A story. More Stories Below.
