Donald J. Fedorko, Founder
Living Patriot, LLC
www.livingpatriot.com

Donald Fedorko started the Living Patriot Initiative after his brother-in-law, a Marine Colonel, gave him an American flag that he flew over Camp Fallujah, Iraq, on the 5^th anniversary of September 11, 2001. Seeing the flag in a dark, wood box didn’t seem appropriate. So, that evening he built a transparent flag display case that he calls a Prism.

The American flag, a worldwide symbol of freedom and liberty that belongs to all American citizens, can now be displayed in all of its radiant glory. For two years Fedorko kept his Prism and flag in his firesafe. But, after friends, family and neighbors saw the Prism, they too wanted one for their flag. The Living Patriot Initiative and the Prism were born.

Prisms for most commonly sized flags and LED light bases are now available for sale at www.livingpatriot.com. Fedorko says that for every Prism they sell they are giving a smaller Prism, with engraved metal medallion, to every veteran to say “thank you for your service” to our great country.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

St. Louis Entrepreneur Invents

Product and Initiative to Honor Living Patriots

It was the tiny grains of sand sifting through the folds of an American flag that inspired Don Fedorko to start the Living Patriot Initiative. Now his life’s mission is to say “thank you” to every military veteran and first responder by giving each one of them one of his Living Patriot Prisms with American flag.

“It started when my brother-in-law, a Marine Colonel, returned from active duty in Iraq,” says Fedorko, a St. Louis designer and entrepreneur. “On his and my sister’s way to the east coast, they stopped in St. Louis for an evening, and when they left, he handed me a triangle-shaped box. Inside was a perfectly folded American flag.”

But this was no ordinary flag. It had flown over Camp Fallujah, Iraq, on the fifth anniversary of September 11, 2001 and was accompanied by a certificate of authenticity.

“I was flooded with emotion and gratitude for such a gift. My flag was flown in a battle zone. I was struck with the reality that thousands of patriots, thousands of miles from home, were putting their lives on the line every day for Americans like me,” recalls Fedorko. “Still, as I replaced the flag back into its wooden case, something just didn’t feel right to me.”

First of all, here was a flag representing freedom and liberty, yet it was confined to a dark, wooden box. The more he thought about it, the more he felt the need to liberate that flag. Being a designer, Fedorko went to his workshop late that night. It was nearly dawn when he emerged with a transparent flag display case that was anything but somber and constricted. Its triangular shape reminded him of a prism as it radiated with light. The Living Patriot Prism was born.

Next, he thought about the brave men and women of the U.S. Military and first responders who risk their lives every day to protect and defend our way of life. “Shouldn’t they be honored in a meaningful way while they are living? What about the loved ones who are ‘keeping the home fires burning’ while their loved ones serve in faraway lands on our behalf? And what about American citizens that are deeply proud of our great country? Our flag, a ubiquitous symbol of freedom, belongs to all American citizens. Maybe other Americans would like to display their patriotism with their flag in the same glowing and luminous way?”

With this thought in mind, Fedorko resolved that he would indeed offer his Prisms for sale as part of an effort he calls the Living Patriot Initiative. For every Prism sold, a smaller Prism with flag will be gifted to a living patriot. Fedorko has arranged for the first recipients to be the wounded heroes of Iraq and Afghanistan, undergoing treatment at the Landstuhl Medical Center in Germany, through his new partner, Teresa Goforth, the founder of the United States Wounded Soldiers Foundation. www.uswoundedsoldiers.com

“Also, with the sale of any size Prism, we’re donating a third, even smaller Prism, with foldout poster to youth organizations to educate children about patriotism and the flag,” says Fedorko. “On top of that, we’ll be donating a portion of our profits to George Lutz’s initiative, Honor and Remember. We hope this becomes a reality sooner than later. www.honorandremember.org

Fedorko launched his Living Patriot website on October 29, 2009. “I consider our initiative to be part business and part benevolence, where one exists to fund the other. “While we continue to spread the word to eventually reach our goal of giving a Prism to every veteran and first responder, we continue to design and make new products. Our ultimate goal is to employ as many veterans and adults with disabilities as possible, as we make our products,” says Fedorko. “What could be better than products built for patriots, by patriots?”

BRIEF BIO

Donald Fedorko was born in Pennsylvania and was raised partially there and in Texas as the middle of five kids. He spent a year at Penn State University, received his architectural design degree from The University of Texas at Arlington and spent a semester at Columbia University in New York.

He has worked as a designer at some of the largest global architectural design firms including Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) In New York City and HOK in Tampa, Florida and St. Louis, Missouri.

As an entrepreneur, he and his wife founded and co-own ImprovEyes, Inc., which has been in business since 1995 and provides unique solutions in architectural and product design, manufacturing, 3d visualization and art.

He currently lives in St. Louis with his wife, Sarah, and their four children, ages 11, 9, 7 and 5.

For more details, go to www.livingpatriot.com