{"id":260488,"date":"2025-12-06T08:32:50","date_gmt":"2025-12-06T12:32:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/?p=260488"},"modified":"2025-12-06T08:33:50","modified_gmt":"2025-12-06T12:33:50","slug":"flagman-to-receive-honorarium-after-20-years-of-volunteer-service","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/flagman-to-receive-honorarium-after-20-years-of-volunteer-service\/","title":{"rendered":"Flagman to Receive Honorarium After 20 Years of Volunteer Service"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a><\/div>
\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n
\n\n\n\n

Flagman to Receive Honorarium After 20 Years of Volunteer Service<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Hilson \u201cFlagman\u201d Joseph, a fixture at national ceremonies for more than two decades, will receive a significant honorarium and ongoing financial support following a Cabinet decision announced Friday by Director General of Communications Maurice Merchant.<\/p>

\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Merchant said during the post-Cabinet media briefing that the decision came after Minister Anthony Smith presented Joseph\u2019s long record of voluntary service, noting that he has hoisted and managed the national flag at official ceremonies, state events and sporting occasions for over 20 years \u2014 work he has carried out free of cost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Merchant, Cabinet agreed to provide a substantial honorarium in recognition of Joseph\u2019s contribution, along with consistent financial support to ensure he can continue performing ceremonial duties.<\/p>

\"\"<\/a><\/div>
\"\"<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Joseph, popularly known as \u201cFlagman,\u201d has long been associated with national celebrations and was previously acknowledged with a national award during an Independence observance. The Cabinet\u2019s latest decision formalizes additional support for one of the country\u2019s best-known ceremonial volunteers.<\/p>

\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The announcement formed part of a wider briefing that also covered health-sector modernization, sports development initiatives, diplomatic appointments and preparations for the 2026 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Flagman to Receive Honorarium After 20 Years of Volunteer Service Hilson \u201cFlagman\u201d Joseph, a fixture at national ceremonies for more than two decades, will receive a significant honorarium and ongoing financial support following a Cabinet decision announced Friday by Director General of Communications Maurice Merchant. Merchant said during the post-Cabinet media briefing that the decision […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":250578,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-260488","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nFlagman to Receive Honorarium After 20 Years of Volunteer Service - Antigua News Room<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/flagman-to-receive-honorarium-after-20-years-of-volunteer-service\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Flagman to Receive Honorarium After 20 Years of Volunteer Service\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Flagman to Receive Honorarium After 20 Years of Volunteer Service Hilson \u201cFlagman\u201d Joseph, a fixture at national ceremonies for more than two decades, will receive a significant honorarium and ongoing financial support following a Cabinet decision announced Friday by Director General of Communications Maurice Merchant. Merchant said during the post-Cabinet media briefing that the decision […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/flagman-to-receive-honorarium-after-20-years-of-volunteer-service\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Antigua News Room\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/antiguanewsroom\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-12-06T12:32:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-12-06T12:33:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/flag-man.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1400\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1196\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Editor\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@AntiguaNewsRoom\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@AntiguaNewsRoom\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Editor\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/flagman-to-receive-honorarium-after-20-years-of-volunteer-service\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/flagman-to-receive-honorarium-after-20-years-of-volunteer-service\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Editor\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#\/schema\/person\/36cac05ef6398fe56ae3e6317f8535c5\"},\"headline\":\"Flagman to Receive Honorarium After 20 Years of Volunteer Service\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-12-06T12:32:50+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-12-06T12:33:50+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/flagman-to-receive-honorarium-after-20-years-of-volunteer-service\/\"},\"wordCount\":202,\"commentCount\":13,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/flagman-to-receive-honorarium-after-20-years-of-volunteer-service\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1264\/h:1080\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/flag-man.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/flagman-to-receive-honorarium-after-20-years-of-volunteer-service\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/flagman-to-receive-honorarium-after-20-years-of-volunteer-service\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/flagman-to-receive-honorarium-after-20-years-of-volunteer-service\/\",\"name\":\"Flagman to Receive Honorarium After 20 Years of Volunteer Service - Antigua News Room\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/flagman-to-receive-honorarium-after-20-years-of-volunteer-service\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/flagman-to-receive-honorarium-after-20-years-of-volunteer-service\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1264\/h:1080\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/flag-man.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-12-06T12:32:50+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-12-06T12:33:50+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/flagman-to-receive-honorarium-after-20-years-of-volunteer-service\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/flagman-to-receive-honorarium-after-20-years-of-volunteer-service\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/flagman-to-receive-honorarium-after-20-years-of-volunteer-service\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1264\/h:1080\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/flag-man.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1264\/h:1080\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/flag-man.webp\",\"width\":1400,\"height\":1196,\"caption\":\"Hilson Flag Man Joseph photo by Wayne Mariette\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/flagman-to-receive-honorarium-after-20-years-of-volunteer-service\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Flagman to Receive Honorarium After 20 Years of Volunteer Service\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/\",\"name\":\"Antigua News Room\",\"description\":\"News As It Happens\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Antigua Newsroom\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1080\/h:1080\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_1584.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1080\/h:1080\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_1584.jpeg\",\"width\":1260,\"height\":1260,\"caption\":\"Antigua Newsroom\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/antiguanewsroom\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/AntiguaNewsRoom\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/antiguanewsroom\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#\/schema\/person\/36cac05ef6398fe56ae3e6317f8535c5\",\"name\":\"Editor\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536?s=96\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536?s=96\",\"caption\":\"Editor\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/author\/editor\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Flagman to Receive Honorarium After 20 Years of Volunteer Service - Antigua News Room","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/flagman-to-receive-honorarium-after-20-years-of-volunteer-service\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Flagman to Receive Honorarium After 20 Years of Volunteer Service","og_description":"Flagman to Receive Honorarium After 20 Years of Volunteer Service Hilson \u201cFlagman\u201d Joseph, a fixture at national ceremonies for more than two decades, will receive a significant honorarium and ongoing financial support following a Cabinet decision announced Friday by Director General of Communications Maurice Merchant. Merchant said during the post-Cabinet media briefing that the decision […]","og_url":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/flagman-to-receive-honorarium-after-20-years-of-volunteer-service\/","og_site_name":"Antigua News Room","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/antiguanewsroom","article_published_time":"2025-12-06T12:32:50+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-12-06T12:33:50+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1400,"height":1196,"url":"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/flag-man.webp","type":"image\/webp"}],"author":"Editor","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@AntiguaNewsRoom","twitter_site":"@AntiguaNewsRoom","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Editor","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/flagman-to-receive-honorarium-after-20-years-of-volunteer-service\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/flagman-to-receive-honorarium-after-20-years-of-volunteer-service\/"},"author":{"name":"Editor","@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#\/schema\/person\/36cac05ef6398fe56ae3e6317f8535c5"},"headline":"Flagman to Receive Honorarium After 20 Years of Volunteer Service","datePublished":"2025-12-06T12:32:50+00:00","dateModified":"2025-12-06T12:33:50+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/flagman-to-receive-honorarium-after-20-years-of-volunteer-service\/"},"wordCount":202,"commentCount":13,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/flagman-to-receive-honorarium-after-20-years-of-volunteer-service\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1264\/h:1080\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/flag-man.webp","articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/flagman-to-receive-honorarium-after-20-years-of-volunteer-service\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/flagman-to-receive-honorarium-after-20-years-of-volunteer-service\/","url":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/flagman-to-receive-honorarium-after-20-years-of-volunteer-service\/","name":"Flagman to Receive Honorarium After 20 Years of Volunteer Service - Antigua News Room","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/flagman-to-receive-honorarium-after-20-years-of-volunteer-service\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/flagman-to-receive-honorarium-after-20-years-of-volunteer-service\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1264\/h:1080\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/flag-man.webp","datePublished":"2025-12-06T12:32:50+00:00","dateModified":"2025-12-06T12:33:50+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/flagman-to-receive-honorarium-after-20-years-of-volunteer-service\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/flagman-to-receive-honorarium-after-20-years-of-volunteer-service\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/flagman-to-receive-honorarium-after-20-years-of-volunteer-service\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1264\/h:1080\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/flag-man.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1264\/h:1080\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/flag-man.webp","width":1400,"height":1196,"caption":"Hilson Flag Man Joseph photo by Wayne Mariette"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/flagman-to-receive-honorarium-after-20-years-of-volunteer-service\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Flagman to Receive Honorarium After 20 Years of Volunteer Service"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/","name":"Antigua News Room","description":"News As It Happens","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#organization","name":"Antigua Newsroom","url":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1080\/h:1080\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_1584.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1080\/h:1080\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_1584.jpeg","width":1260,"height":1260,"caption":"Antigua Newsroom"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/antiguanewsroom","https:\/\/x.com\/AntiguaNewsRoom","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/antiguanewsroom\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#\/schema\/person\/36cac05ef6398fe56ae3e6317f8535c5","name":"Editor","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536?s=96","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536?s=96","caption":"Editor"},"url":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/author\/editor\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/anr-api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/260488","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/anr-api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/anr-api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/anr-api\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/anr-api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=260488"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/anr-api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/260488\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":260489,"href":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/anr-api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/260488\/revisions\/260489"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/anr-api\/wp\/v2\/media\/250578"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/anr-api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=260488"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/anr-api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=260488"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/anr-api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=260488"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}