Florida Flags Fly at Half-Staff Monday for John Anderson, the Voice of 'Seminole Wind'
Gov. Ron DeSantis has ordered United States and Florida flags lowered at the Capitol and across Anderson's hometown of Apopka on Monday, days after making the Apopka singer's 1992 song the state's official anthem.
Florida will lower its flags on Monday for John Anderson. In a memo issued October 30, Gov. Ron DeSantis directed that the flags of the United States and the State of Florida be flown at half-staff at the State Capitol in Tallahassee, and at all local and state buildings, installations and grounds throughout the City of Apopka, from sunrise to sunset on Monday, November 2, the Tallahassee Democrat reported.
Anderson, an Apopka native and a Country Music Hall of Fame member, died October 21 at the age of 71. The honor follows the governor's October 27 executive order declaring Anderson's 1992 song 'Seminole Wind' to be, officially, 'Florida's Anthem' — an ode to the state's landscape, history and vanishing wilderness. DeSantis credited the song with positively influencing a generational investment in protecting Florida's heritage and environment, including the expedited restoration of the Everglades.
The tributes go beyond one day of lowered flags. The governor directed Secretary of State Cord Byrd to erect historic markers in Apopka depicting Anderson's contribution to Florida's heritage, and said he would rename a trail on the north shore of Lake Apopka the John Anderson Wildlife Drive and Trail System.
For Florida State football fans, 'Seminole Wind' needs no introduction — it is played during every home game at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee. On Monday, the song's home state answers it the official way: flags down at sunrise in the capital and in the singer's hometown, back up at sunset.
