PARK - Key Persons

Diana Nelson

Mike Worcester

Job Titles:
  • Founder of Flagpole of Freedom Park, Managing Director

MorRill Worcester

Job Titles:
  • Founder of Flagpole of Freedom Park, Chairman of the Board

Rob Worcester

Job Titles:
  • Founder of Flagpole of Freedom Park, Managing Director
  • Project Co - Founder & Managing Director
Entrepreneurialism and patriotism have been the basis for all accomplishments throughout Morrill Worcester's legacy. At just 12-years-old, he was a top-selling paper boy for the Bangor Daily News when he won a trip to Washington, D.C. The experience included a visit to Arlington National Cemetery, a moment that sparked a lifetime of honoring US veterans through his work. A graduate of the University of Maine, Morrill went on to establish a series of businesses, including the Worcester Wreath Company, County Concrete and Construction and Worcester Peat Co. He even started the first professional basketball team in the state - the Maine Lumberjacks. Worcester Wreath Company was the first mail-order wreath producer in the country, which supplied product to the national retailer L.L. Bean for 26 years. Today, it is one of the largest employers in Washington County. In 1992, with a surplus of Maine wreaths, Morrill decided to donate those wreaths to veteran graves in Arlington Cemetery - a tradition the family quietly continued for over a decade. In 2005 after his family completed the wreath laying, a press photographer saw the beauty of the brightly colored bows resting on the headstones and took a photo that went viral. The outpouring of support for this quiet family tradition became too powerful to ignore and the non-profit Wreaths Across America was born. In 2021 alone, more than 2.5 million sponsored wreaths were placed in thousands of cemeteries across the country. In the early 2000s, Morrill's sons Rob and Mike joined their father's family businesses. Mike's positions have included General Manager for Worcester Wreath Company and Worcester Peat Co., and today, he serves as CFO for the Worcester Companies. Rob continues to oversee the current management and operations for County Concrete, helped develop and currently manages all harvest operations for Worcester Holdings Balsam Fir Farm and is the Transportation and Logistics Coordinator for Wreaths Across America.