Gulfport’s New Flag and Seal Revealed
Gulfport’s 125th Anniversary celebration marked a pivotal moment in our city’s history, highlighting the need to modernize and unify our city’s branding. This milestone presented an opportunity to refresh the city’s seal and motto while also creating a distinctive city flag—a symbol that Gulfport had never officially adopted before.
Recognizing the importance of community engagement, a dedicated committee was formed to oversee the development of the new flag design. This effort included valuable input from residents, local students, and professional designers, whose ideas and creativity played an essential role in shaping the final product.
As a community, Gulfport takes pride in its stability, determination, creativity, and remarkable resiliency. These characteristics became central to the design process, with recurring themes emerging from public input. Icons such as anchors, sails, lighthouses, waves, the sun, and stars were consistently suggested as symbols representing Gulfport’s heritage and future aspirations.
The design committee faced the challenge of incorporating these meaningful elements into a cohesive and symbolic flag design. Ultimately, a blend of these elements was chosen to reflect Gulfport’s past, present, and future, and a new motto, “Anchored in Excellence,” was adopted to succinctly capture the city’s mission and spirit.
City Flag
Colors and Symbols
Blue Field: The blue field symbolizes the water and skies of Gulfport’s coastline and represents vigilance, perseverance, and harmony.
Gold Circle: The central gold circle reflects the sun and symbolizes hope, optimism, prosperity, continuity, and unity.
Seven White Stars: Representing the seven wards of Gulfport, the stars also symbolize the city’s sand beaches and the ideals of faith, freedom, peace, harmony, and purity. The stars serve as guiding beacons for navigation, further reinforcing Gulfport’s maritime heritage.
Anchor: Positioned at the center of the design, the anchor represents strength, stability, hope, and resiliency—values that have defined Gulfport’s long maritime history and its enduring community spirit. The anchor is designed to be a digital version of the anchor in Jones Park that was donated by the Seabees to the city.
The colors, shapes, and symbols were carefully selected to embody both the physical characteristics of Gulfport’s natural landscape and the ideals embedded in the city’s culture, direction, and people. Every aspect of the flag’s design is rich with meaning, reflecting the city’s storied past and its ambitious future.
City Seal & Motto
Similar principles guided the redesign of the city’s logo and seal. A modernized seal was created to emphasize further Gulfport’s identity as a community of strength, unity, and opportunity. The slogan “Anchored in Excellence” encapsulates the city’s commitment to progress and its steadfast dedication to excellence in all facets of community life.
A Community-Driven Effort
It’s important to acknowledge that design is subjective, and each person’s perception of beauty and meaning may vary. However, this initiative was a true community-driven process. We are incredibly grateful for the ideas, concepts, and feedback provided by Gulfport residents, students, and design experts.
Special recognition goes to the voluntary Flag Commission, led by Chairman Frank Bordeaux. His experience on the Mississippi Flag Commission was instrumental in guiding Gulfport’s process to a successful outcome.
As we raise Gulfport’s new flag, we do so with pride and unity. The flag’s design reflects our city’s character, values, and future goals. It serves as a daily reminder of our shared journey—a journey “Anchored in Excellence.”