I want to tell you about the Patriot Day Memorial Service presented by the Broward Sheriff’s Office on the tenth anniversary of September 11, 2001. It was truly a commemorative and touching event. It took place Sunday, September 11, at 8:30 a.m. BSO set up a large tent in front of the entrance to their building on Broward Boulevard. The tent was filled to capacity with residents and elected officials from all over the County.
The pledge was recited, The Star Spangled Banner was sung, and as the program progressed, it was stopped and a bell tolled at the times listed below. Guests were asked to bow their heads in a moment of silence during the ringing of each bell.
At 8:46 a.m. the first bell rang out commemorating the American Airlines Flight 11 that struck the north tower of the World Trade Center. All 1,344 civilians above the 91st floor, plus the crew and passengers perished.
At 9:03 a.m. the second bell rang out in memory of the United Airlines Flight 175 the struck the south tower of the World Trade center at the 81st floor. Many lives were saved due to the evacuation after the north tower was struck.
At 9:43 a.m. the third bell rang out in memory of the American Airlines Flight 77 that crashed into the Pentagon. Between passengers, flight crew and Pentagon employees, 125 lives were lost.
At 10:05 a.m. the fourth bell rang out in memory of the South Tower collapsing sending plumes of smoke and debris throughout New York City. One minute later, hijacked United Airlines Flight 93 with forty passengers and crew crashed into a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
At 10:28 a.m. the fifth bell rang out in memory of the North Tower collapsing sending additional debris and smoke throughout New York City.
“In all, 2,998 innocent people perished on that fateful day, including 343 NYC firefighters, 23 NPD officers and 32 Port Authority officers. The number of public safety and public workers affected physically after the World Trade Center has yet to be tallied. However, it is safe to say, the number of people affected emotionally by this tragedy is incalculable. May all the heroes and innocent victims of this senseless tragedy rest in eternal peace.”
In April, 2002, large sections of structural steel were cut into memorial pieces for select fire rescue agencies throughout our nation. A piece of this steel was presented to the Broward Sheriff’s Office on September 11, 2008 and is permanently on display in the lobby of the Broward Sheriff’s Office main headquarters located at 2601 West Broward Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale. It weighs seventy pounds and is etched with the letters WTC and the date 9-11-01.
Thank you Sheriff Lamberti.
On another note, I want to highlight the Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration Committee of West Park. Each year, in memory of the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., our City, in partnership with the MLK Committee, presents a 3-day MLK Celebration. Much time and organizing goes into preparing for this event and I want to introduce you to the members of the Committee who have given of their time year after year after year. The Committee meets every other Saturday morning at 9:00 a.m. Meetings last for one hour. All residents of West Park are invited to attend the meetings and become members. Call 954-257-6302 for more information.
President and Patriarch of the MLK Committee is Gentry Richardson. His dream is for the MLK Committee to always “Give Back to the Community”, and so to accomplish that end, the event is FREE to all participants. We start with a Friday night service at the host church, we enjoy a Saturday morning Senior Breakfast, a Saturday night Youth Night and then on Monday we have our parade up and around the streets of West Park. The parade is followed by a ceremony at Mary Saunders Park which includes the reciting of the “I Have A Dream” speech by a West Park resident. Following the ceremony, we have lunch. Membership includes Mary Kendrick, Vice President; Florence Thomas, Managing Secretary; Sara Snell, Treasurer; Commissioner Sharon Fyffe, Secretary. Other members include Marie Davis, Cleo Seymour, Bishop Leola Payne, Ruby Barr, Diane Nemie, and members of City Staff. If you wake up early on Saturday mornings, come join us.
For more information on the event and for information on how to participate in the parade, please call Ruby Barr at 954-391-8395. We encourage all residents and businesses to participate, we encourage all groups and organizations to construct and decorate a float for the parade.
Don’t forget to visit my office in City Hall and see local artists’ artwork on display. There are several paintings done in acrylic, several in oil paint and several in watercolor. Some of the paintings are abstract, some are realistic. You will be pleasantly surprised at the artistic talent we have in our City.
Please feel free to call me anytime at 954-963-7745 for a tour of our new City Hall and my office.
