Greetings, Beacon Nation!Tristan Scott here with your Monday edition of the Daily Roundup.
As America approaches the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people, including hundreds of first responders, the nonprofit Whitefish Firefighter’s Association has broken ground on a memorial monument dedicated to victims of 9/11.
The long-dormant plans for the project, which will include as its centerpiece three large pieces of steel from the destroyed World Trade Center, have recently regained momentum due to a donation by the city of Whitefish of a small piece of land for the memorial and a $50,000 grant from the Whitefish Community Foundation.
In 2010, when former Whitefish Fire Chief Thomas Kennelly acquired the steel from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the nonprofit Whitefish Firefighters Association became one of around 1,500 organizations in the United States to be selected through the Port Authority program to disburse the artifacts.
With construction and fundraising underway, the organizers plan to unveil the steel during a community 25th anniversary 9/11 ceremony at 11 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 11. The keynote speaker at the public event will be Kevin Shea, a retired lieutenant with the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY) who participated in rescue efforts at the World Trade Center during the attacks.
Construction on Phase 1 of the memorial began last month and remains on schedule, according to the Whitefish Firefighters Association. The first phase includes a Pentagon-shaped foundation that was poured in July and which will encircle the steel recovered from the World Trade Center (see design rendering above).
The memorial is possible through a collaborative effort involving the Whitefish Firefighters Association, Whitefish Community Foundation, the City of Whitefish, local businesses, volunteers and community donors.
The Whitefish Firefighters Foundation also extended “a heartfelt thank you to Benchmark Concrete for your time, equipment, and craftsmanship to help make this vision a reality. Your support is laying more than just a foundation — it’s helping build a lasting memorial that will serve our community for generations.”
Sal Baccaro, chairman of the Whitefish Firefighters Foundation’s all-volunteer 9/11 Memorial Committee, which formed to help steward the project, said the Whitefish Community Foundation’s Major Community Project Grant awarded on July 31 would “have a tremendous impact on this project by helping us create a lasting space for remembrance, reflection and education within the Flathead Valley.”
Located at the Whitefish Emergency Services Center on land donated by the City of Whitefish, the memorial will provide a place where residents and visitors can honor the nearly 3,000 people who lost their lives on Sept. 11, as well as the firefighters, law enforcement officers, emergency medical personnel, military members and countless others whose lives were forever changed.
“This memorial will ensure future generations can learn about the events of 9/11 and the values of service, resilience and unity that emerged in its aftermath,” Baccaro said. “It will also provide a meaningful gathering place to honor first responders, military members and all those whose lives were impacted by the tragedy.”
Alan Davis, president and CEO of Whitefish Community Foundation, said the memorial will help future generations remember a tragedy that shook the nation.
“Twenty-five years later, there’s an entire generation of Americans who know Sept. 11 only through the stories of others,” Davis said. “This memorial will help preserve those stories of courage and sacrifice. It reminds us that even in moments of profound tragedy, communities can come together with compassion, resolve and a commitment to caring for one another.”
The Whitefish Firefighters Association is also raising funds for the memorial through this year’s Great Fish Community Challenge, Whitefish Community Foundation’s annual charitable giving campaign. Community members who wish to support the project can make a gift during the Challenge starting Aug. 11 to help complete the memorial. Fundraising is underway to reach the project’s $665,000 goal.
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