we know what happened a few years later I found myself in Iraq flying around in uh blackhaw helicopters in the middle of a war thinking what in the world am I doing but I was there with our our local Coast Guard Army reserve unit of course many of you guys have seen flying in and out of St Pete cwat Airport they just recently moved over to mcdill um but covering their visit covering the face of this war and putting some local faces to that that was an experience that changed my life uh not only having to take in why we were there uh but look at the commitment and the service that was underway and the great sacrifice that happened far beyond 911 I actually spent as Kenan mentioned and I appreciate Kenan for his help Kenan actually hooked me up with a couple of our veterans as well and I had a a second trip of a lifetime this past summer celebrating the and covering the 80th anniversary of the great D invasion in Normandy France and to see how our US forces and that American flag is still so revered in Europe especially all across France did give me great hope in spite of the division we still see here at home sometimes so I join you here today with uh with a bond that I share with you the bond of uh the pain and the patriotism of 911 but also a tremendous deep respect for the sacrifices that occurred that day and Beyond it and sadly there are still sacrifices being made today because of what happened that morning 23 years ago we're going to talk about that in a little bit we have some very special guests as well with you so I would ask if you don't mind please stand for a bit as we welcome our Palm Harbor fly rescue on our guard Tarpon Springs on our guard the pelis County Sheriff's Office on our guard our bagpiper is retired District fire chief Tom Fritz and then we also have thunder thunder is an American bald eagle from Tampa Bay Raptor rescue with Handler Jesse kilborn here as well by the way is 31 years old how about that ladies and gentlemen our honor guard [Music] [Music] Mark time Mar ready whe detail All Uniform Personnel present AR ladies and Gentlemen please welcome Palm Harbor Fire commissioner Julie paluso to offer our Pledge of Allegiance she will then be followed by Sonia Bryson kiry retired US Air Force and singer of course of your Tampa Bay Lightning to perform our national anthem that will then be followed by a flyover by our pelis County Sheriff's Office Aviation unit so please remain standing good morning I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible liberty and justice oh can you see by the dawn early light what so prbly weale at the Twilight last gleaming who's stripes and bright stars through the peress SP all the ramp parts we watched were so gallantly streaming and the rocket red glare the bombs bursting in a gave proof through the night that our FL was still there oh say does that star spangled B wave over the of the free and the home of the braa [Music] [Applause] [Applause] ladies and Gentlemen please be seated I'd like to welcome Pastor Glenn Davis to our stage he's the lead pastor at Countryside Christian here with our invocation can we bow our heads in prayer Lord today we remember that faithful day September 11th 2001 when our nation was attacked by cruel and vicious terrorists today we remember the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City fell to the ground in a cloud of dust with 2,6 65 lives lost we remember the Pentagon was attacked by our enemy killing 125 people today we remember the brave men and women diverted in a flight over Pennsylvania crashing the plane in a field near Shanksville with another 40 lives that were lost Lord today we remember the 264 people who died on four airplanes just like us who could never have expected the evil acts that led to their deaths today we remember the brave firefighters First Responders police officers that saved so many lives that could have died but they did not 341 firefighters that perish that day two paramedics 23 officers of the New York City fire depart uh police department and 37 Port Authority officers and on the days that followed families had to face the reality that their loved ones would not be returning home and our heart goes out to them this day the 23rd anniversary of that horrible day father today we lift up the families of those on the diverted flight and brought the plains down in the field to avoid a greater tragedy almighty God today we honor the memory of those who died on September 11th 2001 and we pray for our brothers and sisters in public safety those who could have called at any moment to go into emergency situations and risk their lives today today we pray for all of our firefighters police officers all of our military who stand in our place to protect our lives our community and our country grant them today Protection cover them with your Amazing Grace we are so grateful that we live in a nation that is free we live in a nation that is one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all we are grateful and we thank you in Jesus name and everyone said amen col guard ready whe forward mark thank you Pastor Davis you know one of the best ways to keep the memory of those who we lost that day and Beyond alive and what they fought for and what they protected is with our annual essay contest and this has been a hug huge hit over the last several years I'd like to Welcome to our stage 12-year-old sirene Hassan a seventh grader with carse Middle School who is our second place winner and 13-year-old Ella HH an eighth grader from Clearwater Fundamental School who was our first place winner and we have checks for each of them today presented by Jonathan Russell with the tunnel to Towers Foundation [Applause] my 911 Heroes September 11th 2001 was a beautiful Tuesday Morning in New York City commuters were traveling into the city the sound of Taxi horns echoed the busy streets of Manhattan families kissed each other goodbye and headed to work parents dropped their kids off at school and the elevators of the North and South Towers carried workers up to their offices like any other dead thank you little did little did anyone know how that day would be engraved in our minds and history 911 was so impactful that people remember exactly what they were doing the exact moment the first plane hit never forget reflecting on my 911 Heroes I am inspired by the stories of bravery and Sacrifice from that day my grandpa my mom's dad is a retired FDNY firefighter who served at engine 4627 truck in the Bronx for 23 years he retired just 6 months before 9/11 and it's hard to imagine what might have happened if he hadn't he would have been among the hundreds of firefighters racing to the Twin Towers my family holds 9/11 close to our hearts and we remember it as an important historical day my grandpa says the best part of the job as an FDNY firefighter was meeting some of the best people you could ever meet in your life he called his firefighter friends his brothers one of my grandpa's close friends was battalion chief Oreo Palmer who was among the First Responders on 9911 he's a true hero to me because of his incredible bravery that day Oreo climbed 78 fls up the south tower radioing for 2 and 1/2 in lines and he saw the devastation caused by the the plan's impact the sight of Fallen people made it clear how the how dire the situation was he knew that they needed a massive amount of water to fight the fires fueled by jet fuel and his Focus actions among chaos illustrate true heroism sadly Oreo did not survive but his courage and dedication are etched into the legacy of that day to me oreo represent all the First Responders who rushed into danger to save lives another one of my grandpa's friends is Jay Jonas who also responded to the towers Jay graduated from the same high school as my mom in New York which makes the hisory feel even closer to home while climbing the North Tower Jay and his team stopped to help a woman who was terrified to move in the bulkhead of the staircase because of their selflessly chose to help her they all survived as 106 floors collapsed around them Jo Josephine survived because of us we saved her life but she may have saved ours she was our guardian angel said J Jonas his bravery shows how putting others first can make a huge difference even in the most dangerous situations for me Jay's actions represent the compassion and selflessness of all who put others before themselves on that tragic day the impact of 911 reached far beyond New York City families across the country lost loved ones and communities were forever changed from then the pain of the day is still fresh and its effects Ripple through every anniversary the 9911 Memorial at Kuru Hills Memory Gardens in Palm Harbor serves as a powerful tribute to those who lost their lives that day one the 150 lb rusted beam once a part of the World Trade Center towers stands as a reminder even thousands of miles from Ground Zero if eaches an eternal flame symbolizing the enduring Spirit of all the heroes including the friends my grandpa lost and thousands from the FDNY NYPD and other First Responders who sacrificed so much that day even though I wasn't born yet hearing these stories from my grandpa shows me that 911 wasn't just a day of tragedy it was a powerful example of courage and selflessness it's up to our generation to honor their Legacy by embracing their Spirit of bravery and unity we must we must carry their memory forward and ensure that their heroism continues to inspire and guide us for generations to come we will never forget [Applause] [Music] step right up here thank thank you thank you Ella and thank you sirene congratulations to both of you how special is that for sure you know one of the ways that um another one of the ways that uh the Palm haror 911 committee and Kuru Hills Memory Gardens here um goes above and beyond in memorializing Remembering and honoring the many lives lost 23 years ago and since is with a memorial here today that recognizes and this is very unique there are very few of these in the country that memorializes and rescues the rescue and Recovery workers who succumb to illness as a result of working rescue and recovery at that 9911 site I read numbers a lot of times on the Evening News um for living and there are very few numbers that often stick to me because we have so many of them I'm going to give you a number that probably is going to take your breath away here in a second because it did to mine even last year because it's been such an incredible jump sadly more people have died from their exposure to the harsh chemicals the toxic dust and Ash from Ground Zero then died from the attack itself on that morning 23 years ago today more than 50,000 people are officially recognized as being sick and there's no doubt many more have not yet realized in illness because of the bravery and the sacrifice that they exhibit in the rescue and recovery but we have a permanent Memorial here and I encourage each and every one of you to come up and uh please give it a few moments before you do leave here today and see this because it honors our firefighters our police officers and also our construction workers and many other volunteers who spent countless hours digging through the rubble of the World Trade Center for often something smaller than a postage stamp today this Memorial indicates there are 13,000 57 people who have died to their illnesses relating to the 911 aftermath rescue and recovery and cleanup operations four times the number of those killed actually that day each year this time 911 memorial ceremony here at kurus Hills will update this and this year sadly um continues to grow it's an awful number it's a tragic number but it's a number we need to hear we need to understand because we need to continue providing the support resources for those who are still struggling because that number will grow we're also blessed with some surprised guests here this morning our first was elected to the Florida House of Representatives back in November of 2022 to represent North pelis County he currently serves on the healthcare leadership te team as whip for the Health and Human Services committee he's a member of The healthc Care regulation higher education Appropriations and insurance and Banking subcommittees and during his first term representative Adam Anderson championed legislation creating 911 Heroes day in Florida and it's because of his efforts representative Anderson's efforts on this day students across the state are learning about the events of September 11th please welcome ladies and gentlemen representative Anderson well thank you Mark and good morning it's hard to believe that 2 23 years have passed since those horrific terrorist attacks on September 11th 2001 but I'm proud to report that today also marks the second year that students throughout the state are learning about the heroes of September 11th some of you know I'm originally from a small communter town in northern New Jersey and I lived in an area where pretty much everyone knew someone that died that day so in that part of the country students are taught about the lessons of 9/11 from firsthand accounts of American patriotism and our 911 Heroes Day brings that same experience to every student here in the Sunshine State now I'm I'm here to introduce a very special surprise guest but before I do that I want to take a second and call on my fellow lawmakers throughout the country I ask you to take a look at what's going on in our schools today here in Florida and I call on you to adopt similar policies adopt the 911 Heroes day curriculum in your state so we can ensure as Americans the Next Generation never forgets now it's a it's a great honor and a privilege to introduce our next surprise guest our next speaker is a man who stands firmly in support of our veterans our firefighters our police officers all our First Responders and our teachers he's a veteran himself of the US Navy he deployed to fujia and raditi and was awarded a bron star he's a man whose bold leadership in part encouraged me to run for office he's a man who's right at home here in North pelis County a man who needs no introduction at all are very own Governor Ron [Applause] bantis thank you so much please be seated thank you thank you well well it's great to be back uh we've been able to do this for a number of years of course I grew up a Stones throwaway uh over in Duneden and I think that what you guys have done here at curo Hills has been very meaningful um and you get great community invol and I'm I'm really hardened to see that's continued after all these years last year I was not at this one uh last year I went to the memorial in southern Manhattan at Ground Zero and we had uh done that after having become friends with a lot of 9911 families uh we heard a lot of stories about not only that day but different types of challenges that have happened since then uh and my wife and I were able to go uh go to the different sites with the family members and they would tell you uh about the loved ones that they lost that day and it was always something that was very impactful for me starting on the day way back uh in 2001 uh but to be able to meet so many people whose lives were turned upside down that day uh has been very touching and I think it it it it strengthens the resolve to ensure that we're doing everything we can uh to never forget uh to honor the people that not only lost their lives that day but has been mentioned in the years since that day and that attack represented the worst that Humanity has to offer but the response to that attack whether was the office workers in the World Trade Center who were scurrying their co-workers out of the building to safety whether it was members of the FDNY the Port Authority or the NYPD who ran into the burning Towers knowing the risk that entailed uh to save others lives and in the process many of them gave their own lives whether it's the passengers on United flight 93 who knew what was happening who knew that if they were to stop it uh that would mean that they were not going to survive that flight but yet realized that if they let the flight continue you could have hundreds maybe thousands more people killed and they were not going to let that happen on their watch uh what they did that day across the board represented the best of what humanity and America has to offer and we'll never forget the sacrifices that those folks made many of them just regular people doing a regular honest day's work or happen to be on a plane and yet they stood up and they were Heroes and for that we'll forever be grateful it's also worth uh remembering 911 changed this country in which ways that few events have I can tell you in my own personal experience I would not have ended up likely joining the United States military had it not been for 9911 and I would have very unlikely uh been on a deployment to Iraq had it not been for 911 uh so even though I didn't know anybody who had died in the World Trade Center at the Pentagon or in Shanksville Pennsylvania uh it was something that inspired me to say you know America is going to fight back uh and we had so many people uh of my generation who joined the military and yes you have the Afghanistan conflict which we all know that went on for a long time and the ending of that was not uh reflective of the honor uh that those folks who risk their lives deserved uh we also had a lengthy conflict in Iraq we never had a draft after that it was people that W uh rais their hand and that meant those folks not only deployed once like me they deployed three times four times five times over a five 10 year period they miss Christmas they miss Easter they miss birthdays they missed all the holidays uh with their families they shouldered an immense burden for this country and so on behalf of the post 911 generation of veterans I just want to say as Governor thank you for your service we appreciate what you did uh it was a difficult time for this country uh not every political decision that was made was the appro appropriate one uh but any Duty you were asked to do you did it and you discharged it with honor and with integrity and finally I just say we say never forget and part of the reason why you have events like we are up here today why they're at the World Trade Center site in Manhattan why they're at the Pentagon and why they're in Shanksville Pennsylvania is to ensure that people remember uh what happened that day honoring those who were killed celebrating Those Who Rose to the occasion and I think that that's totally appropriate but it also occurs to me that most of the people in our country who are under the age of 30 were either not born yet or probably too young to have a very firm memory of what 9911 entailed and so by saying never forget uh doing things every year on 911 is necessary but it's not sufficient and so I'm proud to have worked with the Florida legislature to develop for our schools 9911 curriculum so that every year we will have instruction on the causes of 911 the destruction of 911 the heroic response that so many made to 911 and this wasn't just something that was devised in some Ivory Tower this was something that was devised in conjunction with 911 families with people who had were veterans uh of the World Trade Center uh and Veterans of the Pentagon and I think this is something that's very very meaningful so as the father of young kids s six and four uh my kids may be a little too young to fully um understand at this point but I'm confident that growing up in the State of Florida uh they are going to be taught uh what this event means to our country uh it's a it's a wakeup call to know that that evil is out there uh but it also serves or should serve as inspiration to know that the way those folks responded uh when everything was on the line uh they Rose to the occasion uh they sacrificed themselves and they saved many many lives in the process so we worked hard on that curriculum and today is going to be across Florida the debut of that curriculum and it's something that's really really important and uh I know everybody here is appreciative that that's being done in the State of Florida Most states are not doing uh anything of this nature uh we're not going to forget and not only that uh if you outside of the tri state area we are the number one place where 911 veterans have moved to uh in the years since 911 uh you go look in this area you have people that retired from the port authority and the FDNY and and and the NYPD uh so Florida we have a special obligation as being the uh desired home of so many people who were there that day uh to make sure we're doing right by their sacrifice and to make sure that future Generations truly never forget thank you God bless you God bless the memory of those lost God Bless the people who sacrificed and God bless these United States of America more special guests for you here this morning please welcome to East Lake High School magical