Dublin Field of Honor - a Community Collaboration - a Tribute to 9/11 Victims
Posted by Michael Blackwell
on Sep 25, 2011
Kicking off the commemoration weekend of the 9/11 tragedy, a panel of Dubliners shared with the club the community collaboration that brought the Field of Honor to Dublin, Ohio. From left to right: Claudia Trusty, Dave Connelly, Sue Burness, Chief Al Woo, Amy Snow, Christine Nardecchia, Sgt Craig Hungler and Chris Kelley.
Dave Connelly: “This tragedy has affected all of us, and many of us have a personal connection to the events of that day, not only watching on television but knowing somebody who died. We owe it to those who died that the day never be forgotten. A special thanks are due to our Commemorative Sponsors: BMI Federal Credit Union, Cardinal Health Foundation, Cassidy/Turley, Delta Energy, Dublin AM Rotary Foundation, Dublin Cleaners, Dublin Dance Center/Gymnastics, OCLC, Andrews Architects, and Schottenstein, Zox & Dunn Co., LPA. Many Rotarians also stepped up to provide financial support, including Margaret Butler with Dublin Cleaners and Kent Underwood with Underwood Orthodontics. Finally, thanks to all of you who have volunteered or will volunteered to help. You have made it happen for our City.”
Christine Nardecchia, City of Dublin Director of Volunteer Services: ”The Field of Honor is a great reminder of why I became a public servant. It was an extraordinary partnership between City and community, with an amazing number of organizations coming together. Over 300 have volunteered their time to get the event set up. But hundreds of people and thousands of hours have not only created a memorable event to help us reflect, but also ensured that a scholarship for first responders will be a lasting result and tribute.”
Chris Kelly, Dublin Foundation Executive Director: “Long after the event is a memory, we will have a pool of money for the first responders’ scholarship. We will begin with at least $10,000. This scholarship will be administered by a committee of all the stakeholders in the community and will be a fitting tribute to bravery of those who gave their efforts or even gave their lives so that so many lives could be saved on that tragic day 10 years ago.”
Chief Al Woo, Washington Township Fire Chief: “With all respect to everyone at the City, we tried to make this event apolitical, and I wish to thank City Council for contributing to the solemnity of the day. When this idea was first proposed, I have to admit that I was skeptical. I loved the idea of a tribute to the fallen, but I was concerned about the scholarship for first responders. I didn’t want Washington Township to seem in any way self-serving or self-promoting. Once I understood it was all about community, we were all in and ready to offer complete support. The City and so many partners have pulled together in a way that makes everyone in the Fire Department proud to be a part.”
Sue Burness: “It takes a whole community to raised 3,000 flags. This has been an amazing community collaboration. I wish to extend thanks to the Communication Committee who worked with me. Their collaborative effort, using both traditional media tools and social media, got our message of reflection, remembrance, and community out not only to Dublin but to the whole world. Through the City’s website, you can see remembrances from people across the country and the globe, with amazing and moving stories. If you haven’t visited it www.DublinFieldofHonor.org, go and prepare to be moved. You will be moved, too, when you attend and hear Dublin school children reading the names of the victims. Thanks to Dublin City Schools for providing the land and coordinating this effort.”
Sgt Craig Hungler, City of Dublin Division of Police: “After 9/11, I and two others peer counselors and chaplains were released by the City of Dublin to go to New York to help. Thanks to the City for giving us that release and the tools to assist. We counseled the Port Authority Police Department, which had charge of the World Trade Centers and which lost more officers than NYPD.
When we think of 9/11, we think of tragedy and lost life, but somehow I also feel blessed to have been a part. I saw the goodness that was there in the midst of the tragedy: in the way the city came together, in the search for survivors, how different organizations and groups wanted to be part, in how for a moment everyone set aside their differences and worked together with shared humanity. For a time, for all too brief a time, we were a better, more loving, more caring country. By the first anniversary, it seemed we were back to business as usual.
If I had one wish, it would be that we could go back to the spirit of 9/11. And the Field of Honor, in which so many have come together, shows that if we try, maybe we can. The world would be a better place if we could. Let the Field of Honor—a difficult but meaningful weekend—be the serene place where we can be together to gain strength to work for that spirit in the world.”
Thanks to all Rotarians and to everyone in Dublin and beyond who helped make Field of Honor an event that fulfilled the promise of Sgt. Hungler’s words. His thoughts express the very essence of what it means to be a Rotarian. May we all live and work to be equal to them.
Photo taken from air courtesy of Dublin AM Rotarian Mike Close
