Ten House Firefighter Jimmy Sands participated in the dedication of 9-11 monument in Slidell, Louisiana. Read the press release below. Thanks to FF Jimmy Sands and the City of Slidell for the photos from this event.
9-11 MONUMENT SITE DEDICATED IN HERITAGE PARK, SLIDELL, LOUISIANA
Area residents and public officials gathered late Sunday, April 27, 2008 at a corner of Heritage Park in Slidell, Louisiana, at the site of a planned memorial to the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on America, to pay tribute to the first-responders who put their lives on the line in times of grave emergency.
Among those who spoke to the crowd at the site of the future 9-11 Memorial Plaza were Slidell Mayor Ben Morris, City Council member Kim Harbison and New York City firefighter James Sands of Engine 10/Ladder 10. Harbison chairs the committee working to build the 9-11 monument and Sands’ fire station is across the street from the World Trade Center.
More than 2,800 people were killed in separate attacks on the World Trade Center, many of them firefighters and five of them from Sands’ firehouse, and the Pentagon, and in the jet crash in Pennsylvania. Sands is a friend of St. Tammany Fire Protection District 1 administrative chief Chris Kaufmann, who had invited Sands to attend the ceremony.
Slidell’s efforts to build the memorial - with a 2-foot section of steel beam from the World Trade Center and a chunk of limestone from the Pentagon among the centerpieces - began almost six years ago. The City Council approved the project after the beam segment was given to the city by the Krewe of Bilge Carnival group.
In November 2003, architect Kieran Weldon of Fauntleroy and Latham submitted the winning design for the 9/11 monument, now estimated to cost close to $400,000.
Harbison’s 9/11 Memorial Committee and volunteers have sold commemorative American flags, T-shirts and memory bells to help raise startup money for site preparation. Those fundraising efforts continue. The items are still on sale and may be purchased at the council office, 1330 Bayou Lane, trailer 110 in the municipal trailer complex. Separate monetary donations – made payable to the City of Slidell 9/11 Memorial – can be mailed to the Slidell City Council, P.O. Box 828, Slidell, LA 70459.
Corporate sponsorships and grants also are being sought. Harbison’s committee recently applied for a $4,000 Hometown Helper corporate grant. Sponsored by General Mills Sales Inc. and Hamburger Helper, the grants are made available to small cities across America to help raise money for worthy community projects.
