Community invited to ceremony at noon Thursday at the Community
Center
The second anniversary of Sept. 11, 2001, will be commemorated at noon Thursday in an outdoor ceremony at the community center. With the songs of schoolchildren, short speeches from city and public safety officials and everyone joining in to sing the National Anthem, the public will gather to remember what happened that day, who the heroes were and respond to a renewed meaning of freedom.
Led by Mayor Dennis Kennedy, other speakers include Ben Lopes, Santa Clara County Fire Department chief; Lt. Joe Sampson of the Morgan Hill Police Department; businessman Alex Kennett, a former career Army officer, member of the Chamber of Commerce board; and Ray Milhem, founder and CEO of Milhem Consulting, who will represent the Muslim community.
Teacher Karen Crane will lead the Carden Academy Patriotic Singers in a medley of patriotic songs, as she did on Sept. 11, 2002. Crane’s efforts at introducing hundreds of Morgan Hill schoolchildren to patriotic songs of American heritage, earned her the Community Spirit Award presented last week by Gavilan College.
This year, according to Anthony Eulo, assistant to City Manager, who is coordinating the event, the National Anthem will be sung by the children and the audience.
Sampson, who is new to the MHPD, said he took part in a similar event last year at Hancock Community College in Santa Maria, where he was chief of police.
“We took time out to remember those who have gone before us,” he said, “in battle, in the military, and those who serve on the local streets.”
Sampson said he will talk about what a patriot looks like and remind us of the freedoms we have.
“There is more than one kind of patriot,” Sampson said.
Kennett said he would be refining thoughts he has had in the past year about the Sept. 11 experience, focusing on the current war on terrorism and what it means to be an American.
Remembering Sept. 11 started officially Sunday at a local church.
As they do every year, the Crossroads Christian Church on Wright Avenue honored public service employees – police, California Highway Patrol, fire, emergency medical technicians and the military – at a special service on Sunday. An honor guard from Travis Air Force Base and a bagpiper, rounded out the morning service, attended by public safety workers, military and their families, according to Pastor Sammy Vasquez..
The Chamber of Commerce is a co-sponsor of Patriot Day. At the Morgan Hill Community and Cultural Center Outdoor Amphitheater, Monterey Road at Dunne Avenue, noon, Thursday, Sept. 11. Details: 779-7271.
TALK ABOUT FREEDOM
“What Freedom Means To You” will be discussed Thursday evening at the Morgan Hill Community Center’s El Toro Room, beginning at 7 p.m. Morgan Hill and San Martin residents, adults and students, are encouraged to attend, to join in the discussion or just to listen.
The evening is a part of the Conversations on Freedom Series, hosted by the The City of Morgan Hill, The Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University, The Silicon Valley Library System, The Santa Clara County Library, The San Jose Mercury News, The American Leadership Forum and The Community Foundation Silicon Valley.
Local leaders will help to start the conversation, moderated by Ann Skeet. 17000 Monterey Road at Dunne Avenue. Thursday, Sept. 11, 7-9 p.m. Details on the freedom discussion from: te****@*****fo.org or 650-349-5538.
