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September 5 , 2008

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September 5, 2008

 

Dear Families and Friends,

 

Some exciting news!! President Bill Clinton will be joining us at our Day of Remembrance on Wednesday, September 10th at the Marriott New York Downtown Hotel. We will send out further details early next week once plans have been finalized.

 

The Seventh Anniversary of September 11th is almost upon us. We are truly excited about this year’s program and are looking forward to gathering with both old and new friends. We have had a wonderful response thus far and encourage those who have not yet registered to contact our office at (203)-966-3911. An updated schedule can be found below.

 

Over the next few days our website will be under construction so that we may provide a new look and feel to the Voices of September 11th and 9/11 Living Memorial websites. To mark the Seventh Anniversary, we have added a guestbook to each victim's 9/11 Living Memorial profile. This will allow you to contribute your remembrance to your loved ones, your colleagues and your friends. Visit the Family Tributes section of the 9/11 Living Memorial and post your reflections.

 

As always, you are in our thoughts as we approach the anniversary and we hope to see you at our annual events!


Warm Regards,

 

Mary and the Voices Staff

 

 

VOICES September 10th and September 11th Events

 

September 10th Day of Remembrance and September 11th Commemorative Luncheon

Below are details for VOICES Seventh Anniversary commemorative events. Both the September 10th Day of Remembrance Information Forum and the September 11th Commemorative Luncheon will be held at the Marriott New York Downton, located at 85 West Street. The Information Forum is open to the public and begins at 10:00 am.

 

On September 11th, family members, rescue workers and survivors are invited to attend the Commemorative Luncheon. The Commemorative Luncheon will include music, a candlelight service, a keynote speaker and a presentation of the annual Voices of September 11th Building Bridges award. Several special guests will join us to commemorate the day. Space is limited and is filling up fast. Our sponsors have subsidized the event so that we can offer lunch at $20 per person. Please contact Michelle Doherty at (203) 966 - 3911,mdoherty@voicesofsept11.org to make your reservation for both events by September 8th.

 

September 10th Day of Remembrance

 

The following events are ongoing throughout the day from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm.

 

9/11 Living Memorial Workshops by Appointment

9/11 Living Memorial workshops will be held throughout the day. Family members, rescue workers and survivors are invited to bring photographs, newspaper articles and personal mementos to document their loved ones life as well as firsthand accounts of their personal experience. VOICES staff will be available by appointment to digitize mementos to include in the 9/11 Living Memorial digital archive. You may also drop off items for digitizing that can be picked up later in the day or returned by mail after the event. For appointments contact Michelle Doherty at (203) 966-3911 or mdoherty@voicesofsept11.org.

 

New York State Archivists

Maria Holden and Marie Culver, members of New York State Archives will be on hand to advise family members about how to properly care for and preserve their precious mementos.  

 

9/11 Exhibits

9/11 Exhibits created by the National September 11 Memorial & Museum and Voices of September 11th will be on display during the two day event. The exhibits will include personal items, quilts and other mementos from their collections, as well as Project Rebirth.

 

Memorial Park IDs

The NYC Medical Examiner's office will be available on September 10th to make individual ID's that will allow families access to WTC events.

 

Karen Canzoneri & the Smile Retrievers  

Karen Canzoneri & the Smile Retrievers, (therapy dogs), Mattie and Macie, will be joining as well. Please join us on September 10th at 12 Noon to honor Mario Canzoneri, Karen's husband who recently passed away.

 

NYC 9/11 Benefit Program for Mental Health & Substance Use Services

The NYC 9/11 Benefit Program for Mental Health & Substance Use provides NYC residents and employees with financial assistance for outpatient mental health and substance use services. Michelle Angulo, Director of Outreach, will be available to answer questions on eligibility, enrollment, and program benefits.

 

Panel Discussions and Breakout Sessions

Panel Discussions and breakout sessions will provide an opportunity for particpants to learn more about a variety of projects and issues that impact the 9/11 community. The National September 11 Memorial & Museum will begin with a presentation on their plans for the Memorial Museum and collections. Story Corps will discuss the September 11th initiatve and Voices of September 11th will update attendees on the 9/11 Living Memorial digital archive. A distinguished group of service providers will share information about their work and identify unmet needs within the 9/11 community. Breakout sessions for 9/11 families, rescue workers and survivors will provide an opportunity for individuals to gather and discuss concerns specific to their populations.

 

 

10:00 am

 

Registration

 

10:30 am to 11:00 am

 

Opening Remarks

Mary Fetchet, Founding Director, Voices of September 11th

Frank Fetchet, Voices of September 11th

 

11:00 am to 12 Noon

 

National September 11 Memorial & Museum (NS11MM) Update

Panelists:

Alice M. Greenwald, Director, National September 11 Memorial & Museum (NS11MM)

Tom Hennes, Principal, Thinc Design

Jake Barton, Principal, Local Projects, LP

Michael Shulan, Creative Director

Jan Seidler Ramirez, Chief Curator and Director of Collections, NS11MM

Sonnet Takahisa, Director of Education

Caitlin Zampella, Director of Program Partnership Initiatives

 

Available for Questions:

Cliff Chanin, Sr. Program Advisor

Amy Weisser, Sr. Exhibition Developer

Adina Langer, Memorial Exhibition Manager, Curatorial Assistant

 

12:15 pm to 1:15 pm

9/11 Living Memorial and You: Families Share their Experience

 

Honoring Mario Canzoneri, beloved owner and handler of the Smile Retrievers

Panelists:

Frank Fetchet, Voices of September 11th

Debbie Westfal,Voices of September 11th

Duane Orloske, Family Member, 9/11 Living Memorial Participant

Alessandra Benedetti, Family Member, 9/11 Living Memorial Participant

Jack & Evelyn Zelmanowitz, Family Member, 9/11 Living Memorial Participant

 

1:30 pm to 2:30 pm

 

9/11 Living Memorial, NS11MM Curators and StoryCorps September 11th Initiative

Panelists:

Dave Isay, StoryCorps

Jan Seidler Ramirez, Chief Curator and Director of Collections, NS11MM

Mary Fetchet, Founding Director, Voices of September 11th

 

2:45 pm to 3:15 pm

 

The New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner  

Update on World Trade Center Identification  

Panelists:  

Charles Hirsch, Chief Medical Examiner  

Barbara Butcher, Chief of Staff  

Ben Figura, DVI Coordinator/Anthropologist  

Mark Desire, Assistant Director of Forensic Biology

 

2:45 pm to 3:15 pm  

 

Breakout sessions facilitated by service providers will allow an opportunity for rescue workers and survivors to discuss issues important to their community.

 

Breakout Session: Rescue & Recovery Workers

 

Breakout Session: 9/11 Survivors

 

3:30 pm to 4:00 pm

 

The Unmet Needs of the 9/11 Community: A Discussion of Their Work and the Challenges Ahead

Panelists:

Mary Fetchet, Founding Director, Voices of September 11th

Thomas P. Demaria, Ph.D.,Director, Psychological Services

  Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology at Long Island University at C.W. Post

Michelle Neary, LCSW, Trauma & Wellness Center of St. Vincent's Hospital

Scottie Hill, LCSW, New York Disaster Interfaith Services

Jeffrey Hon, WTC Health Coordinator, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene

 

4:30 pm to 6:00 pm

 

Closing Session and Networking

 

5:00 pm to 6:00 pm

 

Resource Provider Roundtable

Resource providers are invited to join a roundtable discussion of their work and continued efforts to provide services for victims families, rescue workers and survivors. Registration required. Contact the VOICES office at (203) 966-3911.

 

Featured Panelists

Mary Fetchet, Founding Director, Voices of September 11th

Mary Fetchet is the Founding Director of Voices of September 11th. A professional social worker, Ms. Fetchet co-founded the 9/11 advocacy organization following the death of her 24-year-old son, Brad, in the attacks on the World Trade Center. VOICES serves as a clearinghouse of information for 9/11-related issues and sponsors programs including support groups, lectures and an annual 2 day commemorative event in NYC. In 2006 VOICES formed a partnership with September's Mission and launched the 9/11 Living Memorial project, an online digital archive commemorating the lives and stories of September 11, 2001 and February 26, 1993.

 

 

 

Alice M. Greenwald, Director, National September & Memorial & Museum (NS11MM)

Ms. Greenwald joined the NS11MM in 2006 to oversee implementation of the vision for the NS11MM and for eventual programming and operation. Ms. Greenwald’s prior positions include Associate Director for Museum Programs at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM); Executive Director of the National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia; Curator of the Hebrew Union College Skirball Museum, Los Angeles, and Curatorial Assistant at the Maurice Spertus Museum of Judaica, Chicago. She holds an M.A. in History of Religions from the University of Chicago Divinity School, and a B.A in English Literature and Anthropology from Sarah Lawrence College.

 

 

Jan Seidler Ramirez, Chief Curator and Director of Collections, NS11MM

Dr. Ramirez has worked as a curator of 9/11 collections, most recently as Consulting Curator to the NS11MM, and as Vice President and Museum Director of the New York Historical Society. She oversees the collection’s development, conservation, preservation, documentation, use and analysis. Dr. Ramirez has worked on many interpretive, collections development, and long range planning projects. She has served as Deputy Director, Museum of the City of New York: Chief Curator, Hudson River Museum of Westchester; and Research Associate, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. She holds a Ph.D and M.A. in American Studies from Boston University and a B.A in English Literature from Dartmouth College.

 

 

Dave Isay, StoryCorps

Dave Isay is the founder of StoryCorps and its parent company Sound Portraits Productions. His radio documentary work has won five Peabody Awards, two Robert F. Kennedy Awards, and the Edward R. Murrow award. Dave has received a Guggenheim Fellowship (1994), a MacArthur Fellowship (2000), and a United States Artists Fellowship (2006). He is the author (or co-author) of four books: Our America: Life and Death on the South Side of Chicago (Scribner, 1997); Flophouse (Random House, 2000); and the first-ever StoryCorps book, Listening Is an Act of Love: A Celebration of American Life from the StoryCorps Project (The Penguin Press, 2007)

 

September 11th Commemorative Luncheon

 

Noon - 3:00 pm

Cost: $20 per person

 

Performers:

Galen Tate, Organist and Music Director, Saint Thomas More Church, Darien, Connecticut

Galen Tate has led the music ministry at Saint Thomas More Church since 1990. As an accompanist, he has performed with the Mendelssohn Choir of Connecticut, Stamford Chorale, Rockland County New York Choral Society, Lumina String Quartet, Sax In The City, and the Fairfield County Chorale Summer Sings. He serves as accompanist for the United Chorale and Choral Accompanist for Fairfield University. He has worked with Joe Utterback, José Feliciano, Frank Patterson, Metropolitan Opera soprano Betty Jones, and with Broadway tenors David Gaschen and Frank Mastrone. He received his B.Mus. in Organ Performance from the University of Arkansas and M.Mus. in Organ Performance from the University of Tennessee.  

 

 

 

Dr. John Michniewicz

Dr. John Michniewicz has been involved in church, academic, and professional performing ensembles as a singer, accompanist or director. A commissioned composer, his music is published by the Chorister's Guild of Dallas, Texas. His anthem “Honor, Glory” was commissioned by the Connecticut Chapter of the Chorister's Guild for their tenth anniversary festival. Dr. Michniewicz has performed in Europe and America, including recitals on the great organ at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York. He is Director of Academic Music at Sacred Heart University. He completed both Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees from the Manhattan School of Music in New York City.

 

 

Joan Carlo

Joan Carlo, mezzo-soprano, has performed for many years in regional, dinner, children’s and community theatre. She has toured nationally with theatre companies and performed in musical comedy, operetta, opera, and cabaret. Joan's favorite roles include Tessa in The Gondoliers, Phoebe in Yeoman of the Guard and Ruth in Pirates of Penzance. She was a featured soloist in Hello Broadway, a cabaret which played at the Rich Forum, Darien Arts Center, and the Sterling Barn Theatre. Joan serves on the music staff of St. Thomas More Church as Cantor for the Children's Liturgies and mezzo-soprano section leader in the St. Thomas More Adult Choir.

 

 

Matthew Thomas

Matthew Thomas, baritone, is pursuing a Bachelor’s degree from the Manhattan School of Music. During high school, he was a soloist in the school’s vocal groups as well as the Tudor Singers, with whom he traveled to Italy in 2000. Matthew sings regularly for St. Thomas More Church in Darien. He recently performed in a production of La Boheme in Westport, Connecticut, as well as taking on the lead role of Nathan Benedict in Revolution! 1777, an original production at the Crystal Theatre in Norwalk.

 

 

Our Thanks

 

The two day event is a partnership between Voices of September 11th and The National September 11 Memorial & Museum at the World Trade Center. A very special thanks to our donors who made these events possible:  

 

John & Margo Catsimatidis  

Gov. George E. Pataki and John Cahill with Chadbourne & Parke LLP  

 

Additional Memorial Events

 

Please vist the Voices of September 11th Calendar of events for additional commemorative services being held throughout the country.