DEAR FAMILIES AND FRIENDS,

(Include pic of Forum –  I will send)

As most of you know, we held our annual Forum and Sixth Anniversary Luncheon in New York City on September 10 and 11, 2007.  The event marked the official launch of the 9/11 Living Memorial digital archive and was organized around the theme of “Preserving 9/11”.

A highlight of the Forum was the 9/11 Living Memorial Exhibit Hall, where family members shared treasured mementos and artisans displayed quilts and other artwork.  Panels focused on preserving artifacts and updated attendees on the 9/11 Living Memorial digital archive and the National September 11 Memorial and Museum at the World Trade Center.  VOICES staff and volunteers from Hewlett-Packard were on hand to help families, survivors and first responders begin creating their 9/11 Living Memorial pages.

It was wonderful for all of us at VOICES to see you at the Anniversary Luncheon and we thank you for attending.  We welcomed former New York Governor Pataki, current Governor Eliot Spitzer, and Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, as well as our friends from Thacher Proffitt & Wood, the first WTC corporation to post content to the 9/11 Living Memorial.  Click here to view the Thacher Proffitt pages.

One of the compelling presentations at the event was made by NY Times reporter Janny Scott about how the newspaper organized the “Portraits of Grief” stories about those who died.  Click here to view Janny’s presentation.  (Tom, it is attached to this e-mail)

Alexander Braginsky
“Shurik”

Alex Braginsky’s pages are among the newest additions to our Living Memorial digital archive.  The story of creating Alex’s pages began when his mother, Nelly, came to the VOICES “Preserving 9/11” Forum in New York city on September 10th with his wallet, which she gave to VOICES staff members to digitize and include in the Living Memorial.  It was one of the first personal items found on September 12, 2001. 

As she stood by Alex’s wallet in the 9/11 Living Memorial exhibit hall at the Forum, Nelly told reporters that she had no grandchildren.  She came with the wallet to ensure that Alex would be remembered.  Click here to read Nelly’s story in USA Today. 

Alex was a man who loved New York and wanted to share the wonders of the city with friends and family.  Having moved to Queens from the Soviet Union in 1979, he was proud of his new home town.  Alex is remembered through the Alexander Braginsky Memorial Scholarship and through a park created in his memory in Israel.