January 4, 2008

Dear Families and Friends,

Happy New Year!  I hope you and your family enjoyed the holiday season.  As we begin 2008, I cannot resist a brief reflection on 2007 and, more importantly, touch upon our enhanced support programs for the coming year.
 
With your help the 9/11 Living Memorial digital archive is well on its way!  In 2007 VOICES sponsored twenty 9/11 Living Memorial workshops throughout the Northeast that resulted in the creation of over 1,000 individual family tribute profiles.  Our staff worked closely in partnership with you, our over 6,000 members, by providing support to address the changing needs of the 9/11 community.  Also, we continued our advocacy work with 9/11 Commissioners, families and legislators to support the 9/11 Commission recommendations.   Our collective efforts resulted in the signing into law of the “Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007” in August, and we will continue to push for further reforms.
 
2008 has many wonderful opportunities for us to jointly build off of 2007's momentum.  Partnerships with the National September 11 Memorial Museum, the Library of Congress, leading technology companies and many others are growing and will enable us to further enhance the 9/11 LM user experience.  The VOICES staff will host fifty workshops across the country and work with families, rescue workers, survivors and corporations to expand the 9/11 LM site.  Our overall commitment to provide support programs will continue, including keeping our membership informed through the VOICES website and e-newsletters.     
 
As we begin the new year, we will renew our commitment to support full implementation of the 9/11 Commission recommendations with a focus on local, state and federal preparedness as a natural extension of our programs.
 
All of us at VOICES are very optimistic about the coming year and feel honored and privileged to work with you and your families!

Warm regards,

Mary and the VOICES staff
 

VOICES programs and events

VOICES is hosting five 9/11 Living Memorial Workshops in January 2008. 9/11 family members, rescue workers and survivors are invited to participate. The 9/11 Living Memorial is dedicated to commemorating the lives and stories of September 11, 2001 and the February 26, 1993 World Trade Center bombing. The workshop provides an opportunity to learn more about the 9/11 Living Memorial digital archive and how to create tribute pages in memory of your loved ones or to document your first-hand personal accounts.

Please bring items for our staff to digitize such as photographs, memorial programs, written tributes, and other information. We encourage you to bring quilts, artwork and tangible items that you would like us to photograph for the digital archive. Registration is required. For further information or to register for the workshops below, contact Michelle Doherty at VOICES of September 11th, (203) 966-3911 or toll free (866) 505-3911, or by e-mail to mdoherty@voicesofsept11.org. We will be holding workshops around the country over the coming year. Please contact our office if you would like us to host a workshop in your area.

Tampa, Florida

Date: Saturday, January 5, 2008

Time: 10:00am - 2:00pm

Location: Bank of America Plaza, 8th Floor, 101 East Kennedy Blvd, Tampa, FL 33602

Free parking

Baldwin, NY

Registration is closing soon!!!

Date: Thursday, January 10, 2008

Time: 3:00am to 7:00pm

Location: 9/11 Forward, 2277 Grand Avenue, Baldwin, NY 11510

New Canaan, CT

Date: Thursday, January 17, 2008

Time: 10:00am to 4:00pm (by appointment)

Location: VOICES of September 11th, 161 Cherry Street, New Canaan, CT 06840

New York, NY

Date: Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Time: 10:00am to 4:00pm (by appointment)

Location: 228 E. 45th Street, 17th Floor, New York, NY 10012

New Canaan, CT

Date: Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Time: 10:00am to 4:00pm (by appointment)

Location: VOICES of September 11th, 161 Cherry Street, New Canaan, CT 06840

9/11 living memorial feature

Robert King, Jr. , "Bobby"

This week's 9/11 Living Memorial feature is devoted to firefighter, loving son, brother, husband and father Robert King, Jr., from Bellerose and Ellenville, NY. He was 36 years old and was working for FDNY Engine 33, Ladder 9 when he died trying to help others on September 11, 2001.

"His smile was just worth a million dollars," his mother, Audrey King of Lecanto, FL, said in a newspaper article shortly after his death, which is included in Bobby's 9/11 Living Memorial tribute pages. The eulogy from his uncle, also featured on the site, recalls the man with "a smile on his face and a laugh in his heart."

Bobby was a dedicated firefighter who loved woodwork and cooking. His home, as well as those of his family and friends, feature many examples of his work, from the bunk beds he built for his two boys to the wooden dump truck he made for his nephew. And along with the pictures of his family, friends, and his probie firefighting class, the 9/11 Living Memorial also includes one of Bobby's favorite recipes for chicken. Bobby is remembered in many ways, including a street bearing his name, a memorial at his high school, and by K-King, a black labrador dog trained by the Department of Homeland Security to search for explosives who was named for him.

The 9/11 Living Memorial digital archive is dedicated to commemorating the lives and stories of September 11, 2001 and the February 26, 1993 World Trade Center bombing.

EVENTS AND INFORMATION FOR THE 9/11 COMMUNITY

9/11 Commission Leaders Accuse CIA of Obstruction
Those who knew about videotaped interrogations of al Qaeda operatives and did not tell the 9/11 Commission about them obstructed the Commission's investigation, according to its leaders, Commission Chairman Thomas Kean and Vice-Chairman Lee Hamilton.

In an Op-Ed in the New York Times headlined Stonewalled by the C.I.A., the two men say: "There could have been absolutely no doubt in the mind of anyone at the C.I.A. — or the White House — of the commission’s interest in any and all information related to Qaeda detainees involved in the 9/11 plot. Yet no one in the administration ever told the commission of the existence of videotapes of detainee interrogations." Read the full text of the Op-Ed here.

Meanwhile, in the wake of the Op-Ed, Attorney General Michael Mukasey today announced that he has taken steps to begin an investigation into the destruction by CIA personnel of the videotapes of detainee investigations. Read the Attorney General's statement here.

DHS Encourages Americans to Resolve to be Ready in 2008
Many individuals, communities and organizations across the nation are spreading the message to Resolve to be Ready in 2008 by hosting events and developing initiatives to educate their neighbors, co-workers and employees on how to prepare for emergencies before they happen. Visit the Ready America website for more details.

FEMA Issues Basic Preparedness Guide
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has begun the New Year by issuing a Basic Preparedness Guide. The guide Contains preparedness strategies that are common to all disasters. It enables the user to plan only once, and then to apply that plan to all types of hazards. To download the guide, click here.