This year I will be taking a team of Firefighters and city leaders to New York to remember our fallen 343 brothers who died on 9/11. We said we will never forget, and we have not. We will be participating in the Tunnel To Towers, 5k run/walk from Brooklyn to the Twin Tower site. This year is a very important year with the opening of the 9/11 museum. I am working on getting a tour of the FDNY Training Academy and some personal tours of the fire houses that I have stayed in, and the Freedom Tower. There will be personal dinners with FDNY who have come to know me from years past. There will be faces and stories associated with 9/11 instead of just TV coverage and conversations. I have done this trip many times before but this year it’s different and historical. To have all three Mayors of the cities we serve (Auburn, Algona and Pacific WA) along with council members attend is profound. These leaders are the very people who report to the tax payers who sign our pay checks. Their commitment to this experience shows a tremendous investment and change in thinking of where we were eight years ago when we became the VRFA. It also shows an investment in us. This experience will drive home the importance of our job, the dangers that face us and our nation every day and the personal sacrifice we make and are willing to make so others may live. My hope is that important relationships are built and the importance of what we do and why is solidified. One of the Mayors, Nancy Backus of Auburn is even bringing her daughter so she may understand September 11th. Mayor Dave Hill of Algona is bringing his wife. Pacific Mayor Leanne Guier is a first time Mayor and is coming with one of her city council members. Our team has been honored with the Brother for Brother Award and has met Rudolph Giuliani, Frank Siller and numerous military heroes. This year may be the most impactful yet with every Mayor that our Fire Authority serves coming. We have firefighters from other cities coming as well, Seattle Fire, East Peirce Fire, and others joining our team. The team name is Washington State Firefighters. If there are other Firefighters or leaders who would like to join our team, I encourage them to contact me and our donation web page. I am asking for donations to our cause, the 9/11 Stephen Siller Foundation. To read the full story on this cause, go to tunnel2towers.org Please forward to the appropriate parties, groups or committees. Thank you for your time and work, Firefighter Dean McAuleydeanmcauley@yahooPhone (253) 318-2807 Valley Professional Firefighters Local #1352 Donation Page crowdrise/WashingtonStateFirefighters/fundraiser/deanmcauley
Posted on: Fri, 08 Aug 2014 22:50:51 +0000
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