New Providence Holds Ceremony To Honor Sept. 11 Victims

After days of rain and overcast skies, the sun shined down on the New Providence Day of Remembrance Saturday morning in Centennial Park, adding warmth and light to the offered messages of hope, strength and perseverance.

“September 11, 2001 changed each of us,” said Mayor J. Brooke Hern in his welcoming comments. “It changed who we are, how we live, what we believe in. But none more so than the families of those we remember today.”

The ceremony opened with the New Providence Police Honor Guards’ Presentation of the Colors, the Pledge of Allegiance led by Girl Scout Troop #1267 and the Star Spangled Banner performed by Cindy Gelormini.

The event took place near the , a twisted piece of steel taken from the rubble of the World Trade Center and donated to the Borough of New Providence by the Port Authority. It now stands, surrounded by landscaping, as a tribute to the six residents of New Providence, and the 11 residents of Berkeley Heights and Summit, who lost their lives in the terrorist attacks. An enormous American flag, suspended from the ladders of two Berkeley Heights fire trucks, waved gently over the proceedings.

“Like the memorial we dedicate to them, we offer our support and resolve,” Hern said. “It will stand the test of time and weather any storm.”

, representing Flower Mound, Texas, a sister city to New Providence, read a proclamation from the mayor of Flower Mound. The proclamation commemorated the event and the granite memorial, which was donated to New Providence by the people of Flower Mound on June 15, 2002.

Miller came up with the project, which started as a plan to raise $100 to donate a bench to a park in the tri-state area and ended up being a $15,000 project, which she called “Brotherhood Begins in the Neighborhood.”

“What started out as 'Brotherhood Begins in the Neighborhood' turned out to be a lifelong sisterhood between our two cities,” Miller said. The proclamation from the city of Flower Mound offered their “deepest and most sincere condolences to the families” who lost loved ones in the Sept. 11 attacks.

After an invocation by Rev. Margaret Hodgkins, Sen. Thomas Kean, Jr. offered the keynote address in which he commended New Providence for the way the town has inspired the entire nation “to make our tomorrows better than today.”

“Our memories of that day bind us together as a nation,” Kean said. “Everyone remembers where they were when the planes hit the tower. Whether you remember the smell, the smoke that wafted across to New Jersey, the President’s bullhorn speech, or friends and family members who never came home, the memories we have make us stronger and unite us as Americans. We as a nation are stronger, and that memory gives us that courage.”

Kean said the way New Providence has remembered the victims for the past 10 years is an inspiration to the world.

“New Providence, you have done things the right way since day one,” he said.

For the official dedication of the 9-11 Monument, Council President Michael Gennaro said that like others, as a youth he watched the Twin Towers being constructed, and as an adult, he watched them fall.

“This monument is a piece with character,” he said. “And yet it points toward heaven, a message that conveys hope for all of us.”

Gennaro said it’s fitting the memorial was created by volunteers and now graces the center of Centennial Park, which also was created by volunteers.

“This memorial was a labor of love, created to remember those who were lost from New Providence, Berkeley Heights and Summit, as well as all who lost their lives that day,” he said, adding that he hopes the memorial is a place where families who lost loved ones on Sept. 11 can come to find some peace, and children can come to learn about that dark day in American history.

“We have an obligation to teach future generations what happened that day, that there are evil people in this world, and that we have an obligation to keep them in check,” Gennaro said. He thanked the men and women in the U.S. armed forces who have fought the war on terror “to ensure that we stay safe these last ten years.”

Hern then read a roll call of those lost in the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001:

New Providence:

Gerard J. Coppola

Richard A. Dunstan

Michael Gogliormella

Robert Wayne Hobson, III

Susan D. Murray

William Tselepis

Berkeley Heights:

Scott Hazelcorn

Patrick Murphy (Pentagon)

Summit:

Thomas R. Clark

James Lee Connor

Kevin Raymond Crotty

Thomas I. Glasser

Robert A. Lawrence, Jr.

A. Todd Rancke

Clive "Ian" Thompson

David Brian Brady

Mark Bruce

After a gun salute, “Taps” played by Cooper Hyde on the bugle,  “Amazing Grace” played on the bagpipes by Ian Ranike, and Rev. Murdoch MacPherson offered the benediction.

The information below is included in the New Providence Day of Remembrance Program.

Special thanks to all who made this event so special:

Councilman Michael Gennaro and Port Authority Commissioner Anthony Sartor: for securing the steel beams from the World Trade Center.

Jeffrey Grob, Architect: for his assistance in the design of the 9/11 monument.

Kyle Conti Construction: for building the pentagon platform and their assistance in erecting the 9/11 monument.

Nat Conti: Conti Construction: for their assistance in erecting the 9/11 monument.

James Johnston and the Borough Public Works: for bringing the steel back from NY and for all the work that was done to make this memorial so beautiful.

George Reichert and Todd Heacock, Engineers PS&S: for their assistance in the planning and design of the 9/11 monument.

Charlie Mazzucco Masonry: for the installation of paver walkway around the monument.

Anthony Schipani Electrical Contractors: for their work on the lighting.

Scofield Systems: for donating the color concrete additive for the Pentagon platform.

Honor Tree Service: for their assistance in raising and securing the steel beams.

Prestige Diner: for providing breakfast for our 9/11 families and invited guests.

Noah's Bagels: for their donation of bagels for the volunteers and attendees.

Northeast Flags, Mountainside: for the use of the large American Flag displayed.

Mayor Hern and Borough Council and Administrator Douglas Marvin: for their support of the Memorial and Ceremony.

New Providence Police Department Honor Guard

NP Veterans of Foreign Wars Honor Guard

NP American Legion Honor Guard

New Providence Police Department

New Providence Fire Department

New Providence Fire Department Ladies Auxiliary

Berkeley Heights Fire Department

New Providence Rescue Squad

Mr. Ian Ranike, Bagpiper

Cooper Hyde, Bugler

Mrs. Cindy Gelormini

Girl Scouts Troop #1267

Mrs. Connie Miller and the City of Flower Mound, Texas

New Providence Interfaith Council

New Providence PBA, Local #132

All attendees and volunteers