By NATE KING
Salina Post
The Salina Fire Department has announced that the second annual Central Kansas 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb and Family Fun Walk will take place next month at Kansas Wesleyan University.
Salina Fire Chief Tony Sneidar said although planning for the climb last year was on a time crunch, there was still great support for the event.
"At last year's inaugural event we had some great support," Sneidar said. "We put the event together in about seven weeks and I got confirmation in March that of the 50 climbs around the country last year, we were 14th in funds raised at $25,800. So I'm looking forward to this year eclipsing that - not by a little bit, but by a lot."
Event check-in and on-site registration is scheduled for 7:30 a.m. Sept. 9 at Graves Family Sports Complex, 231 E. Cloud Street. The event is scheduled to begin with an opening ceremony at 9 a.m. The cost is $30 per person.
All proceeds will benefit the FDNY Counseling Services Unit and the programs provided by the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (501c3) which have provided much needed assistance to the surviving families and co-workers of the firefighters who made the ultimate sacrifice on Sept. 11, 2001.
"We are commemorating the fallen firefighters and completing their mission. The stair climb is symbolic of climbing to the top of the World Trade Center and it really is an awesome site," Sneidar said. "Also what we will do is everybody that participates will get to carry a pictured card of one of the 343 firefighters that we lost on 9/11."
The Central Kansas 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb & Family Walk is a way to honor and remember the FDNY firefighters who selflessly gave their lives so that others might live on Sept. 11, 2001. Each participant pays tribute to an FDNY firefighter by climbing or walking the equivalent of the 110 stories of the World Trade Center. Your individual tribute not only remembers the sacrifice of an FDNY member, but it symbolically completes their heroic journey to save others.
Firefighter and community participation can ensure that each of the 343 firefighters is honored and that the world knows that we will never forget. Since that fateful day, there have been an additional 300+ firefighters who have succumbed to 9/11 related injuries or illness.
The 9-11 Memorial Stair Climb & Family Walk are not a timed race event, but a way for firefighters, police officers, EMS personnel, families, friends and the entire community to honor and remember.
All participants will have the honor of carrying the name badge of one of the fallen 343 firefighters and will also receive a 9/11 Stair Climb/Family Walk T-shirt to commemorate the event.
Following the stair climb and family walk, an after-party event will be held from 6-11 p.m. at the Tumbleweed event Center, 5680 W. Old Highway 40, Salina, Kansas.
This year, the event will host Lieutenant Joe Minogue, FDNY Ret., as a special guest. His insight into the events of 9/11 and its global aftermath, will inspire all who hear him speak that night or catch one of his appearances at various civic groups a few days beforehand.
Sneidar said Martinelli's Little Italy will provide free food from 6-7 p.m. Music guests Jake Gill and Lix will perform live at the event.
The Central Kansas 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb & 5K Family Fun Walk are not timed events. It is a way for the entire community, firefighters, police officers, EMS personnel, families, and friends to honor and remember those who served and sacrificed on that day, and all that meant to American citizens. Each local and regional participant will honor the fallen by carrying the name badge of one of the 343 firefighters. Participants who pre-register also will receive a complimentary 9/11 Stair Climb / Family Fun Walk t-shirt to commemorate their time at the event. All event donations and proceeds benefit the FDNY Counseling Services Unit, and the programs provided by the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (501(c)(3), which provide much-needed assistance to the surviving families and co-workers of 9/11 late firefighters. There are event-sponsorship opportunities available.
For details on how to make a donation to the Stair Climb/Fun Walk, go to https://nfff.akaraisin.com/ui/centralkansas23
For details on how to participate in the virtual Stair Climb, visithttps://www.salinaymca.org