Sent: Monday, October 07, 2013 9:11 PM
To:
Subject: Our Finest Moment.
To:
Subject: Our Finest Moment.
Good
Evening,
When
the Federal Government shut down last week forcing us to scramble to make
Memorial Weekend 2013 happen, Chief John McGrath told me that despite such a
major obstacle, “this would be our finest moment”. It was an extremely
accurate prediction.
As
we all know there is only one measure for the success of Memorial Weekend. That
comes from how it’s viewed by the survivors we host. The comments that have
come in so far, including some you can view for yourself on the NFFF Facebook
page, clearly show that this was another extremely moving and memorable
weekend. We may have anguished over a lot of difficult decisions and worked
much longer than normal hours to deal with some very unusual challenges, but
the survivors, as it should be, never saw us sweat. They saw, as survivors have
every year, a poignant and loving tribute to their firefighter.
All
of this is really a tribute to you. Our survivors and the public will never know
how hard you worked under difficult and challenging conditions. But I know, the
rest of the Foundation leadership knows and we hope you know that this was our
finest moment. It’s something we all should be proud of.
We
know we did not do this alone. The assistance received from fire and EMS
departments in the region and from our command team were extraordinary. There
were so many resources committed to us that I’m afraid if I start listing them,
I will leave someone out. You all know who you are and your commitment to the
Foundation and the survivors at a time of need will not be forgotten.
Our
immediate neighbors, to include: Frederick County, Howard County, the
Town of Emmitsburg, the Daughters of Charity, Mount St. Mary’s University,
Vigilant Hose Company and the Emmitsburg Volunteer Ambulance Company opened
their hearts and buildings to us so that we could provide the services and
programs we promised.
Our
corporate partners, as always, helped fund the weekend activities and provide
personnel to work the various activities we offer to our survivor families.
Probably
the most extraordinary moment of a most extraordinary weekend was the one that
was most in doubt. This was when the survivors were taken Saturday evening through
the gates of the closed NETC campus to visit the Memorial. That would not have
happened without our good friends Chief Ernie Mitchell, United States Fire
Administrator, W. Craig Fugate, Administrator of FEMA, and The Honorable Steny
Hoyer of Maryland’s 5th District. Along with a core team of
individuals who work within the FEMA and USFA systems that helped make sure the
families had a most beneficial visit to the memorial grounds.
Through
the many long nights and days, our staff, contractors, returning survivors and
Memorial Weekend volunteers accepted all of the changes in stride. You thought
strategically and executed plans creatively. You used your brains and
brawn to get the job done efficiently and professionally. But probably most
importantly you maintained the sense of humor, compassion and perspective so
needed to make all of this work
I
am confident that, because of you, the survivors left Emmitsburg on Sunday with
the assurance that they – and their firefighters – will never be forgotten.
They remain Forever in Our Hearts
RJS
