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Apopka to Unveil Memorial on 15th Anniversary of 9/11

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From The City of Apopka

The City of Apopka will recognize the 15th anniversary of 9/11 on Sunday with the unveiling of a special memorial created by local Boy Scout Christian Lamphere.

The ceremony honoring first responders and others lost on Sept. 11, 2001, will begin at 8 a.m. Sunday on the front steps of Apopka City Hall, 120 E. Main St. Parking is available around City Hall and adjacent streets.14242331_1036461023138469_6421170998364544450_o

The community is invited for presentations from Apopka’s fire and police departments, elected officials and the Boy Scouts of America. A ribbon cutting will unveil the new 9/11 monument next to City Hall. Lamphere’s Eagle Scout project includes a section of the original World Trade Center from New York.

“The City of Apopka is so proud that Christian selected this memorial to earn his Eagle Scout rank. The project has brought our community together for a very special remembrance of Sept. 11 and galvanized a patriotic spirit in everyone involved,” said Apopka Mayor Joe Kilsheimer.

The memorial features a 10-foot exterior building panel from the World Trade Center acquired by Apopka City Commissioner Diane Velazquez and her husband, Ed. Two pieces of Pennsylvania granite were donated by Brandywine Quarry in Parkesburg, PA. The memorial, which sits on a pentagon-shaped foundation, includes fountains, flower beds and brick pillars with plaques dedicated to first responders and the City of Apopka.14231927_1036460886471816_8929335600686623925_o

Local businesses and organizations including Copart, The Home Depot, Mullinax Ford, Bowk and Sarmo Construction, Construct Rite Masonry, Apopka firefighters and city staff, T-3 Fabrications and others contributed funding, materials and labor to help Lamphere put the memorial together. Lamphere organized a car wash and other fundraisers to collect donations.

Lamphere originally proposed the memorial in 2015 and spent much of the past year putting it all together. His idea is to recognize first responders and others lost in the tragic terrorist attacks that flew hijacked passenger jets into New York’s World Trade Center and the Pentagon in Virginia on Sept. 11, 2001. Another jet crashed that day into a field near Shanksville, Pa.

The 13-year-old scout has worked diligently with his family to make the memorial into reality. The Lamphere family and others from the Apopka community also raised donations for First Responder Day on Saturday, when they will bring meals and gift packages to Apopka’s firefighters, police officers, police canines and emergency dispatchers.

Also on Saturday, Christian Lamphere will be a guest of The Home Depot for the Tunnel to Towers 5K race at Cranes Roost Park in Altamonte Springs.

911, Christian Lamphere, City of Apopka

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