I am urging you to take part in the 2nd annual 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb which is happening on September 8th at the Corporate Cove Building near the Great Dane in Wausau. The brainchild behind the event is Rothschild firefighter Thomas Mahar who allowed me to take part early. I met him last week to take the climb. What makes this different is that you will be wearing full fire gear including an air tank and helmet as you climb the nine fights of stairs. The hope is to simulate without the actual fire, smoke and chaos what it would have been like for the 343 brave members of the NYFD who climbed to their deaths while assisting people feeling the burning Twin Towers on that fateful day.
Mahar says this years event will also honor Colby firefighter Jamison Kampmeyer who died back in March while fighting a fire in Abbotsford.
If you decide to take part you will receive a picture and badge of one of the men who died on 9-11 and will ring a fire bell at the conclusion of your climb. All money raised goes to the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation.
I'll tell you it was interesting to see how out of shape i was as I completed the climb but you shouldnt think that you cant do it. I wore the gear and tank and if I can do it you certainly can. We took video of my climb and we will be attaching that here so you can see how it goes.
You can sign up that day and the suggested donation is $25.
Here is some more info how you can take part.
Memorial Stair Climb
Map and DirectionsGreater Wausau’s 9-11 Memorial Stair Climb to honor the 343 members of the Fire Department of New York who died on September 11, 2001, the proceeds of your registration donation benefit the programs of the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation that help FDNY. For officers who would like to climb and have the registrations help the NYPD Foundation and the Port Authority Widows and Childrens Fund, please register offline or on-site.
This event provides the greater Wausau community with an outlet for honoring and remembering the fallen 9-11 heroes and raising money for their families and co-workers through the National Fallen Firefighters, a nonprofit foundation established by the U.S. Congress to honor our fallen fire heroes and assist their families and coworkers. More information about the Foundation can be found at http://www.firehero.org/about/.
Participants will climb the Ghidorzi Companies Corporate Cove Tower 12 times for a total of 110 stories, representing the number of floors in the Twin Towers. Participants will receive a photo and badge of one of the fallen heroes and will ring a silver fire bell in his/her honor as they complete the climb. Firefighters have the option to start in full turn-out gear and carry equipment, just as ...their fire service brothers did that morning.
How about Russell Wilson? He was named the starter for Seattle this week. It helped that Matt Flynn is nursing an injury but Wilson played better than Flynn and earned the job. He not only gives the Seahawks a chance to be better...he's also alot of fun to watch play.
An interesting start to the high school football season. The new pass first Wausau East offense is going to be fun to watch. They dominated Wisconsin Rapids on both sides of the ball and Logan Taylor ripped off a 92 yard kick-off return for a touchdown in the Lumberjacks win.
DC Everest dropped a barn-burner with Marshfield...but even in the loss the Evergreens showed they will be an explosive squad as well.
Had another great weekend as we headed to Bayfield. Saw John Hiatt at the Big Top Chatuaqua on Saturday night and he delivered his usual solid set of wonderful songs along with a great band featuring guitarist Doug Lancio who just smoked.
The weather was great...the planked lake trout at Maggies was spectacular..and we visited the first Native American National Park in the United States. It's called Frog Bay and its a piece of aboreal forest that abuts Lake Superior that was just donated by a couple from Madison to the Bayfield Regional Conservancy. It's on the Red Cliff reservation and is really pristine. You hike through the forest down to a nice stretch of beach on a bay looking out onto the Apostle Islands. Quiet and beautiful.
Going to be talking to new UWSP football coach Tom Journell later today. Look for a podcast of that conversation that will be posted here on the websites.
Songs of The Day (from my I-pod) How about a couple of Hiatt tunes
Down Around My Place-John Hiatt (2011) From last years cd "Dirty Jeans & Mudslide Hymns" comes this tribute to the Nashville Floods of last year
Adios To California-John Hiatt (2011) another great track from last years cd. He has a new one coming out in October.
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