In a solemn ceremony Friday night, Westchester County paid tribute to those who died in the tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001, including 111 Westchester residents and 12 former residents. County Executive Robert P. Astorino presided over the 14th anniversary ceremony that took place at The Rising, the county's 9/11 memorial at Kensico Dam Plaza in Valhalla.
"Elie Wiesel, the writer, Nobel Laureate, and Holocaust survivor, said: 'The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it's indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it's indifference. The opposite of life is not death, it's indifference,'" Astorino said. "Our presence here today is a statement that we are not indifferent."
An estimated 500 family members and residents attended the ceremony.
Additional photos can be viewed via www.facebook.com/westchestergov.
Robert P. Astorino 9/11 Memorial Ceremony Remarks:
Elie Wiesel, the writer, Nobel Laureate, and Holocaust survivor, said:
The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference.
The opposite of art is not ugliness, it's indifference.
The opposite of faith is not heresy, it's indifference.
The opposite of life is not death, it's indifference.
Our presence here today is a statement that we are NOT indifferent.
None of us has to be here tonight.
A beautiful Friday evening could be filled in so many other ways.
After 14 years, no one would blame us for wanting to leave the horror and loss of September 11, 2001 in the past.
And yet we have all come here tonight because we have chosen to remember.
To remember the evil on that day that took thousands of innocent lives.
To remember those killed on that day; some of whom we loved dearly and some we never met.
To remember the heroism on that day that overcame unrelenting waves of fire, smoke, ash and debris.
.....
But simply remembering is not the opposite of indifference.
Remembering is just the start on our never ending journey to building a better future.
Coming together tonight is a lesson on what it means to be a human being.
Sadness and hope; vigilance and forgiveness; loss and optimism are all on display. Every emotion that wells up inside us is a guidepost to right and wrong ... and understanding the difference.
But understanding alone is not enough. It must be joined with action.
Coupling remembrance with service is how we have chosen to act; to make our 9/11 tribute a living memorial; a day that looks forward as well as back; a day of honoring those who died ... and 365 days of helping those in need.
As is our custom, we will read aloud tonight the names of the 123 men and women that perished on 9/11 who called Westchester home.
Behind each name is a family, whose loss can never be diminished by the passing of time. But our hope is that each family will find comfort in knowing that there is a small of army of volunteers who have taken up the call to serve our community in the name of those they loved and lost on 9/11.
They are moms like Theresa Tippin, a volunteer first responder for Mohegan Lake who more than 200 times a year puts herself on the line to save lives when a fire siren sounds.
They are retired executives like Arthur Bonagura, who responded on 9/11 as a Red Cross Disaster Relief volunteer ... and has continued serving others through Hurricanes Irene and Katrina and Superstorm Sandy. On Sundays you will find him at St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church in White Plains, where he runs the soup kitchen. During the year he donates blood and blood platelets.
They are families like the Wellings, Michael and Susie of White Plains, whose son Matthew's life was saved thanks to bone marrow transplants. Today, the Wellings are leading volunteer advocates to expand the list of bone marrow donors.
And their story is echoed across Westchester. Howard Romanoff of Armonk received a life-saving lung transplant four years ago. Since then he and his family have been paying it forward through ShareLifeNY, the outreach organization they founded to increase organ donations.
They are classmates like those from the Ursuline Class of 1985 who decided to create opportunities for others by starting a scholarship called "Forever United" in the name of their friend Helen Crossin Kittle, who died in the Twin Towers.
What we have learned from 9/11 – on that horrible day and in the intervening years – is that humanity is blessed with a selfless spirit that shines brightest when times are darkest.
It is that selfless spirit that is the opposite of indifference.
Humanity's selfless spirit is with us tonight.
By remembering the souls of 9/11 and by serving others in their memory, we keep the spirit alive.
We pray it never leaves us.
Thank you all for coming.
May God bless the families of 9/11 and keep all of us safe.