Dear John,
Kansas City lost sons and daughters on September 11, 2001. We remember them today—not only in grief, but in gratitude for the lives they lived and the future they helped shape.
|
|
We honor:
- Denease Conley, a Security Officer at the World Trade Center North Tower, Denease was a KC High alum, and U.S. Navy veteran.
- Randy Drake, a Lee’s Summit native lost to falling debris near the Twin Towers.
- Julie Geis, a former Aon Consulting executive in Kansas City, working on the 102nd floor of the South Tower.
- Ronald Hemenway of Shawnee, U.S. Navy Petty Officer First Class, stationed at the Pentagon. Grew up in Shawnee, just outside of KC
- Lacey Ivory, U.S. Army Sergeant Major, stationed at the Pentagon, graduated from Manual High School in Kansas City, before joining the Army in 1977.
- Gregg Smallwood, U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer, Office of the Chief Information Systems Technician, at the Pentagon, who grew up in Overland Park in the Great State of Kansas.
These were our neighbors, classmates, colleagues, and friends.
And they are among thousands we lost across the country that day.
Their stories live on in how we build community, how we protect one another, and how we look out for every Kansas Citian.
Today, we honor their memory by striving to build a safer, stronger, more united Kansas City—one where service, community, and compassion define who we are.
Thank you for being part of that work.
As we reflect, I ask that you take a moment today: to pray, to meditate, to volunteer, or simply to lend a helping hand to a neighbor.
|
|
|
|
|
