UPDATE Sept. 6, 2014 / Naperville’s annual September 11 Remembrance, now hosted by the Exchange Club of Naperville, is slated to begin at 5:30PM with music on Thurs., Sept. 11, 2014, at the Cmdr. Dan Shanower-Sept. 11 Memorial along the Riverwalk and behind the Naperville Municipal Center. The program will begin at 6PM. In the event of inclement weather, the observance will be held in City Council Chambers.
Aug. 2012 Post / On the 11th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the Naperville Exchange Club is sponsoring the annual September 11 remembrance at the Cmdr. Dan Shanower Memorial. As the sponsoring organization for this remembrance ceremony, the Exchange Club is proud to honor the brave men and women who gave the ultimate sacrifice more than a decade ago on that fateful day.
This year’s event will take place starting at 5:30PM on Tues., September 11 at the Cmdr. Dan Shanower Memorial, located behind the Naperville Municipal Center, 400 S. Eagle St., along the Riverwalk. In case of rain, the event will take place inside the Council Chambers of the Municipal Center. Music from the Millennium Carillon will begin at 5:30 p.m., followed by the Naperville Municipal Band playing at 5:45PM. The formal program begins at 6PM CLTV News Anchor/WGN Reporter Dolly McCarthy will serve as emcee.
Joe Dittmar, World Trade Center survivor, will be the keynote speaker at this year’s event. Dittmar is Vice President of Property for Risk Evaluation & Design in Durham, NC. On September 11, 2001, Dittmar was attending a meeting at the New York City offices of Aon Corporation on the 105th floor of Two World Trade Center. He was one of only seven survivors of this meeting of 54 insurance executives and now shares his firsthand account of that day. A husband, father of four and grandfather of two, Dittmar is a founding member of the Naperville 9/11 Memorial Commission and the Willow House 9/11 Survivors’ Support Group.
“Although time may pass, our memories of that day are strong,” Mayor A. George Pradel said. “Each year, Naperville continues to pay our respects to the memory of those that perished, including our first responders, so that we may never forget the lessons of that day. As our City’s young children who may not have had a firsthand account of this day grow up and learn of its significance to our country, this ceremony is a way to teach them about this event and help them understand what Commander Dan Shanower taught us: ‘Freedom Isn’t Free’.”
The Exchange Club of Naperville’s 10th anniversary remembrance ceremony won the National Exchange Club’s Outstanding Service Project Award in 2012. For more information on the Exchange Club, visit www.exchangeclub.org.
