9/11 Tribute event already being organized

BY Dawn Rankins

Plans are already being laid out for this year’s 9/11 Tribute and Patriot Day Event set for Sept. 11. The event’s committee met for the first time this week and has named sub-committee chairs to ensure all bases are being covered to make the now annual Canyon Lake event meaningful.

The committee’s goal is to make the event one that gives Canyon Lakers an opportunity to remember and show support for the eight EMTs/paramedics, 60 police officers, 343 firefighters and 2,997 civilians who lost their lives 20 years ago at the New York Twin Towers.

The City of Canyon Lake, Canyon Lake Veterans and First Responders Group are working closely together to make the event special and honorable.

The committee is working on a fundraiser for a permanent 9/11 monument that it hopes will be placed at the Canyon Lake Fire Station.

Two years ago when the first tribute took place in Canyon Lake, money was raised and donated to BlueBells. This last year, money was raised for Tunnel to Towers. The funds raised for the 2022 event will be used locally for a Canyon Lake Monument in memory of 9/11.

The 2022 9/11 Tribute and Patriot Day will start at 8:46 a.m. on Sept. 11 at the Canyon Lake Town Center with a moment of silence and the ringing of the bell.

There will be a golf cart parade at 4:00 p.m. that will start at EastPort and end at the Lodge where music will be played and other activities will take place.

Then, at 7:00 p.m., the traditional blue lights will be turned on around Canyon Lake and at 9:11 p.m. there will be another moment of silence.

More details will be announced as they unfold, the committee said. The committee has begun its planning early and members will continue to work hard to make sure every detail is discussed and carried out, they said.

Committee members at the meeting expressed the need for a sense of unity for the event and encouraged community members to submit their suggestions.