On 9/11 the city held a service to honor Richmond ’s Police, Fire and Emergency Services departments, Richmond Ambulance Authority, and the Red Cross as part of the National Day of Service and Remembrance. Council President Kathy Graziano was among the speakers and her comments follow:

On behalf of the city of Richmond, and all its people, I want to thank the Friends of Dogwood Dell and the Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities for organizing and planning this event.We all appreciate the very hard work you do for all of us.

I want to thank all our emergency responders, police, fire and emergency services, for standing as our first line of support against the unexpected.

We have so much to be thankful for that sometimes we forget to say thank you, to pause and remember the sacrifices of others.

Let us remember.

Do you remember where you were on that morning of September 11, 2001?

Were you at work, or at home, or in the car?

It doesn’t matter. For a moment, a frozen agonizing moment, we were all in New York City and at the Pentagon. We were all in Manhattan. We were all at the World Trade Center.

For most of us, that frozen moment passed. For three thousand of our friends, our neighbors, our relatives, it will never pass.

For them, for their loved ones, let us take a moment of silence, and remember them, and hold them in our hearts.