Put It Above Ground

Dear 9/11 Family Members:

For those who may not be aware, we are building a memorial to the flight crews who died on 9/11/2001, it not only honors the 33 flight crew members but also honors those who got back on board following that tragic day and helped reclaim the sky for all airlines. It is also a tribute to those who flew the skies before and those who will choose to fly the skies in the future.

This is a grass roots effort all volunteer effort 501(c)3 designated foundation that we hope will continue after the completion of the statue and memorial plaza are completed to give scholarship grants to those who want to make a career in aviation or to family members of an aviation employee who want to gain a college degree.

This effort has been in effect since October 2001, since then we have raised funds to find a design that we felt would honor with respect. This design contest was won by an artist in Salt Lake City, Utah, Bryce Cameron Liston. He created the design and worked with our committee making changes that they felt better described the occupation in reality. We purchased the copyright to the design and I began sculpting the enlarged version in a hangar at Hicks Field a small airfield north of Fort Worth metroplex area.

The enlargement and the plaza design are in the final stages and we hope to have it completed and dedicated in 2008 we have raised nearly $300,000.00 in money and inkind services and products but we still need to raised $20-25,000.00 to complete the project. I have personally given thousands of hours organizing, fund raising, working with architects on the plaza design and sculpting the enlargement. We feel this will be the only national memorial to flight crews, once the project is constructed completely it will be given to the City of Grapevine, TX who will give perpetual care of the memorial.

The bronze design is five figures one and one half life size representing a Captain, First Officer, Female Flight Attendant, Male Flight Attendant and a small child. The flight crew will wear the livery of American and United Airlines, the small child is included in the statue to help show the care that flight crew give to their passengers. In addition there will be a world globe and two eagles one for each airline, they will be flying West as all four flights were designated to be flying to reach final destination. The bronze figures will be standing on a stone base of limestone, it will be placed in the center of a 25′ fountain with water cascading 360 degrees down from the statue base. This sets in a 72′ plaza of stone and tile in the design of a compass rose. The tallest point of the figures is 16′ from the fountain plaza base. Surrounding the plaza will be two rows of bricks of recognition for those who wish to display their support of the memorial.

We have the molds of the flight attendant group at the foundry being cast at this time, I am making the molds of the pilot group that will go to the foundry as the flight attendant group is being completed. I am about 98% finished with the sculpting of the globe and have the armature of the eagle ready for clay so I can start on it when I complete the globe. This part of the project should be completed by mid March 2008. The construction of the plaza is scheduled to begin in January 2008 and hopefully will be completed late March or April 2008 when we have raised the final funds to complete the project we can then better judge a completion date and set the dedication date.

We hope to invite all surviving family members of the flight crews and other dignitaries for this dedication, I will need contact information for the survivor family members to keep them up to date on the progress. Also if anyone wishes to help fund the final costs of the project may do so in several ways, direct donation, purchase of catalog items that have our logo design, purchase a raffle ticket for a 2007 Porsche Cayman, or purchase a recognition memorial brick to be placed on the memorial plaza. This can all be done on our website www.911flightcrewmemorial.org or they can contact me by letter at: 9/11 Flight Crew Memorial, 507 Aviator Dr., Fort Worth, TX 76179, they can also email me for more information at ourheroes@hotmail.com

Dean Thompson, President

9/11 Flight Crew Memorial Foundationwww.911flightcrewmemorial.org

Looking back over 2007 we find that even though we were able to make small inroads most of our goals were not met. We will not let this deter us and will continue our efforts to:Maintain our Crisis Relief Network www.where-to-turn.org and continue to provide an unbiased reporting of the concerns of victims of tragedy.Obtain a full accountability and disposition of the remains recovered at Ground Zero. This will include details of all remains recovered during the initial search (how many have been tested once or twice and how many ID’s have been obtained). We will also push for the same accountability for the remains recovered during the secondary search. We will also continue our efforts to identify and remove the remains from Fresh Kills and our call for an outside investigation into the alleged missing 9/11 cash and personal items form the NYPD Property Department.

Raise the additional $5.5 Million needed to complete the Hearts and Hands Memorial Complex. We will be calling for help from all the 9/11 family groups as well as corporate sponsorship to meet this goal.

Continue our efforts to have the government follow through on audit suggestions and recover monies from 9/11 and Homeland Security grants and contracts that awarded improperly.

Call for a complete public audit of the LMDC and other agencies and companies involved with Ground Zero since 9/11.

Continue our call for stricter building and fire codes at Ground Zero and throughout the city.

Keep the pressure on at all levels of government to assure that all victims of 9/11 are provided with proper health benefits.

Hold the government and the Veteran’s Administration to the promises made for better treatment for our vets.

Obtain the necessary votes to get HR Bill 4266 passed to assure the safety of our children from the dangers of falling furniture.

Continue our attempt to obtain the proper listing of names on the WTC Memorial at Ground Zero.

Continue to expand our Community Projects to assist all those in need with particular focus on seniors and students.

Make a concerted effort to have all our members commit to donate at least 5 pints of blood in 2008.

Continue our attempt to have the government stop promoting gambling as an accepted way to financial success through legislation (similar to the bans on Cigarette Ads) and to awareness programs geared towards seniors and students.

We look forward to working with all of you towards a very successful New Year and wish everyone a happy and healthy 2008

Dennis

9/11 Health Coverage and Programs in Omnibus Bill

http://www.where-to-turn.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=40947

FUNDING FOR TREATMENT OF 9/11 ILLNESSES APPROVED

http://www.where-to-turn.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=41123

To All,

Merry Christmas to all and I hope Santa brought everyone just what they asked for. Now that everyone is finished opening their presents we are going to ask you a favor. Take a look at all of those gifts and see if you really need them all.

Maybe you got two pairs of gloves or a scarf that you know that you are never going to wear.

Or maybe you got duplicate CD’s or a DVD that you are never going to watch.

Or maybe that shirt or pants that are never going to fit or are just not for you.

Most of the time these types of gifts go from under the tree right to the closet or the drawer never to see the light of day until they get thrown out or make it to a garage sale.

Well here is the favor!

We will get those brand new scarf or gloves to a homeless person for the winter.

We will get the shirt, pants or other clothing to families that may have not gotten anything new in years.

As for those CD’s or DVD’s we will get them to injured soldiers in Military Hospitals.

And for those novelty gifts, we will sell them at a flea market in the spring. All proceeds will go to fund our community projects and help to cover shipping costs.

Bringing Christmas cheer to many that would never have experienced it.

We need your help to make this work.

For more information on how you could become a re-gifter or a drop off point click the link below

Merry Christmas

Dennis

RE-GIFTING FOR A GOOD CAUSE

http://www.where-to-turn.org/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=56

RE-GIFTING IN THE NEWS

http://www.where-to-turn.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=40932

It’s Christmas again and the great thing about it is that no matter how bad you might feel Christmas always seems to bring back that hope that things are going to be OK. From the Christmas decorations to the Pageants and the carolers. Right on down to Charlie Brown’s Christmas, Rudolph and It’s A Wonderful Life. It’s hard to be down at Christmas.

Dennis and your friends at Where to Turn

RE-GIFTING DROP OFF LOCATIONS 

http://www.where-to-turn.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=40731

To All,

Please take a moment and read the letter below. It is one of many that we received over the past few weeks.

With the help of St. Johns, Notre Dame Academy, Dr. Costagliola and many generous people we were able to distribute over 2,000 toys.

While the recipients of these toys were very grateful, that the toys gave these children a Christmas they would otherwise not have had they will not help in the long term.

Many of these families need clothes, food and other essentials.

The Re-Gifting Program will help with some of these needs.

How often do we receive two gifts containing the same items? From gloves to socks.

How often do we receive a shirt that we know we will never wear or a jacket or pants that we know will never fit?

For most of us these are not essentials.

For many of us these items are never returned and sit in a closet until they are either tossed or donated months or even years later.

The Re-Gifting for a Good Cause Program gives you an alternative.

You can get these brand new gifts into the hands of families that really need them.

Not old used items but brand new items.

And for those novelty gifts that you will never use or the CD’s or DVD’s that you already have we can use them as well.

The novelty gifts will be sold at a flea market with the proceeds going to fund this and our other community programs.

The CD’s and DVD’s will be sent to disabled soldiers in military hospitals.

Not just at Christmas but throughout the years. Birthdays, Father’s Day, Mother’s Day…….any day.

We are hoping that schools and businesses will join and help us expand this effort so that we can help even more people.

Click the link below for additional information.

We look forward to you joining us as a Re-Gifter.

Dennis

RE-GIFTING FOR A GOOD CAUSE

http://www.where-to-turn.org/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=56

I read with interest your article in the Staten Island Advance. I know of a family on Staten Island that is in need on a regular basis. I am a health paraprofessional for one of the children in this family. The mother is a widow and has a disability herself. Two (the 12-year-old and two-year-old) of her three children (ages 12, 10, and 2) also have a disability. The husband/father died two years ago of complications from the same disability that the children have. The mother works the night shift at a menial job in order to make money to pay the bills, which leaves her exhausted and lacking sleep, but I believe that despite her efforts they are often left needing the basic essentials.

The staff at the school where I work has pitched in to ensure that they will have a nice Christmas this year (toys, clothing, shoes/boots for the children, and a gift card to a food store), but I know that they are in need on a regular basis throughout the year. If your organization can offer them any assistance, please contact me. We will let her know to be expecting a call from you.

Thank you very much for any help you can offer them.

To All,

As we reported yesterday the bill that included the initial funding for our Hearts and Hands Memorial will soon be signed into law.

Please take a moment and read the articles below

9/11 quilt seen finding a home in Sea View

http://www.where-to-turn.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=41061

Lawmakers Push To Secure Funding To Bring 9/11 Quilt To Island

http://www.where-to-turn.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=41062

To learn more about our Memorial and how you can get involved click the link below.

http://www.where-to-turn.org/phpBB2/index.php?c=21

Dennis

WTC Memorial Opening Delayed

http://www.where-to-turn.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=41050