Under beautiful blue skies, the city held a 9/11 Memorial Service this morning outside City Hall that featured the Pledge of Allegiance led by members of the Morse Elementary School Fifth-Grade Class and remarks by Mayor Rolison and the Rev. Jesse Bottoms of Beulah Baptist Church.
The mayor harkened back to the time during 9/11 when communities across the country supported each other, adding that it shouldn’t take a tragedy for people to come together.
Rev. Bottoms remembered the 9/11 first responders, saying while people were running away in fear for their lives, “they were rushing in.”
Rev. Bottoms also recalled members of Congress putting aside any political differences that night and joining together on the steps of the Capitol to sing “God Bless America.” Rev. Bottoms asked, “When will Congress sing again?”
Nancy Forrest, president of the Poughkeepsie Kiwanis Club, also spoke at today’s ceremony and recalled how the club worked in earnest to obtain two beams from the World Trade Center to serve as the focal point of the city’s 9/11 Memorial. The memorial -- which includes, benches, flowers, trees -- is intended to offer a place for visitors to reflect on 9/11 and on those from this area who lost their lives.
Among those in attendance today were City Fire Chief Joseph Franco and members of the Fire Department, Police Department, Department of Public Works and other city officials, including City Administrator Marc Nelson; State Senator Sue Serino; Common Council members Evan Menist and Nedra Patterson Thompson; and City of Poughkeepsie Judge Scott Volkman
Today’s ceremonies also included a moment of silence; a presentation of the Color Guard; an invocation by Stacey Bottoms of Beulah Baptist Church; and the National Anthem sung by Rosemerayah Reynoso Garcia.