Civic Center Selected as Site for 9-11 Tribute

Redondo Beach City Council approves site and design for 9-11 Tribute

REDONDO BEACH, Calif., December 4, 2007 –The Redondo Beach City Council designated the Redondo Beach Civic Center as the site of the 9-11 Tribute, a memorial to those lost on September 11, 2001. The 9-11 Tribute will be installed in the planter area in front of, and between, the main entrances to the Civic Center Library and the City Council Chambers. This site was selected because of the civic nature of the tribute, the security of the location, and the accessibility for all members of the public.

The City Council also approved the design of the 9-11 Tribute. The theme of the memorial is “We will never forget.” The 9-11 Tribute will incorporate the 300-pound, 25-by-16-inch piece of steel beam from the World Trade Center, which was given to the City of Redondo Beach as a gift from the Fire Department of New York (FDNY) last January. In response to the FDNY’s request that the public have physical contact with the steel beam, the memorial prominently features the artifact atop a pedestal.

Also included in the design is an armillary sundial, a descriptive base with the timeline of the events of September 11, 2001, and engraving on the pedestal honoring the more than 2,800 people who died on 9-11, including civilians, and personnel from the airline industry, the New York Port Authority, the Pentagon, the Fire Department of New York, and the New York Police Department.

The Leadership Redondo Class of 2007, sponsored by the Redondo Beach Chamber of Commerce, adopted the design and construction of the 9-11 Tribute as their class project after Captain Bob Franck of the Redondo Beach Fire Department made a presentation to the class. He spoke about the artifact and the significance of the bond between the Redondo Beach Fire and Police Departments and the FDNY.

The Leadership Redondo class, which includes public officials, representatives from local business, and private citizens, has formed several committees to bring this project to fruition. For example, design committee chairperson, and local landscape architect, Deborah Richie-Bray, has spent many hours, pro-bono, working with her committee and the entire class to create and refine the design that was approved at Tuesday’s City Council Meeting.

With the City Council’s official approval of the site and design, efforts to fund the 9-11 Tribute will escalate. Don Vangeloff, fundraising committee chairperson, stated, “With the approval of our 9-11 Tribute site and design, we will be ramping up our fundraising efforts. This presents the perfect opportunity for people and businesses to make year-end tax-deductible donations.”

There will be many opportunities to lend support in early 2008, as well. According to Vangeloff, the Leadership Redondo Class of 2007 is currently planning their fundraising activities. As information about fundraising events becomes available, it will be posted on the 9-11Tribute Web site: www.9-11tribute.org.

“The goal is to have the 9-11 Tribute completed by September 2008,” according to Tom Krafick, 9-11 Tribute project leader and Redondo Beach Police Captain. “To meet this goal we will need to have the majority of the funds required for materials and construction secured within the next few months.”

“Support from the entire community is crucial to make this project a success,” said Krafick. “As of today, we have received close to $15,000 in donations. We anticipate the cost of the 9-11 Tribute will be around $45,000, so we need your help!”

“This monument will be a touchstone for those who lost family and friends in the attack, and a connection between the people of the South Bay with those lost on 9-11,” said Krafick. He hopes the community agrees that building a 9-11 Tribute in Redondo Beach is an important endeavor and that this monument will become a notable landmark in Redondo Beach and the South Bay.

More information about the 9-11 Tribute, tax-deductible donations and sponsorship forms, and updates about the events for the memorial, can be found at www.9-11Tribute.org. You may also contact Tom Krafick at LRB.Tribute@gmail.com. Contributions can be made by check payable to City of Redondo Beach, Project 9/11 Fund and mailed c/o Payroll Management Solutions, 5155 W. Rosecrans Ave, Suite # 1065, Hawthorne, CA 90250.

Leadership Redondo, which is sponsored by the Redondo Beach Chamber of Commerce, is designed to develop effective community leaders by introducing individuals to different segments of the Redondo Beach community and by providing training in leadership skills and styles. As a group each leadership class selects, develops and completes a project that will impact the surrounding community.