Brian Sirgutz's Blog

September 11th - Never Forget
- Posted on 09.11.08
Team,

its almost 4 AM and your humbled, weary eyed President is still flying
high from a very, very monumental day that Causecast has just
experienced. It was a defining point in this company's trajectory and
again, we could not have done it without you. The doors are open..
OMG.. now what? ha.. well.. as you can see there is much to do and our
attention and focus will shift ever so slightly; but our collective
mission is still the same. As we keep growing and building a culture
of change, we will working with each of you and making sure you are
comfortable and have a clear set of goals to achieve.

On another more somber note, I wanted to take this time to say the following;

As some of you know and others may not, I was on this day 7 years ago,
September 11th, not
only one of those people you saw on TV who escaped the falling towers,
but also a 911 recovery worker who volunteered for most of that week
on the rumble/pile most people came to know as Ground Zero.

For quite sometime, people have urged me to write in detail what
happened during that week which effectly not only myself in such a
profound way, but changed the course of the world. It is with great
relucatnce that I still have a hard time recalling that day, the
things I saw, the things that I did however there is one thing that I
do take away that was postive, I would not be the person I am today if
I was not there; if I did not sneak my way past security inroder to
volunteer with a make shift Red Cross Triage.

So, I ask of all of you on this day, to rememeber... thats all. You do
not have to do anything, no 911 calls to action to donate but to
just... to remember and to think about what this day means to all of
you. If it doesn't mean anything at all, that is ok as well but just
take a moment to reflect on where you were and how everything just
"felt" different..

So many would like to forget that day and even it seems for the
workers, most of whom are sick and cannot carry on nornal lives, they
live with being outcasts; by making people remember something so
terrible. What others see as tragedy, i saw as one of humanitys
greatest teachers; that we, as human beings, can come togehter in
solidarity and join together for a common good. I have never felt that
way until recently and Working at Causecast, i can proudly say that
for the first time, I feel people coming together, for the common
good; to better humanity.. not for the good of themselves, but for the
good of others. We talk about "Cause" and about "Caring", doing your
part, etc. but it is on this day that these words speak in volumes.

One day I will write all the things that I had experienced and
witnessed but not yet. If 911 taught me anything, it was that when all
of us focus on one thing, we can accomplish so much..

It is because of them that I am with all of you on this journey. It is
because of them that I do what I do, it is because of them that things
just started to make sense. It is because of them that I fight my own
fight against the all encompassing "effects" of that day.

In honor to the people I worked with, to my friends whom still are
effected, to my fellow 911 workers who struggle for respect and
health, I am taking the morning off to reflect.

As this is the first time I will be working and not in NYC talking
part in memorials,
I will be in after 12PM. if you need anything urget, please see/email Ed,
Kate, Sloane or Levi...

Thank you again and I shall see,speak to you all shortly.

Humbly,

Brian

Related causes: Health

Tags: september 11th, community