It is
now 10 years since the World Trade Center Disaster of 9/11. I believe it
was the saddest time in the history of New York City when more than
2,700 innocent people lost their lives. At the same time, I believe it
was the most glorious time of the Rotary Club of New York, when it
became the focus of compassionate Rotarians around the world, who
contributed more than $1,4 million to the New York Rotary Foundation for
the benefit of the 9/11 victims. (click below to read more)
On
the day of 9/11, I was downtown on jury duty and I was sent home at
10:00 AM, because of the World Trade Center Explosions. On my way home,
at Franklin Street and Broadway I saw scared people running towards me
screaming when the first tower crumbled. We were three quarters of a
mile from the World Trade Center (WTC). The subway was closed, so I had
to walk home. When I came to the intersection of Prince Street and
Wooster Street in Soho, 1.2 miles from the World Trade Center, I saw the
second tower crumble in front of my eyes when I stood next to the TV
camera from NBC that recorded the catastrophe.
It
felt like being in a terror movie. It was real and unreal at the same
time. People looked scared, people were crying. They could not use their
cell phones, so they lined up at pay phones to find out about their
loved ones. People with Walkmans reported the latest news. People in
cars played their radios loud, with people around them listening. There
were police, ambulance and fire truck sirens non-stop.
I
went outside later in the evening. It was very quiet, hardly any
traffic, very few people. One man, selling ice cream across the street
from my home, told me that he saw the first plane pass our neighborhood
in Greenwich Village at a very low altitude. Shortly thereafter, he
heard the explosion from the World Trade Center.
I
expressed all this in a newsletter on 9/11 that was sent to the mailing
list of the new history group, that become our RGHF of today. The
response was incredible. Rotarians did not only respond, they sent money
to the New York Rotary WTC-DISASTER Relief Fund, which raised
$1,460,912 for the victims of 9/11 thanks to compassionate Rotarian
around the world! It may have been the biggest fundraising achievement
in Rotary History by a single Rotary Club. (Then NY6 president
Helen Reisler credited the work of RGHF (Matts Ingemanson and Jack
Selway) for raising nearly $800,000 of that total)
I
had been a Rotarian for only three years. The 9/11 experience taught me
how compassionate and generous Rotarians are. It made a lasting
impression on me. I truly understood the power of the International
Fellowship of Rotarians and I was glad to be part of it.
I
was especially touched when we received a donation of $100,000 from the
Oklahoma City Rotary Foundation. I realized that the Rotary Clubs of
Oklahoma City and New York City share a very strong bond because we had
shared the experience of a major terror attack on our cities.
The Missouri District Governors Bill Schuck from Rotary District 6060 and Larry Lunsford
from Rotary District 6040 came to the Rotary Club of New York on
December 4th to present a bag full of checks with $97,839.15 for the WTC
Disaster Relief Fund. The funds came from all three districts in
Missouri (6040, 6060 and 6080). The New York Rotarians were very touched
by this great generosity of the Missouri Rotarians.
I
believe that the meaning of life is to exercise compassion in our
service when we pass on the world to the next generation. If we don't
have compassion, it does not make sense to be Rotarians. It is our
compassion and commitment to service that have generated the great
goodwill of Rotary. The world would be a much better place if there were
more Rotarians in it.
It is important to understand Rotary's Global History when we shape the Future of Rotary.
Matts Ingemanson
Chairman 2004-2006 and Founding Member, Rotary Global History Fellowship
District Governor 2013-2014, Rotary International District 7230
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