John Ryan wants people to never forget the events of Sept. 11, 2001, where they were and how they felt.
“I had just gotten off work. I was working shift in the fire department at Fort Gordon. Seven o’clock we got off, come home, get showered, start preparing for the day,” he said. “One of my colleagues called me he was like, ‘Hey, man, something’s happening in New York, you need to turn the TV on.’ Turn TV on just in time, you know, to see the tower burning and then within like, a minute or so the second plane flying in. That’s where I was, what I was doing. And I’ll never forget that.”
Today, Ryan, a New York native, is the emergency manager at Augusta University and AU Medical Center. He is also coordinator for AU’s Critical Event Preparedness and Response (CEPaR).
In 2016, he and his wife, Cornelia, established the Augusta chapter of the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation. The foundation supports veterans, first responders and their families.
Siller, a New York firefighter, was off duty on 9/11, but drove to his station in Brooklyn to retrieve his gear so he could go to the Twin Towers to help. When faced with the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel closed for security reasons, he donned 60 pounds of gear and ran the three miles to Ground Zero.
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Siller was one of the 343 FDNY personnel who died that day.
Ryan said there’s an entire generation born after 9/11 and, like remembering World War II and the Holocaust, those who do remember must share the events of that day with new generations.
The Augusta chapter will hold its sixth T2T run in the past seven years on Sept. 10. This is the second year the local foundation and city of Augusta have partnered to hold a combined observance at the Summerville campus at 2500 Walton Way. It will include law enforcement and fire departments from Richmond and Columbia counties and the Augusta University ROTC honor guards
The event will begin with a ceremony at 8 a.m. The three-mile run will begin at 8:46 a.m., the time American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center.
More information about the Augusta event is at https://runsignup.com/Race/GA/Augusta/TunneltoTowers5KRunWalkGreaterAugustaGA
Anyone wishing to participate can register at the site. Adult registration is $35. It is $25 for first responder and military personnel. Children can also register for $20 for age 13 through 17 and $15 for age 12 and under. The first 20 The Augusta Press readers who register can use the code AUGUSTAPRESS to receive 50% off the registration fee.
Ryan said they had 300 runners in 2021. He’s hoping to reach that number, or better, this year.
Money collected will be used to help in whatever way needed, from paying off the mortgage for the family of a fallen first responder to building smart homes for wounded veterans.
“If we don’t remember, every year, if we don’t remember, purposely September 11, 2001, every year and make sure that there’s some effort to make a visceral connection to the people that are going to be here after us, then our promise to never forget, is going to be in vain,” said Ryan.
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The Tunnel to Towers 5K is one of several 5K events in the area over the next few weeks.
The third annual S’morevivor to benefit the Girl Scouts of Historic Georgia will begin at 7:30 a.m. Sept 10 at Camp Tanglewood on Columbia Road.
The event features an open house and a variety of activities including a 3.1 mile trail run followed by a four-person challenge at different stations including canoeing, archery and low ropes course.
The event raises money to support programs offered through the Girl Scouts. The entry fee for the 5K is $35 per person or $150 per team.
To learn more, visit https://www.gshg.org/en/donate/Signature-Events/s-morevivor.html
The fourth annual Courage to Rise Fun Run/Walk features both a virtual event as well as an in-person one.
Benefitting the GLM2 Foundation, a nonprofit which helps women and children build their lives after sex trafficking and domestic violence, the virtual event begins Sept. 17 and will be held through Oct. 1 with the in-person walk scheduled for Oct. 1 at the Saturday Market at the Riverwalk
Sign in on Oct. 1 will be from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. with the walk beginning at 10 a.m.
Run or walk in memory of someone, and those attending the in-person event are encouraged to bring their dogs to walk along with them.
Registration is $35, and daily drawings for door prizes will be held from Sept 17-Oct. 1.
For more information, go to https://glm2.life/event/4th-annual-courage-to-rise-fun-run-walk/
The Augusta Dream Center’s Annual Run for Hope will be at 9 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 10 at the center on Peach Orchard Road.
The Augusta Dream Center serves low income, homeless and underserved individuals and families in the Augusta/South Augusta communities.
For more information, https://runsignup.com/Race/GA/Augusta/ADCRunForHope
The second annual Miles of Miracles 5K Color Run to benefit Katherine’s Way, which helps women recovering from addiction, will be Sept. 24 at Savannah Rapids Pavilion.
“Our Scholarship Program allows these women to receive treatment at no cost and achieve our goal of reuniting mothers with their children. Last year’s race allowed for 24 women to receive treatment at no cost of their own,” according to a Facebook post.
Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. with the race starting at 10 a.m. To register, visit www.active.com/augusta-ga/running/distance-running/katherine-s-way-miles-of-miracles-5k-color-run-2022. For more information about Katherine’s Way, visit https://www.facebook.com/katherinesway143.
Dana Lynn McIntyre is a general assignment reporter for The Augusta Press. Reach her at dana@theaugustapress.com
