A couple of us just completed a NFFF 9/11 Stair Climb Steering Committee meeting in New York City where we wrapped up the 2011 events, and started the planning for the 2012 events. We had the unique opportunity to stay at Ground Zero, as well as to have the FDNY host the meeting at their training academy. While there, we also completed a 110 story stair climb with the rest of the committee members, as well as a few others, in our hotel at the World Trade Center site. The whole trip was a truly emotional and extremely humbling experience.

The climb program for 2011 had some great successes! We were able to have more than 60 climbs happening all around the world with more than 10,000 participants (the vast majority of which were firefighters). Not only has this served as an incredible remembrance for the participants and organizers, but also a huge training opportunity and a motivating factor for better physical fitness.

The stair climb events were able to raise a net of $200,000 in 2011 and the NFFF presented a check to Commissioner Sal Cassano of the FDNY on Monday night for that amount. The Commissioner said that the money raised by the stair climb events will be used to keep their Counseling Unit funded and working for another full year. Without this money from the climbs, the unit would have been shut down. The Counseling Unit is comprised of active and retired FDNY members, as well as professionals, that administer peer-to-peer counseling, child counseling, and family/spouse counseling for the FDNY members. They told us that through this unit, suicide and divorce rates post 9/11 have been dramatically lower than what they initially anticipated; and that by funding the unit for another year, these important programs will continue. Commissioner Cassano came to our meeting and spent some time with us giving his thoughts and appreciation for the program. To quote the Commissioner, "With the money that you have given us, you are saving lives and families with your work."

Read that last sentence again. That's right, you are making a huge appreciable difference in the lives of the surviving FDNY members and families through your participation in the stair climb in Denver. We are proud and honored to do this with you! See you all very soon....

A great group of firefighters out of the Kansas City area have developed a place for you to get memorial bands for the firefighter that you climbed for. You can get it in custom sizes, and with the name of the firefighter on it. They are cheap, and all proceeds go towards the NFFF and the stair climbs....get one for each firefighter that you have climbed for in previous years, and wear them proud. When you are ordering, make sure to select that you are from the Denver Stair Climb. 

http://www.bandsforbrothers.com/store#!__store/343

If you are looking to get in touch with the family of the firefighter you climbed for, start here:

http://www.legacy.com/NS/

You can download a spreadsheet from the NFFF that has a bio on each of the firefighters (please don't change any of the information once you have downloaded it).

An updated team breakdown that has all of the changes in it - I think.

NEW AND IMPORTANT: You will have to have your department ID with you to get in to the climb due to security measures (if you don't have a dept ID....State DL and/or department letterhead is OK).

Registration: 0730-0830 (all teams need to be there during this time, the earlier the better)

Remarks: 0830

An e-mail and post about climb informaiton will be forthcoming.....tomorrow.

Hang in there.