Just a small note of appreciation to Mary and all at VOICES who present and host the annual conference in Manhattan on September 10th at the Marriott. My wife, Kathleen, and I have attended the conference since it's inception and we anxiously look forward to attending again this year.

I hope this note finds you well and enjoying the last days of summer! Our staff has been busy finalizing plans for our 13th Annual Day of Remembrance Information Forum. The theme of this year's conference is "Promoting Resilience, Healing Families and Communities," and we are excited to share the schedule with you today. As you'll see, we've planned a program that provides information for everyone- 9/11 families, responders, survivors and service providers.

Three weeks ago, Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur crashed over Hrabove, Ukraine. Believed to have been shot down by pro-Russian separatists, the deaths of the 283 passengers and 15 crew members makes the incident the sixth deadliest air disaster in history. What began as an isolated struggle over the Crimean region in Ukraine has now affected nations from around the world: 193 Dutch nationals, 43 Malaysians (including the 15 crew members), 27 Australians, 12 Indonesians, 10 Britons, four Germans, four Belgians, three Filipinos, one Canadian and one New Zealander perished in flight.

At all the health fairs we attend, we hand out magnets in addition to our pamphlets about the World Trade Center Health Program and other VOICES programs. The magnets are patriotically colored, ribbon shaped, the Twin Towers in the background, and diagonally in the center it states, “We Remember.” Twelve years after the tragedy, one may wonder if the nation truly still remembers. What are children taught about September 11th in school? Do people care about those responders, survivors, and families whose lives were changed on that day? Some may assume that these responders, survivors, and families who lost a loved one have “moved on.”

This weekend, Mary Taylor, Ryan Callahan, Grace Elliott and I travelled up to Brattleboro, VT with Mr. Fetchet to spend two days at the Jerusalem Peacebuilders Leadership Camp. While we only arrived in the final days of their session, the Israeli, Palestinian, and American teens welcomed us into their close-knit group and generously shared their experiences from the previous ten days.