A Fundraising Opportunity Cut Short by 9/11
Bob Fruhmann, Packaging Inserts, Linden, NJ:
Having started my own business in September of 1999, the first few years were a struggle. In August of 2001 one of my new customers asked me to bid on a big project. It was for a fundraising event planned to take place in lower Manhattan in October of that year. After a month of revisions, I finally got the call I was waiting for.
They wanted me to handle the entire project for them--flyers, brochures, pads, etc., and distribution. I got the call on Monday September 10th. They were sending me the disks FedEx so I could get started. Tuesday morning, September 11th, at 8:30 a.m. I received the package. As I opened the envelope and read the enclosed note, one of my guys came into my office and said, "Hey! I just heard on the radio that a plane hit one of the Twin Towers!" I turned on the TV and saw what everybody in America saw. We watched, stunned, as the second plane hit. Then we heard reports of the hit on the Pentagon, and the plane in Shanksville, PA. We knew we were under attack.
About an hour after the Towers fell, I got a phone call from my customer telling me that the project was on hold. The following morning, it was canceled. This project would have boosted me in the right direction. Obviously, I was quite upset. However, when I thought of all the people who lost their lives, and all the people who GAVE their lives that day, my disappointment paled in comparison.
My heart goes out to the families who lost someone that HORRIBLE day 10 years ago. We will NEVER forget.