Newsroom
Riverside County Superintendent of Schools hosts Third Annual Patriot Day Ceremony
 More than 200 people attended the Third Annual Patriot Day Ceremony Tuesday (September 11, 2012), hosted by Riverside County Superintendent of Schools Kenneth Young.
Patriot Day is set aside each September 11 by Presidential Proclamation to honor the nearly three thousand people who died in the terrorist attacks of 2001 as well as military, police, fire and other emergency responders.
Young recounted the shock he felt on the day of 9-11 attacks, and then read comments from Presidents Bush and Obama made at subsequent Patriot Day ceremonies that urged all Americans to join together and serve their communities and their country.
“Let’s follow the admonition to commit to providing service to the communities around us,” Young said.
Riverside City Fire Chief Dave Lesh, who was sent to Ground Zero immediately after the attacks with a large contingent of rescue personnel from Riverside County, said he felt that 9-11 inspired a special unity among Americans.
“We had a common goal,” Lesh said. “That unity is something that seems to have subsided in the years since. But I think we should remember that we have more in common than differences.”
Riverside Police Chief Sergio Diaz said he is inspired by young people who have volunteered for military service or police and fire assignments since 9-11. “Some people my age talk about the quality of youth these days,” he said. “But I work with young people. I don’t worry about them at all. I know that parents, educators, are doing something right with them.”
The Arlington High Chamber Singers provided patriotic music for the ceremony, which included a moment of silence at 8:46 a.m., the time of the attacks on September 11, 2001.
For information contact:
Rick Peoples, Public Information Officer
Telephone: (951) 826-6642
Fax: (951) 826-6199
rpeoples@rcoe.us
|
