9-11 survivor will share story Aug. 29 in Lake Wylie [Lake Wylie Pilot, S.C.]
Aug. 26--LAKE WYLIE -- With Sept. 11 approaching, no doubt many local groups will look back to that same date nine years ago. River Hills Community Church will, by inviting someone to speak who knows the full impact of that date from personal experience.
On Sept. 11, 2001, when terrorist attacks left thousands of people dead or wounded in New York, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C., Brian Clark worked on the 84th floor of the World Trade Center South Tower. The second of two hijacked planes crashing into World Trade Center towers hit six floors below him, and Clark was one of only four individuals surviving from above the point of impact. On his descent, Clark helped rescue a stranger trapped by debris.
By the time the tower fell, 61 of Clark's coworkers died.
On Sunday, Aug. 29, at the 8:15 and 10:45 a.m. worship services in the main sanctuary, the River Hills church will hear from Clark about his experience, and from recording artist and musical guest Lauren Jones. In anticipation of that event, the Lake Wylie Pilot asked Clark a few questions on his experience in 2001, his life now and what he takes away from having survived.
Question: How many times, if you had to guess, have you shared your story of what happened on Sept. 11, 2001? Do you often speak in churches?
Answer: "An honest guess would be 300 times. I have given scores of interviews to television and radio shows. There are at least 20 documentaries that have some inclusion of my story. I talk to business clubs, church groups, school groups, charitable organizations, etc."
Q: What was your job in New York? And what are you doing now?
A: "I worked at Euro Brokers from 1973 until 2006 when I retired. I started as a trainee in Toronto and then the entire company of 13 people moved to the World Trade Center in July 1974. Over the full span of time I became a partner in 1974, we sold the company in 1981, we bought it back in 1986 and became a public company in 1996. A competitor (Cantor Fitzgerald) took the whole company private again in 2005. I retired a year later. From our group of 13 in 1974 we grew to over 800 employees with offices in London, Geneva, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Sydney and Mexico City. My final position when I retired was as President of the Euro Brokers Relief Fund, a 501(c)(3) formed to raise funds for the families of our 61 victims lost on 9-11."
Q: How did you get hooked up with the folks at River Hills Community Church?
A: "Howard and Susan Kocmond recently moved to Lake Wylie and joined River Hills. The Kocmonds are longtime dear friends of ours from New Jersey who we attended church with and traveled with on several vacations."
Q: How different, if at all, is your telling of the Sept. 11 events now almost a decade later compared to months, a year, two years after the event?
A: "I feel like my telling is really just the same after all these years. The events of that day just roll like a film in my head. And, of course, with copies of my early interviews around, I always have a ready reference to compare versions and they differ very little. Depending on the time allotted, I include or omit certain segments depending also on the nature of the audience (Children are different than business folks are different from a Bible group, etc.)."
Q: What's one thing people may be most surprised or interested to hear about your story, maybe something they didn't know or wouldn't have guessed?
A: "Each listener takes in the story differently so what is surprising to one is maybe not a surprise to another. I often like to do a Q&A at the end of my presentation (not sure if that will happen at River Hills) and that is where some odd questions come up. And I never know what to expect.
The most oft question asked is "Are you still in touch with Stanley?" (He's the man I rescued.) And, yes, I'm still in touch with Stanley. One of us calls the other at least once a quarter and always on special occasions (birthdays, Christmas, 9-11)."
Q: What's one part of your story you would most want people to take away from hearing it?
A: "Life is a precious gift and we must celebrate that fact every day."
Want to hear more?
Brian Clark will speak at the 8:15 and 10:45 a.m. worship services Aug. 29 at the River Hills Community Church main sanctuary. For more information, call 803-831-1615.
To see more of the Lake Wylie Pilot or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.lakewyliepilot.com/.
Copyright (c) 2010, Lake Wylie Pilot, S.C.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com, e-mail [email protected], or call 866-280-5210 (outside the United States, call +1 312-222-4544)
Visions of Art | Lake Wylie artist taking chance heading into show [Lake Wylie Pilot, S.C.]
Advisor News
Annuity News
Health/Employee Benefits News
Life Insurance News