Whitefish Firefighters Association breaks ground on 9/11 memorial

The Whitefish Firefighters Association, with Archer Excavating, broke ground Monday on the Whitefish 9/11 Memorial, a lasting tribute to the lives lost on Sept. 11, 2001.  

The monument is being built outside the city's Emergency Services Center, home to Whitefish firefighters and law enforcement officers, at 275 Flathead Ave. 

At the heart of the memorial are three steel beams recovered from the World Trade Center in New York City following the Sept. 11 attacks. The World Trade Center artifacts will be displayed within a pentagon-shaped base, symbolizing another of the sites attacked in 2001. Two memorial plazas, connected by landscaped pathways, will provide quiet spaces for reflection, remembrance and community gathering. 

The conceptual design of this tribute was created by Johnny MacDonald and Alex Thompson of White Cloud Design in Whitefish. 

To help fund this community project, the Whitefish Firefighters Association is offering supporters the opportunity to buy personalized engraved pavers through the Legacy Written in Stone campaign. The engraved pavers will become a permanent part of the memorial pathways and are available in three sizes: 4 inches by 8 inches for $250, 8 inches by 8 inches for $500, and 8 inches by 12 inches for $750. A limited number of 8 inches by 12 inches logo pavers are also available for $911.  

The Whitefish Firefighters Association also invites the community to join in commemorating the 25th anniversary of September 11 during the dedication of the memorial at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, September 11, at the Emergency Services Center.  

The ceremony will provide an opportunity to honor those who lost their lives, recognize the courage and sacrifice of first responders, and reflect on the resilience and unity that emerged in the aftermath of that day. Additional event details and the full schedule will be announced later this summer. 

For more information about the memorial, to make a tax-deductible donation for the memorial or to buy pavers, see Whitefish911Memorial.com. 

    Archer Excavating broke ground on the 9/11 memorial at the Emergency Services Building on Monday. (Julie Engler/Whitefish Pilot 

    Three sizes of engraved pavers are available through the Legacy Written in Stone campaign to raise funds for the 9/11 memoiral. (Julie Engler/Whhitefish Pilot)
  

)
  

    Archer Excavating broke ground on the 9/11 memorial at the Emergency Services Building on Monday. (Julie Engler/Whitefish Pilot)
  

    A rendering of the 9/11 memorial at the Emergency Services Building in Whitefish. (Image provided)
  

    A rendering of the 9/11 memorial at the Emergency Services Building in Whitefish. (Image provided)