by SC Feature Writer Reanna Haase
Team Sanibel’s first-time Tunnel to Towers climbers stood at the base of One World Trade Center earlier this month, looking up at all 104 floors of the daunting skyscraper, thinking of the heroes who lost their lives on Sept. 11, 2001, when two of the four hijacked commercial airplanes were flown into the original Twin Towers of the World Trade Center, causing them to collapse.
“When we first arrived there on Saturday, we stood outside of the building, and because of the architecture, it looked like a needle going up, and it just seemed like it was never-ending,” Sanibel Fire Chief Kevin Barbot said.
Barbot was not the only island climber who described standing at the base of the tower on that first day in Manhattan, looking up at a seemingly endless building.
“I can only imagine when those first responders got to the Twin Towers and saw what was happening – saw the smoke and the fire and the destruction and literal bodies falling – what must have been going through their minds as they geared up to head up the stairs,” said Bill Harkey, Sanibel philanthropist. “I can’t even fathom.”
This moment was just the beginning of the weekend’s experiences, many of which were hard to put into words. According to the 9/11 Museum, 2,977 people died that day, the single largest loss of life from a foreign attack on American soil. And the deaths of 441 first responders are also the greatest loss of emergency responders on a single day in American history.
For some on Team Sanibel, the connection to those 9/11 heroes became deeply personal.
All around us, the effects of this tragic day can still be felt, but this is especially true at the climb. Before the climb on June 7, Jeff Muddell, one of the original Team Sanibel members and trip coordinator, visited the 9/11 Museum with the rest of the team, where he stumbled upon a section he had not seen before.
This exhibit detailed New York City Fire Department Battalion Chief Orio Palmer’s story – Muddell read that he climbed to the impact zone of the South Tower and radioed details to help emergency personnel through the blocked pathways. Though he did not survive, he was credited with saving the lives of many trapped individuals.
After the climb, while the team was at O’Hara’s Restaurant and Pub, a sacred spot with walls covered in patches from first responders across the nation, a place where people go to pay their respects to the lives lost, Muddell was faced with the impact.
“I’m at the pub after the climb, and I saw a few folks with t-shirts that say ‘Team Orio,’ and I said, ‘Oh my gosh, I had not heard Firefighter Palmer’s name, and thank you so much for supporting his memory,’” Muddell said. “The guy says, ‘Well, thank you for climbing.’ Oh, by the way, he points to the woman to our left and says, ‘This is his daughter.’
“I’m tearing up thinking about it now. I didn’t know what to do or what to say. Here’s a woman who’s probably 30 or 35 years old, probably hardly remembers her dad, but knows that he was a hero.”
Over the course of the weekend, not only did these 15 community leaders support the Tunnel to Towers Foundation mission, but in the months leading up to the climb, the team collectively raised more than $69,000 for the organization. This made Team Sanibel the third-highest fundraiser for this year’s climb, held in the 25th anniversary year of 9/11.
Among the first-time climbers was Dr. Toniann Conte, a local dentist, who raised the second-highest total in the country for the fundraiser. Conte raised more than $32,000 for the organization, and she said she definitely did not do this alone.
“It became like an office event,” Conte said. “I tell everyone it’s like participation through donation, through me, and they were so excited. It has to be this: ‘Well, now we’re at 20,000; now we are at 25,000.’ Everyone was really excited about it. Sanibel and Captiva residents are some of the most generous you’ll find.”
Each year, more than 1,200 participants gather in Manhattan on the first weekend of June to support the foundation’s continued efforts to help Gold Star families, families of fallen first responders, veterans and more. This fundraiser is one of the many that the foundation has hosted since its inception in December 2001.
The foundation was created shortly after Firefighter Stephen Gerard Siller laid down his life after racing, on foot, through the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel to save others during the tragedy that struck our nation. Since then, the foundation has made it its mission not only to honor Siller’s life but also to honor our nation’s first responders and service members who make sacrifices every day.
“I think having a larger group, at least in some respects, shows what Sanibel and the residents of Sanibel are all about,” said John Henshaw, Sanibel vice mayor and team leader. “We are caring individuals and people who are blessed to some extent to be where we are. We know that others have made sacrifices, and I think for us, having 15 people from Sanibel acknowledging that, ‘Yes, we are thankful, we want to pay back,’ just sort of reinforces, in my mind, what Sanibelians are made of.”
Over the past three years, community leaders have traveled to New York for this annual feat. This year was the first year that a “real” Team Sanibel was formed – complete with city employees, first responders and civic leaders. The team that started as two members, Henshaw and Muddell, has grown into something much greater.
“For me, it was personally one of the most moving and satisfying and fulfilling and meaningful things I’ve ever done,” Harkey said.
Each member of the team has their own unique account of the weekend – memories that stuck with them and interactions that will have long-lasting impacts – but one thing remains constant: the gratitude felt for the opportunity.
“The whole package of what was accomplished to support the Tunnel to Towers Foundation was really substantial,” said Chris Menzel, City of Sanibel tradesworker. “We were all together. It was really just awesome. And [thanks] to Henshaw and Muddell, really, they gave me the opportunity to go.”
Among the team were six Sanibel first responders, including the island’s police chief and fire chief. This experience was unique to those members, as they described feeling surrounded by other first responders and families of fallen heroes, all there to support the foundation’s mission.
“You do feel like there is a lot of support,” Sanibel Police Chief William Dalton said. “When we were in the hotel lobby, getting ready to just walk down to the towers, people were saying ‘way to go.’”
Leading up to the climb, one goal held across the team: to start and finish together. This goal became a reality during the climb.
“Our age range was large. I think our youngest guy was maybe in his low 30s, all the way up to 77, I believe,” Barbot said. “We started as a team, and we finished as a team, and that’s incredible.”
At the top of the climb, not only did the team and the other climbers celebrate their accomplishment, but the reality of the day also set in for some.
“When you get to the top, it’s just incredible,” Menzel said. “Then you know Stephen Siller’s [brother] is up there – I get choked up about it now – and you’re shaking his hand, and you’re thinking: he does an unbelievable job, but he really shouldn’t be here. That was intense.”
Before the climb, the team visited the 9/11 Museum to remember and learn about the organization’s founding. Together, the team went through each heartbreaking display while still only feeling a small portion of what people still feel every day following these attacks.
“Some of the portions of that museum were pretty graphic. With the phone calls people were making and you see the Tower of Fire, and people actually jumping out of the building like 90 floors above the street,” Dalton said. “It just made you think, imagine what horror they were going through mentally to jump out of a building. So that part was pretty emotional.”
Several team members have noted the interest other residents have shown since the climb. So, next year, Team Sanibel may be even bigger.
“I think everybody who went this year wants to do it again. I’ve talked to more firefighters and police officers; they’re all interested,” Muddell said. “A number of community members who were questionable this year all have said, ‘I’m in’.”
Is it possible to include or provide names that match up with the group photo?
wow! How wonderful!
I am a native NY-er, who visits Sanibel annually, and who has Sanibel very much in my heart. I cannot tell you how meaningful it is to me that Team Sanibel participated in The Tunnel to Towers climb. I have tried to support Sanibel in my own way since Hurricane Ian. I could not wait to get back to Sanibel after the storm to contribute to local businesses as they recovered. We are seemingly from very different worlds, with presumably some very different mindsets, political agendas, styles. But we are Americans with love of community and compassion. Thank you for showing NYC that you care, as I care deeply about beautiful Sanibel! I hope you discovered that NY-ers have great heart and welcoming spirits!