Packathon Memorial to Honor 9/11 Victims

PACKATHON Memorial to Honor Victims of Terror Attacks and the Troops on the Front Lines Who Keep Us Safe

Local Elected Officials, Veterans & Active Duty Military, Gold Star Parents, Military Families and Volunteers Unite to Send 2,001 Care Packages to Troops on the Front Lines and pack 911 more

Sacramento, CA – Move America Forward, the nation’s largest pro-troop grassroots organization, gathered with supporters, volunteers, and elected officials for a PACKATHON, in cooperation with the City of Rancho Cordova and the Rancho Cordova Chamber of Commerce. About 50 volunteers and 30 troops from the local B.T. Collins US Army Reserve Center attended.

To commemorate the 17th anniversary of September 11th, 2001, the group aims to pack 911 new boxes for the troops and ship another 2,001 packages in total for this year’s PACKATHON.

Master of Ceremonies and Move America Forward Chairman Melanie Morgan kicked off the 9/11 Packathon with a heartfelt thank you to all the volunteers and supporters who showed up to help. “I am deeply humbled and grateful for all of our donors who keep us going and allow us to support our troops by opening their hearts and sponsoring care packages for the troops. Or our volunteers who work countless man hours to pack up these boxes, as well as our sponsors who donate tens of thousands of dollars in products which allows us to keep serving our troops year after year,” said Morgan.

“Most of all thank you to the Gold Star families who came to support us. Their children made the ultimate sacrifice to protect our great nation and we owe them everything. Families like the Halls, Layfields, and Andersons, and so many more have accepted MAF into their families, and that means everything to me.” Melanie said.
They keynote speaker, 9/11 Survivor Richard Hannaford said, “I think if you don’t remember an event of this magnitude, this wanton and cowardly destruction that targeted innocent people, it could happen again, and that would be really tragic.” Hannaford was on the 84th Floor of South Twin Tower on the morning of September 11th when the first plane hit the North Tower. Rich was in the middle of evacuation when his tower was hit at 9:03 AM and barely escaped with his life.

“I was on the stairwell of the 41st or 42nd floor with about 6 others heading down when we heard and felt our South Tower get hit. We kept going down and when we reached the 20th floor we started encountering firemen and EMTs heading up. I still remember some of their faces clearly. Some of those men never made it back. It’s our responsibility to remember and honor them and never forget.” said Hannaford.

Many local elected officials also attended to show support for the project and help assemble care packages in honor of the 17th anniversary of the tragic events of September 11th, 2001 so that we will never forget that day when our world profoundly changed.

Elected Officials Attending
U.S. Congressman Ami Bera,
California State Senator Ted Gaines
California State Senator Richard Pan
California State Senator Jim Nielsen,
California State Assemblyman Ken Cooley
California State Assemblyman Jim Cooper
California State Assemblyman Kevin McCarty
Rancho Cordova Mayor Linda Budge.
Officials Sending Representative – U.S. Senator Kamala Harris
Diann Rogers – President & CEO, Rancho Cordova Chamber of Commerce

Gold Star Families
Dianne Layfield, Mother of L.Cpl. Travis Layfield, US Marines KIA 4/6/2004
Mike Anderson, Father of Cpl. Michael D. Anderson Jr., US Marines KIA 12/14/2004
John & Betty Hall, Parents of SFC Bryan Hall, US Army KIA 4/10/2009

After the ceremonies which included a ribbon cutting and the presenting of several resolutions and awards in recognition of Move America Forward was over, volunteers went to work packing boxes full of goodies for the troops and loading boxes in staging carts to be hauled away by the Post Office.

About 50 volunteers from local church groups and the National Charity League Folsom Chapter were on hand to pack up boxes for the troops.

Local media are invited to film the event including the speeches as well as the care packages being packed up. Contact Danny Gonzalez at (714) 926-6189 or [email protected]
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