Albion Native Helps Organize SUNY Canton's 9/11 Memorial

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CANTON, NY (09/02/2011)(readMedia)--  A SUNY Canton senior has played a critical role in the organization of the College's September 11th memorial.

William R. Francis of Albion, a criminal justice major, is a member of the Criminal Justice Student Association (CJSA) and was a leader amongst the group involved in the College honoring the victims and volunteers lost that tragic day and in the following days.

"We should never forget 9/11 because it has forged the country we now live in," he said. "Like Pearl Harbor, it will forever be a day that lives in infamy. It marked a turning point for my generation."

CJSA will present the ceremony in honor of the 10th anniversary beginning at 8 a.m. on September 12 at the Roselle Plaza, adjacent to the Richard W. Miller Campus Center, on SUNY Canton's campus.

"It's critical we take this opportunity to remember those who lost their lives, including the heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice in an effort to help others," said SUNY Canton President Joseph L. Kennedy. "Ten years later, we are still grappling to further understand what happened on that tragic day. I applaud our Criminal Justice students for taking the initiative to host this event and several faculty members for playing a critical role in organizing it."

The memorial's theme will be patriotism and recovery. The keynote speaker will be New York State Trooper Robert M. Parcell, who was assigned to ground zero as a dog handler and spent a year in New York City assisting with recovery efforts.

Among the other distinguished guests will be Assemblymember Addie J. Russell and Canton Mayor Charlotte Ramsay. Russell will address the crowd, as will President Kennedy. All fire stations and EMS personnel in St. Lawrence County have also been invited to the event and the Canton and Potsdam fire departments will provide ladder trucks from which a huge American flag will fly.

While the SUNY Canton did not lose any alumni in the attacks that they are aware of, several took part in the recovery efforts including Brigadier General Fergal Foley, a 1980 alumnus. He served as the Department of Defense Chief of Staff and Acting Commander for the Joint Task Force "Operation World Trade Center" from Sept. 11 through Sept. 29, 2001.

The College has hosted a memorial for September 11th each of the last nine years.

SUNY Canton offers a wide variety of career-driven bachelor's, associate, and certificate programs. Most of SUNY Canton's new four-year programs are designed so students can take them on-campus, online, or both. SUNY Canton OnLine features more than 150 courses online each semester. The College's athletic teams belong to the United States Collegiate Athletic Association. SUNY Canton recently opened two brand-new facilities just in time for the 2011-12 academic year: the Roos House athletic center as well as the Grasse River Suites, a new apartment-style residence hall featuring 305 single-occupancy rooms.

-www.canton.edu-