- April 18, 2024
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Mayor David Alfin and Robert MacDonald. Photo by Danny Broadhurst
Families joined the 5k run/walk.
Mayor David Alfin and Robert MacDonald. Photo by Danny Broadhurst
The city of Palm Coast wants to make the Tunnel to Towers an annual event.
An estimated 300 people joined the walk/run.
Palm Coast Fire Department's Tim Wosey sounds the bell.
Carol Appolonia, Cynthia Hadley, Sahaquira Moye and Michael Appolonia
US Army veteran Lisa Lynch toted a 50-pound backpack for the run. She served in the U.S. Army from 1992 through 2000 as a small arms repairer.
Lori Wishard, Cam Barker, Diane Wanserski, Bark Fanelli
Dorian, Penelope and Vincent Becerra, with Sergio the pooch
David Alfin, Bob McDonald, Kyle Berryhill and James Berryhill
Tunnel to Towers was such a success on Saturday, May 14, in Palm Coast, that the City Council intends to make it an annual event.
The nationwide 5K run/walk is inspired by the story of firefighter Stephen Gerard Siller, who, at 34 years old, was assigned to Brooklyn's Squad 1 on Sept. 11, 2001. He had just finished his shift when he learned of the attack on the World Trade Center. According to t2t.org, "He drove his truck to the entrance of the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel, but it had already been closed for security purposes. Determined to carry out his duty, he strapped 60 pounds of gear to his back and raced on foot through the tunnel to the Twin Towers, where he gave up his life while saving others."
He is survived by his wife and five children.
Author and family friend Jay Price wrote: “Every momentous event, even a tragedy, has its symbolic figures. September 11th was no different; it just had a few more of them. Rudy Giuliani, Father Mychal Judge, the four guys on United Flight 93 … a hundred more … a thousand. None bigger than Stephen Siller, whose stature only grows with time as New Yorkers and people from around the world follow his footsteps.”
The Tunnel to Towers event inspired many in Palm Coast, as well.
Robert MaDonald, who is a retired firefighter from Bergen County, New Jersey, and uses a walker after a heart attack he suffered in February, was determined to walk — in his firefighting gear.
After Mayor David Alfin spoke to begin the event, along with other dignitaries from the city, Palm Coast Fire Department, veterans, Flagler County Sheriff's Office and color guard, Alfin walked alongside MacDonald.
MacDonald reported his experience at the May 17 City Council meeting, thanking Alfin.
“He walked step by step with me, and there’s no way in the world that I’m ever going to be able to thank him for what he did — not because he walked, but because he took the time to walk with me,” MacDonald said. “We didn’t walk very far, and, in fact, at one point, I took a trip and fell, but I got up and finished as far as I could go.”
He continued: “So I want everybody in this whole city to know what kind of a guy he is, and if you don’t have something to do someday, call him and he’ll sit down for an hour and he’ll talk to you, and when you’re all done, you’re going to find out that you’re a much better person.”
City Council candidate Alan Lowe also attended and praised Tunnel to Towers, asking the City Council to make it an annual event. His wife, who used to be a runner in Germany until she had health problems, walked in the 5K with Lowe, her first event since her time in Germany.
Alfin agreed, and the City Council asked for the matter to be added to the next city agenda.
Danny Broadhurst contributed to this story.
