A decade after the September 11 attacks, the city of Maple Grove will team up with Duane Hendrickson to honor the 10th anniversary of the tragedy and remember the lives lost.
Hendrickson, a Maple Grove resident, contacted the city to organize this event, because the tragedy that struck New York City also struck hearts here in Maple Grove, and that’s especially true for local resident Bob Munson.
Munson was sent by the American Red Cross to New York City to help with grieving families who lost loved ones in the tragedy. His background is in the international disaster response unit for the Red Cross, and he served as the director of emergency services for Minneapolis.
It was a busy three-week span for Munson, who worked at Pier 94 near Ground Zero. “I worked with a small group of people,” he says, “and it was a unique job in the fact that I worked with foreign nationals.” These people came from outside of the United States to work in the World Trade Center.
Munson will speak at the Town Green this September 11, accompanied by performances from Voices for Peace, a 12-person women’s choir. Singing John Rutter’s Distant Land (penned in memory of the tragedy), group director Gretchen Eckes says, “We hope to inspire people.”
The Lord of Life Canticle Choir, Robert Robinson, Jan Hendrickson and Mary Jane Alm also will perform at the Songs of Peace service, which runs from 2 to 4 p.m. Hendrickson says it will be “a healing event and a celebration of life.”
