{"id":348572,"date":"2026-09-16T19:15:04","date_gmt":"2026-09-16T19:15:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/348572\/"},"modified":"2026-09-16T19:15:04","modified_gmt":"2026-09-16T19:15:04","slug":"remember-me-run-queens-gazette","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/348572\/","title":{"rendered":"Remember Me Run – Queens Gazette"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\"It<\/a><\/p>\n

It was a day of remembrance at St. Michael\u2019s Cemetery as they once again hosted its cherished \u201cRemember Me Run and Walk,\u201d hon\u00adoring the nearly 3,000 lives lost on September 11, 2001 and the many first responders and recovery workers who later succumbed to illnesses linked to their service at Ground Zero. Over the years, St. Michael\u2019s Cemetery has hosted annual September 11 remem\u00adbrance events, bringing together families, first responders, and community members. In addition, St. Michael\u2019s has erected monu\u00adments honoring the NYPD, PAPD, all 343 Firefighters lost that day, and a First Responders monument. Today\u2019s event serves as a powerful reminder that the lives lost on September 11\u2014and the heroes who answered the call in its aftermath\u2014will always be re\u00admembered.<\/p>\n

It was a day of remembrance at St. Michael\u2019s Cemetery as they once again hosted its cherished \u201cRemember Me Run and Walk,\u201d honoring the nearly 3,000 lives lost on September 11, 2001 and the many first responders and recovery workers who later succumbed to illnesses linked to their service at Ground Zero.<\/p>\n

The event took place on Saturday, September 12, 2026, at 2 p.m. on the grounds of St. Michael\u2019s Cemetery. The day started with a moving and emotional pre-run ceremony with Tony Barsamian, editor of the Queens Gazette as the emcee. The Reverend Christopher Harris, the newly installed Rector of St. Michael\u2019s Church, gave the invocation and noted that St. Michael\u2019s Cemetery is a place that is open to all faiths where people from all ethnicities, religions, and walks of life come to celebrate their loved ones\u2019 life.<\/p>\n

Barsamian then introduced Jeff Miller, the CFO of St. Michael\u2019s Church, to do a 9\/11 Remembrance Reading. Reflecting on the spirit of the American people that was omnipresent on the days following the September attacks, Jeff closed his reading with: \u201cThe greatest tribute we can offer is this \u2013 to live with the same spirit of courage, compassion, and service that they, \u2018the first responders,\u2019 shared with the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Following the 9\/11 Remembrance reading, the FDNY Ceremonial Unit came forward to present the traditional Firefighter\u2019s Bell Ceremony. Barsamian read the following:\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cFor generations, the ringing of the fire bell has been a solemn tradition of the fire service. In the FDNY, the signal 5-5-5-5 \u2013 four sets of five bells \u2013 was transmitted to announce the death of a member in the line of duty.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday, we toll these bells in remembrance of the 343 members of the FDNY who made the Supreme Sacrifice on September 11, 2001, and in honor of all those who have since lost their lives as a result of World Trade Center-related illnesses.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will never forget their courage, their service, and their sacrifice.\u201d<\/p>\n

The firefighter then stepped up to toll the bell five times, pause three seconds, and then repeat for four times. After the final toll there was complete silence for 10 seconds.<\/p>\n

The firefighter then stated: \u201cMay they rest in peace. We will never forget.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the conclusion of the Bell Ceremony, Barsamian asked everyone to remain standing as he welcomed the FDNY Ceremonial Unit Color Guard for the presentation of our nation\u2019s colors as Firefighter Anthony Rugnetta sang the national anthem.<\/p>\n

A bagpiper then led the kids over to the start line to begin the kid\u2019s fun run. The kids were all smiles when they took off knowing that they would receive a medal for finishing and that an ice cream truck was waiting near the finish line. After speeding across the finish line, they were also asked to ring a bell in honor of a fallen firefighter that they were running for prior to receiving their medal and yes, they were rewarded with a free ice cream cone from the truck!<\/p>\n

At the conclusion of the kid\u2019s fun run, the adults were asked to line up to start the 2-mile run throughout the cemetery. Each participant was dedicating their run or walk to an individual who died as a result of the September 11 attacks or from illnesses related to recovery efforts at the World Trade Center site. Upon crossing the finish line, each of the participants rang the memorial bell in honor of the person or people they had chosen to remember. It was noticed that the kids enjoyed coming back and ringing the bell several times.<\/p>\n

As the spectators anxiously awaited the first person to come in to view near the finish line, Daniel Sanabria, a St. Michael\u2019s employee, broke away from the pack and crossed the finish line in first place at a time of 12:36. Omar Cicero, who was running this race for the fourth time, then followed him, and in third place and receiving an award was Joe Bellomo, also a St. Michael\u2019s employee. The top three female finishers were Brooke Donnelly, Lori Antonelli, and Keyshawna Marsh.<\/p>\n

Following the run, St. Michael\u2019s hosted a Memorial Program and awards ceremony. In addition, fun games and crafts were set up for the kids to continue to enjoy themselves. The Memorial program kicked off with the song, \u201cHalfway To Heaven,\u201d written and composed by Hank Fellows and sung by Sid Cherry. This song was written specifically for the victims of 9\/11 and has been performed at all of the 9\/11 events over the last 20 years.<\/p>\n

One of the many highlights of the day was the keynote speaker, Hon. Carolyn Maloney, the former U.S. Congresswoman, who wore her famous FDNY jacket that she pledged to wear until Congress permanently authorized the 9\/11 Victim Compensation Fund via the Never Forget the Heroes Act, which was signed into law in July 2019. This law extended the 9\/11 victims fund act until the year 2090, ensuring long-term financial support for 9\/11 first responders. Former Rep. Maloney thanked St. Michael\u2019s for hosting such meaningful events for the victims of 9\/11 and remarked what a beautiful setting for such an event. She also thanked the Santora family for their devotion and commitment to the victims of 9\/11.<\/p>\n

Al and Maureen Santora were then brought up to the podium to say a few words. Al and Maureen\u2019s son Christopher Santora, who at 23 was one of the youngest firefighters killed in the attacks and interred at St. Michael\u2019s. Al and Maureen were instrumental in created a lasting tribute at St. Michael\u2019s to the Queens firefighters who made the ultimate sacrifice. Christopher is commemorated through a memorial that includes a monument listing the names of the Queens firefighters who perished and a statue depicting him in his firefighter uniform. Al referenced how moved he was when he first saw the unveiling of the monument and was very proud to also be a part of the monument that lists all 343 firefighters. Maureen, who works tirelessly for all victims of 9\/11, stated that she would like to see continued memorialization of those who are dying to illnesses related to working on \u2018the pile.\u2019<\/p>\n

Hank Fellows, the writer and composer of \u201cHalfway to Heaven\u201d and \u201cOne Heart, One Voice\u201d then came up to say a few words and introduce Sid Cherry to sing the closing song, \u201cOne Heart, One Voice.\u201d<\/p>\n

After a poignant closing prayer by Rev. Christopher Harris, Tony Barsamian thanked the staff at St. Michael\u2019s Cemetery including: General Manager, Dennis Werner; Director of Operations, Katie LaBella; and Director of Administration, Rita Gambino for working so hard to make this a meaningful event for people of all ages. He then invited all those in attendance to watch a video tribute to the fallen prior to leaving for the day.<\/p>\n

Over the years, St. Michael\u2019s Cemetery has hosted annual September 11 remembrance events, bringing together families, first responders, and community members. In addition, St. Michael\u2019s has erected monuments honoring the NYPD, PAPD, all 343 Firefighters lost that day, and a First Responders monument. Tony Barsamian remarked at the end of the ceremony that he thought today\u2019s event may have been the best and most meaningful one that he has been a part of in a long time.<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s event will serve as a powerful reminder that the lives lost on September 11\u2014and the heroes who answered the call in its aftermath\u2014will always be remembered.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Photos by Marieta Grancaric and Maria Kalliagas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It was a day of remembrance at St. Michael\u2019s Cemetery as they once again hosted its cherished \u201cRemember…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":348573,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[9,24,63,122,124,123],"class_list":["post-348572","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-queens","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-queens","tag-queens-headlines","tag-queens-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/348572","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=348572"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/348572\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/348573"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=348572"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=348572"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=348572"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}