Schools

Allatoona Will Mark 10th Anniversary of 9/11

The school's Navy JROTC will host a "somber ceremony" at the school's football field Sept. 9.

The Navy Junior Reserve Office Training Corps (JROTC) is coordinating a memorial ceremony to mark the 10th anniversary of Patriot Day and the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on our nation.  

The ceremony will take place in the Allatoona football field on Friday, Sept. 9 and begin promptly at 9:11 a.m. 

Parents and friends of the Allatoona family, as well as all Fire and Rescue, Police   Officers, Emergency Medical Personnel, and current and former Military are invited to join the ceremony as the school remembers those who lost their lives on this tragic day in our nation's history. 

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“This will be a somber ceremony,” said Principal Scott Bursmith. “Not a pep rally. I expect the students to act accordingly.” Most of the student body has no memory of the attacks; Allatoona's current students were only 4 to 8 years old in 2001.

Allatoona officials have extended an invitation to Cobb County School District (CCSD) , CCSD Post 1 Board Member Lynnda Eagle and all other CCSD Board members, their families, and any other CCSD staff that would be interested in joining us at our ceremony.

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The school is also inviting of Acworth and of Kennesaw along with their local representatives from the city government.

"We think that we have a terrific ceremony setup to remember and recognize those who were lost that day," said Allatoona's Athletic Director Benji Morrell in an email. 

The Navy JROTC, which has “run the show” for years, according to Bursmith, will be standing in formation at the ceremony. Additionally, plans are in the works to conduct a helicopter flyby of the football field during the ceremony.

The ceremony is anticipated to last approximately 40 minutes and will be highlighted by guest speaker William Cominos. Cominos, a now retired Fire Chief, was a first responder to the World Trade Center on the day of the attacks.  

For those able to attend the ceremony, the school requests that patrons arrive at the stadium prior to 0900 to allow school faculty to direct people to the proper seating, located on the field.


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