A massive steel beam, weighing 16,000 pounds, pulled from the wreckage of the World Trade Center’s South Tower, took center stage at Emma E. Booker Elementary School in Sarasota on May 19. This somber relic anchors the Tunnel to Towers Foundation’s Steel Across America tour, a national event honoring 25 years since 9/11. The significance hits home. Almost 25 years ago, President George W. Bush sat in a classroom at Booker Elementary, reading with students, when the world changed. News of the attacks reached him right in that very building.
The school at 2350 Dr. Martin Luther King Way hosted the ceremony. The gathering brought together people who stood inside Booker Elementary on September 11, 2001, along with the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, Sarasota County Schools officials, local leaders, first responders, and law enforcement. They honored the memory of that day, and paid tribute to the courage and unity that defined those moments that linger still.
Steel Across America will cover over 10,500 miles, stopping in 21 states and Washington, D.C. at landmarks, town squares, sports stadiums, and community centers. The tour’s journey began May 2 and should finish back at Ground Zero on 9/11’s 25th anniversary. Sarasota marked stop number seven on this journey.
On September 11, President Bush was sitting in a classroom at Booker Elementary reading to a classroom of children. Andrew Card, his chief of staff, came in, whispered in his ear, and the president got up and made his way to the media center. The world learned what had happened. When asked if he’d heard a second plane hit, Bush replied, “We’re going to deal with that.” It was in the media center that President Bush announced America was under attack.
The Tunnel to Towers Foundation forged itself in the aftermath of 9/11. It now provides mortgage-free homes to Gold Star families and the families of fallen first responders with young children, and builds smart homes for severely injured veterans and first responders. Its work, and the steel beam, carry the story forward; a story rooted deep in tragedy, resilience, and hope.
