This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Community Corner

Birmingham Reflects on Sept. 11: 'I Will Never Forget the Terror We Felt'

County commissioner talks about emergency preparedness and a family touchstone.

Memories of Sept. 11, 2001 are widely shared, but also personally distinct. So are reflections on the enduring impact of that life-altering day a decade ago.

This week, Birmingham Patch presents 12 diverse perspectives on what happened that sunny Tuesday morning and the ensuing decade — including comments by a pastor, a sheriff, an educator, civic leaders, a state representative and a woman widowed that indelible morning.

'Celebrate each other and our lives'

Marcia Gershenson
County Commissioner

Find out what's happening in Birminghamwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The 9/11 terrorist attacks raised everyone’s awareness about how essential it is to have emergency procedures in place. In our county, we have an emergency radio system so all police and fire departments are able to communicate. We also have a first responder team that coordinates emergency responses by public agencies, nonprofit agencies and businesses.

Many of our communities have local citizen first-responder teams that are part of our Oakland County Homeland Security division. If you are interested in participating or being sure your local community has one, please contact me. The goal is to combine resources and have all responders on the same page to react to an emergency.

Find out what's happening in Birminghamwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

On a personal level, one of my nephews has a birthday on Sept. 11. He and his is family continue to be reminded to celebrate the value and joy of life each year, and he has a unique perspective on life. I also had nephews and close friends in New York, working near the World Trade Center on 9/11. I will never forget the terror we felt while waiting to hear from them that Tuesday morning. 

We must never forget to celebrate each other and our lives each day.

Marcia Gershenson, elected to the county board in 2004, is serving her fourth term. This July, she attended an executive leadership program at Harvard University. She lives in Franklin and also represents Birmingham, West Bloomfield, Bloomfield Township, Beverly Hills, Bingham Farms and Southfield Township.

For more accounts of where Birmingham's leaders and residents were on Sept. 11, stay tuned for more in our Birmingham Reflects series or check out what residents already had to say.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

More from Birmingham