Good News Florida

Many are still reeling from the two major events that took place in February: the tragic loss of 17 young lives at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and the passing of God's ambassador, 99-year-old Billy Graham. Good News Wants to Know... What's a big historical event that had a profound impact on your life? And where were you when it happened? On September 11, 2001 I was in my of- fice at the Foundation Center meeting with a good friend of mine who was in town from New York (we were organiz- ing prayer meetings for an upcoming student evangelism conference).As we were meeting, we got the call that a plane crashed into the World Trade Center. We then went downstairs to the community room in our building and turned on the TV – several people from other ministries housed in the building joined us and then the second plane crashed into tower two, and we were in disbelief. My friend from New York was stranded in Florida for most of the week. I will never forget that day. -Chris Lane, Executive Director, First Priority of South Florida President John F. Kennedy’s assassination and its aftermath had a profound im- pact on my life. We were in a school assembly which was interrupted by the news. I will never forget the feeling which was like a sucker punch to our country draining it of enthusiasm and hope. -William C. Davell , Director, Tripp Scott I was in the 3rd Grade when the Challenger exploded. Remember listening to the launch countdown and commentary on WA's intercom in Mrs. Berg's class. I'll never forget her crying while trying to explain why we needed to move on to cursive writing. -Bob Denison, President, Denison Yacht Sales In my now half century of life, I have experienced many historical events that have stayed with me, from the assassination attempts on Pope John Paul II and President Ronald Reagan when I was a student at Rickards Middle School, to the tragic explo- sion of the Space Shuttle Challenger while a student at Northeast High School. How- ever, no event in my lifetime has made a bigger impact on my life than the terrorist attacks on 9/11/01. This event happened onAmerican soil and cost our country nearly 3,000 lives, one of which directly impacted a dear friend of my wife’s. The City of Sharon, Mass., will always remember this loss of life with the "Michael C. Rothberg Post Office." I will always remember where I was nearly every minute of that day and how those events changed my life and lives of every American. I am thankful for the leadership of Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Father Michael Judge and most of all President George W. Bush on that day, for bringing our country together. On that day we were more united than we have ever been, and we should work each and every day to come together again as One Nation Under God. -Chip LaMarca, Broward County Commissioner, District 4 I was flying from Florida to California the morning of 9/11. My flight was grounded in Houston, and it took three days to get home. As a result of 9/11 and subsequent gov- ernment regulations on communication, my company closed. I ended up in Boca with a lot of time on my hands. I started playing tennis with Ryan Fitzpatrick, and he led me to faith in Jesus Christ. -Chip McCulloch, Co-owner and Partner, Highland Wireless For me and perhaps others, the attack on the Twin Towers in NYC signaled the de- mise of a false sense of security – that tragedies like this couldn't happen here in America. My staff was just gathering for morning prayer at the Seaside Hotel where I was general manager when one of them came running yelling, "Turn on the TV!" We stood watching, stunned, unbelieving and then, like zombies, continued our day. -Deborah Cusick, Intervarsity Christian Fellowships FAU Campus Volunteer One of the big historical events that had a profound impact on my life was the NYC terrorist attack that occurred on 9/11/01. I was working at a law firm, and all of us watched in horror as the planes hit the towers and then we sadly saw numerous people jump to their death. Those events profoundly remindedme of the heartbreak- ing reality of the frailty of life and the dismay that can be on people's hearts in light of tragedy. Seeing people dive to their death, and being the only “outward” professing Jesus follower in the law firm break room had a profound impact on me. The oppor- tunities to discuss tragedy among my co-workers over the weeks that passed made me very aware of being prepared to share the hope that can be found in Christ with those around you. -Dennis DeMarois, Director, The Gathering Palm Beach County One impactful event was when Mr. Trump was elected to be President. I had gone to bed the night of the election, and to my surprise woke to the news of the “new businessman president.” It was not about which political party won, but rather how will God use a completely different type leader who appears to defend conservative values, help persecuted Christians around the world and fight for the well-being of allAmericans? Regardless of a person’s political preference the President hasmade good appointments on the Supreme Court, the VP and a broad commitment to reli- gious liberty. Having traveledmuch of my life, I knowGod has blessedAmerica. The impact onme? – an awarenessmore than ever that the president needs our prayers to helpAmerica get back to Honoring God. -Don Campion, President, Banyan Air Service It was 1963. I was walking back to school from shop class (back when they still had shop class). On the radio they announced that president Kennedy had been shot. It was inconceivable to my eighth grade mind that President Kennedy could ever die. When he did die, it forced me to really search my soul about the reality of life and death. President Kennedy’s death made me grow up in many ways that day! -Fred Scarbrough, DVM, Founder, Scarbrough Animal Hospital and Hope South Florida 9/11 was the biggest event I can remember and this event continues to affect us. I was in the law school library when it happened and still cannot believe how many lives were lost in such a brief period. -Rep. George R. Moraitis, Jr., Moraitis, Cofar, Karney, Moraitis & Quailey s s s s s s s s William “Bill” Davell Bob Denison Chip LaMarca Chip McCulloch Debra Cusick Dennis DeMarois Wants to Know… - Chris Lane, Executive Director, First Priority of South Florida