Archive for February, 2010

H.E.A.R.T. 9/11 Accepts Union Donation

Friday, February 19th, 2010

On Wednesday, February 17, 2010, International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental & Reinforcing Ironworkers Union Local 272 President John Becton met with
H.E.A.R.T. 9/11 members at the local 272, Fort Lauderdale, Florida headquarters. Present also was H.E.A.R.T. 9/11 member Eddie Jorge, who is the Greater New York & vicinity Ironworkers District Council Organizer. Local 272 business manager, Dewey Tyler and several union members joined the group. They presented H.E.A.R.T. 9/11 Board of Directors member John Moran with a check representing the union members desire to help victims of the Haitian earthquake through H.E.A.R.T. 9/11.

H.E.A.R.T. 9/11 logo

Left to Right: HEART 9/11 Members Tony Sanpietro, Kevin O’Rourke, John Moran,
Union Member Johnson Darius and Local 272 President John Becton

Ironworkers Local 272, which covers much of southern Florida, is comprised of many Haitian-Americans and there is a strong connection with the island nation. After hearing about the work that the H.E.A.R.T. 9/11 Haiti Rescue Team Mission did in Haiti immediately following the tragedy from their New York metropolitan area brothers (some of whom were actually part of the rescue team), the membership decided they wanted to partner with H.E.A.R.T. 9/11 for future deployments. The union fully supports this coalition, as does H.E.A.R.T. 9/11. Bringing these skilled workers into our group is an example of ensuring continued growth and expands the total effectiveness of H.E.A.R.T. 9/11 as a positive force in disaster response. The plight of the Haitian people will continue for months and, maybe, years. Together we will return to be part of the rebuilding process and bring help and hope to the people of Haiti, especially Port Au Prince.

We wish to thank all involved who brought this alliance about and extend special thanks to the officers and members of the Ironworkers Union, Local 272, for their generosity and support.

The Staff at H.E.A.R.T. 9/11

Posted in Deployment/Missions, News | No Comments »

H.E.A.R.T. 9/11 Aids In Return of Mother of Six

Friday, February 12th, 2010

She’s finally home! Immacula Brunette exited the US Customs station at Logan Airport, Boston, Mass., to the sounds of her name being called and the outstretched arms of her children. Immacula, a fifty-three year old mother of six, had been missing in Haiti for almost three weeks following the catastrophic earthquake which killed ten of thousands of people and left so many more injured and homeless. Immacula found herself in this sea of chaos trying to return home to Connecticut as the authorities at the US Embassy in Port Au Prince, Haiti and at the Haitian Airport refused her entry based on her legal status of Permanent Resident of the United States. The only contact she had with her loved ones back in the states was a cryptic phone call placed from the Haiti Airport the day after the deadly earthquake telling her family she had survived.

.H.E.A.R.T. 9/11 logo

After numerous attempts to secure assistance from local and national political and military sources, Immacula’s children reached out for help from a friend in Newark N.J. who is a board member of H.E.A.R.T. 9/11. He knew that H.E.A.R.T. 9/11 was boots on the ground in Haiti and he provided them with Bill Keegan’s contact information. H.E.A.R.T. 9/11 had already established lines of communication with US AID, U.S. Customs, T.S.A., U.S. Embassy personnel, the US Marine Corps and the US Air Force.

A “needle in a haystack” search began at the Haiti airport area by H.E.A.R.T. 9/11 members who had driven into Haiti; another H.E.A.R.T. 9/11 group who had flown into the American Embassy area searched for her from there. Despite their focused searches, Immacula was not located and the worst was feared. On Wednesday, January 27, 2010, the members of H.E.A.R.T. 9/11 Team Haiti returned home without any word about Immacula.

On Friday, January 29, 2010, Bill Keegan received a phone call from a very excited friend of the Brunette family, Jordan Schneider, who had received word that Jim Brunette, Immacula’s son, had heard from his mom. She was near the Haiti Airport, but confused, frustrated and alone. Bill Keegan notified his H.E.A.R.T. 9/11 contacts in the Dominican Republic who then provided the U.S Marine Corps personnel detached to U.S. Embassy in Haiti with Immacula’s last known location and a lifeline cell phone number. Here come the Marines. Within hours Immacula was located and brought to the U.S. Embassy in Haiti where her emotional journey morphed from fear and confusion to smiles and order. Within hours of her rescue, Immacula was on her way to the safety of a HEART 9/11 friend’s home in the Dominican Republic There she received some good old American TLC. A warm shower and a hot meal were accompanied by the smiling faces of Americans serving citizens in a foreign land.

If not for the intervention and efforts of the H.E.A.R.T. 9/11 Team leading the way, Immacula might still be wandering the streets of Haiti. They had deployed to Haiti to provide aid to that devastated country in whatever way they could. This was just one of the positive achievements that were accomplished. The professionalism with which the H.E.A.R.T. 9/11 Team members conducted themselves while interacting with the established resources in the Dominican Republic and Haiti set them apart from other volunteer responders. Our credibility was immediately recognized and expertise and competence in the area of disaster response quickly utilized.

A JOB WELL DONE!!!

The Staff at H.E.A.R.T. 9/11

Posted in Deployment/Missions, News | 1 Comment »

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