Cashmere’s Annual 9/11 Spirit of America Ceremony Wednesday, 11 a.m

In 2015, Cashmere's Spirit of America, the memorial for the tragedy that Americans grieve every September, was completed and the site became the setting for the annual 9/11 remembrance ceremony for those in the community to pay respect. This year, the Spirit of America will have some new fixtures present at the ceremony, including a guest speaker from the county and the additions from Phase two of the project.

"We want this place to be a sacred site, a place where people can come and reflect and be proud of," said Thomas Green, board president.

Chelan County Commissioner, Kevin Overbay, was chosen to share a few words due to the county's both monetary contribution and overall support.

"The county was probably our largest contributor in terms of cash for the purchase of the granite for Phase two," said Green. "The other reason, the county commissioners 5 years ago declared this memorial the official 9/11 memorial for the county."

Each year, the Spirit of America award is given to a selected individual and this year's recipient and main guest speaker is Chaplain and Pastor Maynard Atik. He was volunteering the following month after the tragedy and helped with recovery and clean up. Atik worked out of church very near Ground Zero that was still standing after the attacks.

"Apparently he was just a phenomenal source of strength and so forth for a lot of people," said Green. "He was recommended to us as someone very deserving."

With a lot of hard work and community contribution funneling into Phase Two of the memorial site, the new additions will also pack a lot of meaning to the ceremony.

"I think adding all the granite, with everyone lost engraved on the granite - nearly 3,000 names - is very, very sobering and it's not unlike seeing the Vietnam Wall in Washington D.C.," said Green.

The memorial will begin at 11 a.m.