SEPTEMBER 11: SOME DAYS A NATION NEVER FORGETS

Some dates are remembered because they appear on a calendar.

Others become permanently etched in our memories.

September 11, 2001, is one of those days.

Twenty-five years have passed, yet for those of us who lived through that morning, the memories remain remarkably vivid.

I remember arriving at the office when one of our employees said:

“They’re saying a plane crashed into the Twin Towers in New York.”

At first, it was difficult to comprehend what was happening.

We turned on the television.

And then we witnessed something we never imagined we would see in our lifetime.

What initially appeared to be a terrible accident quickly became something far more devastating. We watched the second plane strike. We saw the smoke. The fire. People running through the streets. And eventually, we watched the towers fall.

We realized that our country was under attack.

I still remember the emotions of that moment.

Pain. Sorrow. Helplessness. And anger.

How could anyone deliberately cause so much suffering?

How could something like this have happened in the United States?

Millions of Americans were asking themselves those same questions.

BEHIND THE NUMBERS WERE HUMAN LIVES

Today, I do not want to remember September 11 only through the images of the Twin Towers.

I want to remember the people.

The men and women who woke up that morning, had breakfast, said goodbye to their families, and went to work believing it would be an ordinary Tuesday.

The passengers and crew members who boarded airplanes expecting to arrive at their destinations just a few hours later.

The people working at the Pentagon.

The firefighters, police officers, paramedics, and other first responders who did something extraordinary:

While thousands of people were desperately trying to escape the danger, they were running directly toward it to save others.

Many understood the tremendous risk they were taking.

And still, they kept going.

We also remember the passengers and crew of United Airlines Flight 93.

Ordinary people suddenly confronted with an unimaginable situation who made the courageous decision to act.

Their aircraft crashed in Pennsylvania before the hijackers could reach their intended target.

Their courage and sacrifice will forever be part of the history of September 11.

THAT DAY ALSO TAUGHT US THE MEANING OF UNITY

September 11 showed us the terrible destruction human beings can cause.

But it also showed us something far more powerful.

Courage. Compassion. Service. Sacrifice. Solidarity.

Strangers helping strangers.

Firefighters climbing the stairs while others were coming down.

Doctors and nurses preparing to receive the injured.

Families desperately searching for loved ones.

Americans helping one another without first asking where someone came from, what their last name was, or where they were born.

During those terrible hours, there was something greater than all our differences:

We were one nation in pain.

WHAT IT MEANS TO BE AN AMERICAN

Today, I also want to say something deeply personal.

I am an American citizen. This is my country.

Like millions of Americans, my roots began somewhere beyond the borders of the United States.

That does not diminish what I feel for this nation.

If anything, it makes me even more conscious of what American citizenship means.

The history of this land began long before the founding of the United States, with Indigenous peoples whose presence here reaches back countless generations. Over time, America grew and evolved through generations of people whose roots can be traced to virtually every part of the world.

Some of us were born here.

Some of us came later.

Some Americans can trace their families in this country through many generations.

Others, like me, were given the privilege — and accepted the responsibility — of becoming American citizens.

But when we pledge our allegiance to this nation and accept the responsibilities of citizenship, America becomes our country too.

Being American should never be used to divide us into those who supposedly belong more and those who belong less.

Being American also means accepting responsibility, respecting our institutions, working, contributing to our communities, and protecting the principles upon which this nation was built.

And perhaps September 11 reminds us of something we should never allow ourselves to forget:

America is strongest when what unites us is greater than what divides us.

25 YEARS LATER

Today, September 11, 2026, marks twenty-five years since that terrible morning.

There are now young adults who were not yet born when the attacks occurred.

That gives those of us who remember an additional responsibility:

We must tell the story.

We must remember what happened.

We must honor those who lost their lives.

We must remember those who ran toward danger when every human instinct told them to run away.

And we must teach new generations that behind the photographs they now see in history books were real people — mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, husbands, wives, friends, coworkers — with dreams, families, and futures.

On behalf of Two Hundred Global Financial Solutions, and personally, in my name, Juan V. Fanti, we take a moment today to honor the victims in New York, at the Pentagon, and aboard the hijacked flights; the first responders who gave everything they had; and the families whose lives were forever changed on September 11, 2001.

Today, we are not talking about business.

We are not talking about taxes.

We are not talking about accounting.

Today is about remembrance.

About respect.

About gratitude.

And about a nation that, after experiencing one of the darkest days in its history, found the strength to stand again.

To those who lost their lives on September 11:

We remember you.

To their families:

We honor your loved ones and their memory.

To the first responders, passengers, crew members, and ordinary citizens who demonstrated extraordinary courage:

Thank you.

And to our country:

May we never forget that in our most difficult moments, our greatest strength has always been found in our ability to stand together.

We will never forget. 🇺🇸

Juan V. Fanti, MBA, CAA, PA
Two Hundred Global Financial Solutions, LLC
September 11, 2026