9-11 Remembrance Ceremony

Save the date: 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony

Friday, September 11, 2026
USF Sarasota-Manatee Campus                                                      8350 N. Tamiami Trail

8:15 A.M. Flag Raising & Taps, Campus Entrance
8:30 A.M. Remembrance Program, Campus Student Center Ballroom

For more information, please contact sm-veteransuccess@usf.edu or 941-359-4291

Make a Contribution

To make a contribution in support of this event and the office’s mission, please visit sarasotamanatee.usf.edu/SC0027

Woman and military person carrying rememberance wreath

2025 Speaker: Edward Grayson, Former Commissioner, NYC Department of Sanitation & 9/11 Responder

Edward Grayson began his career with the NYC Department of Sanitation in 1999 and rose steadily through the ranks retiring as Commissioner in 2022. In 2001, he was a Sanitation Worker and one of the thousands of NYC responders deployed to the WTC site for recovery operations in the aftermath of the attacks. DSNY personnel were onsite throughout the entire 9 months of recovery operations.

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"I'll never forget Sept 11th, 2001, the emotion and images of that day and the days after will be etched in my mind forever. As we gather for this memorial 24 years later, we must honor the victims and brave first responders who perished that day, and the scores of responders who have passed due to 9/11 related illnesses since then."

Edward Grayson


2025 Attendees
Sarasota Police Department Sarasota County Fire Department Sarasota County Sheriff Office
Campus Police Department United States Marine Corps, 4th Assault Amphibian Battalion United States Army, Sarasota Recruiting Company
Braden River Brass Quintet Ross Allen, Bagpiper and USF Alumni Saint Stephens Episcopal School
Booker Middle School    


Title Sponsor

USF Credit union logo

Presented by

USF Sarasota-Manatee campus and the USF Office of Veteran Success

September 11 Rememberance Sponsors


Community members and veterans walk alongside 2,997 American flags displayed in front of the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee campus

 

Law enforcement officers and a firefighter raise the American flag during the September 11 remembrance ceremony at the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee campus.

 

members of the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office in formation

 

A bagpiper performs alongside the U.S. Marine Corps Color Guard during the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee’s September 11 remembrance ceremony honoring the lives lost and the bravery of first responders.

 

firefighter carrying wreath

 

sarasota police officer holding folded flag looking straight

 

girl singing national anthem

 

Elementary school students raise their arms while singing during the September 11 remembrance ceremony at the USF Sarasota-Manatee campus.