BK Lighting, TEKA Illumination, Star Finishes, Blue Dolphin Design and Engineering and Etendue will pay respect to the fallen, the survivors, and the men and women in uniform on Wednesday, September 11, 2013.
For the past 12 years, these companies have held an annual ceremony honoring the brave men and women who performed selfless acts of heroism on that terrible day in 2001 when the U.S. was attacked by terrorists. The memorial service will be held at B-K Lighting’s manufacturing facility at 40429 Brickyard Drive in Madera, California at 9:00 a.m. on September 11. The community is invited to join the ceremony and give tribute.
This year’s honored guest is Retired Army Sgt. Justin Bond, a resident of Hanford, California. He is a Purple Heart recipient, who lost his left leg due to an AK-47 round that had passed through the center of both knees during the Battle of Fallujah in 2004. He has undergone 34 surgeries subsequently. Bond founded “Our Heroes Dreams”, a non-profit organization that assists veterans in achieving a dream much like Make a Wish Foundation, helping vets reboot their life mission following military service. Justin and his wife, Laurel, have helped to send thousands of books and games to active duty personnel overseas and actively volunteers with “Segs4Vets”, a mobility organization that provides Segways and training in their use for wounded veterans. Bond completed a 2,956-mile cross-country trip on a Segway to raise money and awareness of the program in 2012. As a recipient of a wheelchair friendly residence from “Homes for our Troops,” Bond has vowed to “pay it forward” with the founding of his organization. “Let us never forget the sacrifice made to protect and save the innocent victims during that tragic event. We must always be aware and grateful to the brave men and women who dedicate their lives and performed courageous acts of heroism. We should always be mindful of our good fortune to live in the greatest country in all of history; where liberty and justice is the core of our beliefs. We must never take for granted the men and women in uniform – as they stand ready to risk their lives to protect the rest of us,” says Douglas W. Hagen, founder and CEO of B-K Lighting.
