On the morning of September 11, , he had put on a green shirt before meeting colleagues at the Marriott hotel sandwiched between the Twin Towers, in advance of speaking at a conference that day at the restaurant Windows on the World.
I think I am going to put this on and wear it as I speak. He ironed a white one, put it on, and then headed back down toward the hotel lobby. Lott would escape the World Trade Center complex that day. In all those published accounts and audio clips, and in the interviews I conducted, one theme never ceases to amaze me: the sheer randomness of how the day unfolded, who lived, who died, who was touched, and who escaped.
One thousand times a day, we all make arbitrary decisions—which flight to book, which elevator to board, whether to run an errand or stop for coffee before work—never realizing the possibilities that an alternate choice might have meant. In mythology, the three Fates were goddesses who handed out destiny at birth, weaving a future that each mortal would be forced to live out inexorably—the concept of fate serving for many as a necessary explanation for the random cruelties, vicissitudes, and lucky breaks that determine so much of how life plays out.
That individuals might just blunder into these events for no reason at all was, for the ancient Greeks, just too bleak a thought. The night before, the New York Giants game in Denver had gone late into the night, which meant that a whole host of New Yorkers showed up slightly late to work that morning, missing the final elevator up to the top of the North or South Tower; others survived because Roger Clemens was supposed to have been pitching for his 20th win at home with the Yankees on September The game was rained out, but not before people such as Roy Bell, who worked on the nd floor of the North Tower, had rescheduled their 8 a.
Edie Lutnick credits the backing of Cantor Fitzgerald, which continues to underwrite percent of the fund's administrative costs, as well as a persistent mission. More than anything else, our goal was to create a lasting legacy for those that we've lost. Edie uses the word legacy often when talking about her work.
As the families became more stable she would never used the word "Okay," "because when you lose someone you love, you're never entirely okay with it" the Relief Fund began to expand its scope. In , the Fund's mission officially expanded to include victims of terrorism, natural disasters, and emergencies. That's how the organization survives, by the love and the roots that it grows from, " says Esposito of the fund.
It could never be just another work day for the company's employees, so in , the Fund hosted its first Charity Day, as a way of commemorating those they had lost by helping others. The Relief Fund brings in celebrities—this year's festivities are slated to feature Steve Buscemi, 50 Cent, Julianna Margulies , Peyton and Eli Manning, and Lily Aldridge, among others—to make trades and conduct business with clients in order to raise money for the Cantor Fitzgerald Relief Fund and other charities around the world.
And every single employee of the firm gives up their salary or commission in order to ensure that percent of the revenues from the day are donated to the causes. Esposito found the whole experience hard to even describe. In , the Cantor Fitzgerald Relief Fund made good on it's new mission following the destruction of Superstorm Sandy. When horrible things happen to you, that if you can find something larger than yourself to focus on, you can do great things in the world, and it will help you heal.
That we as an organization have helped our community to heal and in doing so have created a legacy for those that they love," she said. So what's next for the Relief Fund? Edie hopes the non-profit continues to focus on disaster relief programs and grow in both the ambition and scope of its efforts. But first, the families will meet for a private memorial service, as they do every September 11, to mourn those they have lost.
To learn more about the Cantor Fitzgerald Relief Fund, including how you can get involved, visit cantorrelief. The Scene. Type keyword s to search. Then: of New York employees died; founder Howard Lutnick survived because he was dropping his son off at his first day of kindergarten. The firm now has employees. The senior Duffy, who was driving in from Westchester that morning, survived. In February , the firm merged with Stifel Financial.
Today it has over employees and offices in ten cities. Michaud, who was at the firm in , remembers the colleagues who were lost that fateful day and the decision to move forward. The Los Angeles staff, who then put the call on its in-house public-address system, heard a colleague in the New York office say, "I think a plane just hit us.
While the phone call continued to be broadcast over the entire Los Angeles office, the New York office began filling with smoke and people began screaming. We can't get out. The place is filling with smoke," a person in the New York office was heard to say. Shortly afterward, the connection was cut off.
Cantor Fitzgerald International, a unit of U. Cantor and its units have operations on the , , and floors in the North Tower, which was hit by the first plane.
Its combined staff is about 1, Cantor said it is "doing everything possible to assess the situation," but has been unable to confirm if its staff were safely evacuated. Cantor asked that anyone who can confirm the safety of any of the potentially affected employees within the U. The company also stated that it has asked all but a skeleton staff in its London office to return home due to general concern about the potential for attacks on the City of London.
The numbers are in Britain. The memo also said the investment firm's senior management had been at the company's midtown Manhattan headquarters when the deadly assaults on the towers occurred. It added that financial advisers should reassure clients that their records are safe, and pass on a hotline number to call should they have questions.
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