2008 Brotherhood Ride
Date/Time
Date(s) - 05/24/2008 - 06/01/2008
All Day
Categories
The 2008 Brotherhood Ride is dedicated to the nine Charleston firefighters who lost their lives on June 18, 2007.
9 DAYS FOR 9 HEROES
Calling all firefighters, law enforcement officers or emergency medical personnel, you are welcome to join the Brotherhood Ride at any one of the stops listed below.
May 24 – June 1, 2008
- Stop 1: Arcadia, FL
- Stop 2: Winter Haven, FL
- Stop 3: Eustis, FL
- Stop 4: Palatka, FL
- Stop 5: Jacksonville, FL
- Stop 6: Brunswick, GA
- Stop 7: Savannah, GA
- Stop 8: Walterboro, SC
In 2007, a group of North Naples Firefighters wanted to honor nine members of the Charleston, South Carolina fire Department that perished in the line of duty on June 18, 2007.
Their desire to help the families of these brave professionals resulted in the creation of the Brotherhood Ride. The Brotherhood Ride consist of firefighters, law enforcement officers and emergency medical personnel riding bicycles from North Naples, Florida to Charleston, South Carolina to offer financial and emotional support to the families of those who paid the ultimate sacrifice.
The Brotherhood Ride will consist of a 9-day, nearly 600 mile journey with each day of the ride dedicated to one of the Charleston Firefighters. Upon our arrival in Charleston, South Carolina, all proceeds donated will be presented to the families of the families of the Charleston 9.
You may ask why… Why ride 600 miles on a bicycle from Naples, Florida to Charleston, South Carolina?..Why spend nine days of our time off on a bicycle?..Why spend so much time and effort for people we have never met?For many local firefighters, June 18, 2007, was a well deserved day off when the news broke that nine Charleston firefighters lost their lives doing what they love to do, fighting fires and saving lives. Although firefighters may become callused and numb to the news of a comrade’s death, when nine lives are lost it becomes significant and hits home. When firefighters feel a loss or pain they gravitate to their second home, their fire station, not to work but to be among those that would also be experiencing the same feelings.
On June 18th, 2007, when I arrived at Station 45 it was quiet. I found shoes of the men and women from the station that were responding to a call. They left behind their shoes to put on their gear. For nine Charleston Firefighters their shoes would never be worn again. They would forever be left at their fire stations representing nine fathers, husbands, brothers, friends, loved ones that would never return.
As time went on, a small group of firefighters gathered at the station. This is when the concept of the Brotherhood Ride was conceived. It was at this time that we decided to honor these nine members of the Charleston Fire Department. We wanted to help the families of these brave professionals. We wanted to provide financial as well as emotional support to them. We wanted them to know that their loved ones would not be forgotten in the days, months and years to come. We didn’t want these unsung heroes to just become a statistic of being a part of the single deadliest disaster for firefighters since 9/11. We knew whatever we did to honor these heroes should not and would not be easy. Whatever we did would be representative of the pain and loss that the families of these nine brothers would be feeling. This is when we decided to ride bicycles nearly 600 miles from Naples, Florida to Charleston, South Carolina. We knew it wouldn’t be an easy ride but then again it would be nothing compared to the ultimate sacrifice the Charleston 9 made. The training and ride would be grueling, time consuming and challenging.
We decided that this would be a yearly event. Each year we would select an unsung hero(s) from around the country to honor by riding our bicycles to their hometown and providing financial and emotional support to their families and friends. The ride would take place about a year after their death as a reminder that they have not and would not be forgotten.
Jeff Morse
Founder – President
Brotherhood Ride